England all-rounder Ben Stokes has hailed Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah as the best the game has seen since the days of Australian great Shane Warne.
England struggled against Yasir at Lord's as the 30-year-old ran riot, picking up 10 for 141 and inspiring Pakistan to a 75-run win on Sunday, rising to the top of the world test bowling rankings.
“Yasir Shah, I reckon, is the best leg-spinner since Shane Warne,” Stokes told British media on Wednesday.
“They are a very good team but we go into the Test match knowing how he goes about bowling and we should be able to counteract that. (The conditions are) another thing we will have to try and adapt to and we'll just see how it goes.”
Fit-again Stokes looks set to return to the starting lineup for the second test at Old Trafford, starting on Friday, after undergoing a knee operation in May, but he said it might take time to regain his competitive edge.
“I have been playing as a batsman for two weeks. It is something I definitely did need, to get myself back into match situations,” the 25-year-old said.
“I have been bowling in the nets but you can't replicate (a match situation) doing that. The only thing you can do is bowl in a game. So it was good on that point and it was a massive confidence boost.”
