LAHORE: Pakistan fast bowler Haris Rauf on Friday said that the pitch at the Gaddafi Stadium looks fresh and may help fast bowlers as the second leg of the tri-nation One-day International series action shifts to Lahore on Sunday when the hosts clash with England.

“The pitches [in Lahore] look fresh and hopefully bowlers will get maximum support to trouble batsmen with their perfect line and length,” Haris said while talking to reporters during a training session at the Gaddafi Stadium.

“Our pace trio comprising Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah and I have combined [in the national team] again which is a good sign. We will try to take maximum wickets in this tri-series in order to get good results for the team,” the right-arm pacer said, adding that he always enjoyed bowling alongside Shaheen.

Pakistan, with two wins in as many matches, are leading the table after overcoming England and Sri Lanka in the Rawalpindi leg of the tri-series. England on the other hand remain winless after losing both their games, including one against Sri Lanka.

While acknowledging that experienced opener Fakhar Zaman and Saim Ayub were not in form, Haris underlined that the middle order was doing well to help Pakistan win matches in the ongoing tri-series.

The Shaheen-led Pakis­tan started their tri-series campaign last Sunday with a 37-run victory over Sri Lanka before thumping England by 87 runs.

“We have taken a good start to the tri-series, and now our target is to maintain the momentum,” the 32-year-old said insisting that taking wickets in middle overs was crucial to ensuring victory. Answe­ring a question, Haris said, “High totals are being posted by teams in [contemporary] international matches.

“In the [forthcoming] ICC events it will be important for Pakistan to score big totals in order to win matches.”

Pakistan will participate in the 50-over ICC World Cup next year in South Afr­ica, Zimbabwe and Nam­ibia in October-November.

Haris said that featuring in domestic games benefited players.

“Playing domestic game is important for every cricketer [seeking to perform in international competitions]. Therefore, I advise all the players to play domestic cricket whenever they get time for it,” he underlined.

The England and Pakistan squads will hold training sessions in Lahore on Saturday.

Published in Dawn, October 24th, 2026