Hopefully, in a few weeks, everyone will say this has been an amazing series in Pakistan – Brendon McCullum

England reached Islamabad for their first Test tour in Pakistan since 2005, and head coach Brendon McCullum believes that the entertainment value the two teams will ideally acquire in the Test series will make ready for the resumption of smooth cricket in Pakistan once more.

England reached Islamabad for their first Test tour in Pakistan since 2005, and head coach Brendon McCullum reveals that his team is not completely ready for the first Test, set to be played in Rawalpindi from December 1; he adds that the lead-up to the much-awaited series has worked out in a good way for the visitors.

“We’ve got a couple of days before the Test, so… But it’s nice to be here,”

he said on Monday.

“We had a great camp at Abu Dhabi, spent a lot of time as a team, sort of trying to build that camaraderie after a little bit of a break which we identified during the English summer and that’s an important component of how this team is going to operate.”

The England head coach, who has delighted in more than adequate progress in his short run with the team, is yet again exploring only one possibility for the three-match series – this way or that – and ruled out possibilities of a draw, not to give anything less to the international cricket starved home crowd of Pakistan.

“We’ll certainly be pushing for results because we see it as our obligation to try and ensure that people walk away entertained. And if we get beat, Pakistan, we know, will have played well. I expect us to play well and if we get outplayed, that’s okay too. Looking forward to the opportunity looking forward to the challenge and looking forward to the hospitality. And hopefully, in a few weeks, everyone will say this has been an amazing series.”

“The boys have already said they’re pretty excited about playing in front of a full house here, it’s going to be a good atmosphere, so they’re excited,”

he said.

“That’s what we want from red-ball cricket all around the world, stadiums packed out and fans getting behind their local team.

“To have that on the road is the greatest compliment… we’re lucky that the crowd here is sold out and that’s kind of what we want. The skipper wants them to be rockstars and to be a rockstar you’ve got to play in front of the big houses. We’ve got that opportunity to do that.”

However, in the absence of the great pacer Shaheen Afridi, McCullum feels there is ample quality in Pakistan’s pace attack, one that would challenge his batters and set up an extreme challenge for them. McCullum, however, is glad for his side to take them on.

“To win away from home is the greatest accomplishment you can achieve as a Test player and as a Test side,”

he said.

“We understand the size of the challenge in front of us. But that’s great – that’s why you want to play the game. You don’t want easy challenges, you want to take on the best in their conditions and you want to try and test where you’re at as a side. I’m excited. I don’t know if we’re going to win the series. I can almost guarantee when the skipper comes in here in 48 hours he’ll say there’ll be no draws in the series.”

There isn’t a lot of multi-day playing experience in England’s camp. The lack of experience in the Pakistani conditions is obvious, and keeping in mind that the pitch looks a good one for the England head coach, he says that the team will adjust on the off chance that the situation demands.

“It looks good but I’d expect it to change over the next couple of days, see how things scrub up. I think one of the things we’ve talked about is adapting to whatever we’re given and not being too stuck in our preconceived thoughts. Just play what’s in front of us and be prepared to adapt accordingly.”

“One of the things we try and do is respect the conditions but at the same time, if we are allowed to try and play aggressive and attacking cricket, we’ll try and take that option. It’s authentic to the line-up that we have,”

McCullum said.

“The guy who are in our squad, that’s how they play their cricket and that’s what gives them the most amount of freedom and the best opportunity to perform at the highest level.

“It may not necessarily be as prominent, the aggressive cricket that we’ve seen in the past, but there will be opportunities to try and play positive. And when that does arise, I expect our guys to try and take that on.”

The former New Zealand captain believes that the entertainment value the two teams will ideally acquire in the Test series will make ready for the resumption of smooth cricket in Pakistan once more.

“This is a great place to tour and it’s been starved of international cricket for a long period,”

he added.

“We understand how passionate people are here in Pakistan about this form of cricket and we understand the obligation that we have as an England side and we are looking forward to coming over here and playing an entertaining style of cricket which hopefully ends up in results, whether that’s in our favor or Pakistan’s favor.

“Hopefully, everyone that does dial into this series, not just in Pakistan but around the world, sees that international cricket is back in Pakistan and we’ve got a product that’s worth watching.”