news desk
\nislamabad
\nFor Mohammad Hafeez, playing in England is about as close as it gets to a home away from home.
\nBacked by vociferous support whenever they head to the UK, Pakistan boast a formidable record on English shores \u2013 despite the conditions contrasting sharply to those in Lahore or Islamabad.
\nThey won both the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 as well as the ICC T20 World Cup 2009, while they drew a two-match Test series with England last summer.
\nPreparation this time around has been less than ideal though, with Sarfaraz Ahmed\u2019s side losing the ODI series with England earlier this month before being edged out by Afghanistan in their opening World Cup warm-up game.
\nBut batting stalwart Hafeez is counting on the large Pakistani community in the UK to help them turn things around.
\n\u201cEvery time we come here, the first thing we get is the massive support. We always feel when coming here like we\u2019re playing at home,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cThe fans are very fanatic and they want us to get success. That\u2019s what we\u2019re here for. It\u2019s a boost, to be honest.
\n\u201cThe atmosphere is always electric. As a cricketer, you always want to do well and get lots of respect.\u201d
\nPakistan have at least taken some solace from the superb form of the elegant Babar Azam, who helped them to a series of big scores against Eoin Morgan\u2019s side.
\nAnd with totals of 300 and above expected to be commonplace over the course of the tournament, Hafeez, 38, has stressed the importance of having an X-factor in the bowling ranks.
\n\u201cThe series we played here last time before the World Cup, I\u2019ve never seen the pitches like that before. There\u2019s something to adjust, and I think everyone is ready for that,\u201d he added.
\n\u201cThe pitches are immaculate now but let\u2019s see how it goes as the tournament progresses.
\n\u201cAt the moment, it\u2019s really suitable for the batsmen and we\u2019ll see some big scores from all the teams.
\n\u201cI believe that cricket has evolved massively, but at the same time you still need that wicket-taking ability in your bowling. If you don\u2019t have that, you can\u2019t stop any team.
\n\u201cYour spinners will play a major role and at the same time you must have some mystery in you that can cause confusion in the other team.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
news desk islamabad For Mohammad Hafeez, playing in England is about as close as it gets to a home away from home. Backed by vociferous support whenever they head to the UK, Pakistan boast a formidable record on English shores \u2013 despite the conditions contrasting sharply to those in Lahore or Islamabad. They won both […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-66625","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\n