Pumped up Pakistan look to test England at Lord's

London, May 23: Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur said his "fearless" side have everything to gain when they face an "under the pump" England in the first Test at Lord's on Thursday (May 24).

England will be looking for some much-needed home comfort after recent winless Test tours of Australia and New Zealand.

Pakistan, by contrast, enter this two-match campaign on the back of a morale-boosting five-wicket win over Test debutants Ireland at Malahide last week. "We haven't come here not to win," Arthur told reporters at Lord's.

"It's a changing room full of very, very skilled cricketers, very young cricketers, fearless cricketers. If we get the breaks and things go our way, they will certainly put England under pressure."

England, in their first Test since Ed Smith became their new head selector, continue to have doubts over a batting order where captain Joe Root has been promoted to number three, wicket-keeper Jonny Bairstow to five and Jos Buttler recalled at seven.

And with Jack Leach injured, England could give a Test debut to his fellow Somerset spinner Dominic Bess. Two years ago, England were held to a 2-2 home draw by Pakistan in a four-Test series.

Since then veteran batsmen Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan have both retired, with Pakistan hoping the likes of Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq can fill the void.

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But it is Imam-ul-Haq, the nephew of Pakistan selection chief and former Test batsman Inzamam-ul-Haq, who has made three fifties from as many games this tour -- including a match-clinching innings against Ireland.

Arthur believes Pakistan are fitter now than when he took over two years ago and more aggressive with it.

"We are an incredibly fit unit. The guys have trained unbelievably hard, not that we weren't coming in 2016 but that was the start of almost the fitness regime," he said.

"The brand of cricket we are playing is certainly more attacking. We felt we needed to change with the times and get another bowler in," the former South Africa and Australia coach explained of a side captained by wicket-keeper Sarfraz Ahmed.

Much could depend on Pakistan left-arm quick Mohammad Amir, who has enjoyed Test success and a Champions Trophy triumph in England, as well as a 2017 County Championship title with Essex, since his career was almost ended by his involvement in a spot-fixing scandal at Lord's during the 2010 tour.

NatWest has strengthened its commitment to cricket by becoming the Title Partner of the Pakistan Test Series while Specsavers will take over as Official Test Partner from the India Series through to the end of 2019

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If the 20-year-old Bess plays he won't be the youngest slow bowler in the match, with 19-year-old Pakistan leg-spinner Shadab Khan replacing the injured Yasir Shah.

Meanwhile, Buttler was well aware of the threat posed by Pakistan, whose last Test at Lord's saw them beat England by 75 runs. "They've lost some experience, but as we saw in the Champions Trophy, Pakistan are a very strong side," he said.

England will field a trio of Test veterans in opener Alastair Cook and the new-ball duo of Stuart Broad and James Anderson.