Teams look to regain focus

After a long week of news for the wrong reasons, England and Pakistan get ready to battle once more, this time in a limited series format, consisting of 2 T20Is and 5 ODIs.

Shahid Afridi gets set to resume captaincy in his favourite format, after retiring from Tests earlier this year. Pakistan batting has been having lot of problems but in T20Is, it is a different ball game altogether and the young guns will be geared up for it. The bowling will surely miss Amir, but the return of Gul and Razzaq, along with the wily Ajmal will test the Brits. Fielding is one aspect they need to improve on and the players need to take all their catches.

England, too, have a different captain for the limited version in Paul Collingwood and will be pretty confident after their World title in the Caribbean, followed by a dominating Test series. The bowling looks well set and in form, especially in home conditions. The batting seems to be a bit of a problem and this is the final opportunity to sort it out before the Ashes. The home side has taken a big step in dropping Kevin Pietersen and the other batsmen would be looking to grab this opportunity to make a strong impression on the selectors.

It is bound to be an interesting tussle as England, who have been dominant in the last few months, take on an unpredictable Pakistan, who are masters in this format. The visitors, though, could be a bit low after what has been happening around them in the past one week.