Afridi gives England the Ashes edge

Livewire Pakistan allrounder Shahid Afridi says England’s home ground advantage gives them an edge in this winter’s Ashes, which starts in less than a month in Cardiff.

England have not lost to Australia on home soil in Ashes contests for 14 years and Afridi, who recently concluded a brief stint with English T20 side Northamptonshire, says England’s bowlers will lift in their own backyard.

“England will have advantage of playing in home conditions,” Afridi told cricket.com.au.

“Their bowlers know a thing or two about bowling in England.

“If you notice they have always bowled better in England as compared to other countries.

“They may have struggled in the ODIs lately (against New Zealand) but in Tests we can expect a good contest from them.

“I can’t pick one team as favourite to win the Ashes but I think England will have a slight advantage due to home conditions.”

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England players celebrate the 2013 Ashes win // Getty Images

Australia completed a 2-0 series clean sweep against the West Indies last week, the same opponents England drew with 1-1 all in April and May.

England drew their most recent Test series 1-1 against a vibrant New Zealand outfit led by the attack-at-all-costs Brendon McCullum earlier this month, with questions surrounding England’s middle order and bowling unit still largely unanswered.

The Australians arrive in London on Thursday in prime form after a near-faultless display in the Caribbean that saw Steve Smith rise to the top of the Test batting rankings off the back of a career-best 199 in the second Test in Jamaica.

While Smith is the hottest player on the planet right now, Afridi has revealed the two Australians that have caused him the most grief over his 19-year international career are Glen McGrath and Michael Clarke.

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'Pigeon' gave 'Boom Boom' plenty of grief // Getty Images

As a batsman, Afridi says metronomic pace ace McGrath was the hardest bowler he’s faced.

Afridi was dismissed five times in 25 one-day internationals and once at Test level against the accurate speedster.

“The bowler I always admired and found really tough was Glenn McGrath,” Afridi said.

“He is the sort of bowler you can’t hit blindly.

“He just does not give you a chance to hit. I don’t think I have seen a better new-ball bowler than him in my career.”

With ball in hand Afridi says current Test skipper and master of spin bowling Clarke has proven the most difficult to dislodge.

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Michael Clarke is a great player of spin // Getty Images

In 22 ODIs against the supreme right-hander, Afridi has only managed to claim Clarke’s wicket on one occasion six years ago in Abu Dhabi.

“I think Michael Clarke was the best Australian batsman I bowled to,” Afridi added.

“It is because his footwork against spin is extremely good.”

Afridi’s attention now turns to the Caribbean Premier League and his new franchise, St Kitts and Nevis Patriots.

The CPL season kick-starts Afridi’s preparation for his international swansong at next year’s World T20 in India as Pakistan aim to reproduce their tournament win in 2009.

“As a captain I need couple of good all-rounders and big hitters to prepare for the World T20,” he said.

“We have already found a good opener in Mukhtar Ahmad.

“I have made selectors aware of my plans that we have time for experimentation now but I don’t want changes three or four months before the ICC World Twenty20 in India.”

Afridi recently captained Pakistan to a 2-0 T20 international series win over Zimbabwe in Lahore, which represented the first time cricket has been played in the war-torn country for six years following the terrorist attacks on the touring Sri Lankans in 2009.

The Zimbabwe limited-overs tour was a hailed as a success, and the series ticked off an item on Afridi’s bucket list before he calls it a day on his stellar career.

“It was a big occasion for me as I again got the chance to play in front of home crowd before calling time on my career,” he said.

“I really enjoyed being part of that series. The whole world has seen how badly the Pakistan crowd was missing cricket.

“It was a massive occasion for everyone in Pakistan. I hope we will see more international cricket in Pakistan.”

While Pakistan was triumphant against Zimbabwe, their poor form in one-day cricket has seen them drop to No.9 in the ODI rankings.

Pakistan’s low 50-over ranking has them in jeopardy of missing out on the 2017 ICC Champions Trophy event in England, but Afridi says there are other issues that concern him at a domestic level.

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Afridi wants Pakistan domestic cricket to improve // Getty Images

“I am more worried about Pakistan’s domestic cricket than international cricket,” Afridi said when asked if he was worried about missing the Champions Trophy. 

“If we improve our domestic cricket then international cricket will start improving as well.

“The absence of international cricket at home shouldn’t be our excuse.

“We have the example of South Africa in front of us.

“They did not play international cricket for a long time but they had extremely good domestic structure that is why they have a competitive team today.

“Pakistan need a strong domestic structure too.

“The facilities given to domestic players should meet international standards.

“We need to bring professionalism in our domestic cricket.”

The CPL starts on June 21, while Afridi’s first game is three days later against the St Lucia Zouks.

You can also follow the Sri Lanka v Pakistan series live in our match centre here.