England Cricket / Ralph Ellis / 27 July 2010 /

The betting says England are hot favourites to win the forthcoming Test series against Pakistan but in Mohammad Aamer the tourists have a hugely exciting bowling talent who could spring a surprise, says Ralph Ellis

In Andy Flower's brave new England world there's resting, and there's resting. When Andrew Strauss sat out the early year tour to Bangladesh he took his family on a month's holiday in Australia. Very nice. When Graeme Swann was left out of the One Day Internationals he also put his feet up to recover from bowling endless overs.

But when Stuart Broad was told he wouldn't be playing in the Test series against Bangladesh it was a very different matter. As it was for England's lanky new pace bowling sensation Steven Finn when after making a dramatic debut in that 2-0 series win he was immediately dropped from the One Day games with Australia.

Both of them were instead put through an intensive fitness and strengthening programme designed to build their young muscles - and in Broad's case it certainly seems to have worked. A career best eight for 52 against Warwickshire last week for his county Notts underlined that he'd found an extra yard of pace and bounce. We'll find out this week whether Finn's 6ft 7ins frame has had similar benefit from working with Flower's team of conditioning coaches and sports scientists.

Broad is certainly full of enthusiasm about the effects and can't wait to put it to a proper trial in the Test series against Pakistan that begins at his home ground of Trent Bridge on Thursday. "The work has paid off and I've been getting more zip off the wicket and been able to bowl 12 or 15 over spells," he's told today's Independent. "After the second innings I didn't pull up stiff at all"

That's good news for Broad, and good news for England too who are [1.47] to win the four match series. England will use it to hone their strategy of relying on just four bowlers for the winter's Ashes series, and if that's the case then Broad is going to have to shoulder the burden of most of the work.

Most of the pre-match build up is centred on Pakistan's sensational teenage discovery Mohammad Aamer who announced himself on the big stage in their win over Australia. He will be a threat in the Trent Bridge conditions which are due to be cloudy and humid over all five days.

But Finn represents an exciting option himself, and if the 21-year-old has gained the same results as Broad from his conditioning programme then we can look forward to a fascinating duel from two genuine pace attacks. The safest bet could be to lay the draw at [3.65] because even with the danger of some occasional rain you can't see the match lasting five days.

Meanwhile England's price for the Ashes series is gently reducing. If a few weeks ago you followed David Lloyd's tip in the Betfair Big Interview to back them heavily at [4.0] you could already turn the market green. But for that wave of optimism to continue then Finn's progress this week will be vital.

Five things you might not know about Mohammad Aamer

1. Born in April 1992 in the village of Changa Bangyaal, near to Ghuja Khan in the Punjab region of Pakistan.

2. He started out playing tape ball cricket with his brother, and was discovered when Pakistan legend Wasim Akram saw him at a fast bowling clinic in 2007

3. As a 15-year-old he was then picked for Pakistan's Under 19 tour to England, and clocked 86mph during one game

4. He suffered two stress fractures of his back as a result of that tour, and still has to undergo an intensive series of exercises to strengthen it. He also missed the subsequent Under 19 World Cup because of a virus.

5. He found himself innocently caught up in match fixing accusations during the Asia Cup earlier this year when YouTube footage appeared to show him talking on a mobile phone just before he was due to go out to bat. Closer analysis of the film showed he was merely adjusting his helmet grill.

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