Speaking at the pre-match press conference Misbah-ul-Haq said:

"We are sure about who is playing but we don’t want the other team to know. They can keep guessing. We know our team and that is important.we are clear in our thinking."

He continued: "Everyone in the Pakistan team is capable and that is why they are here. We expect them to deliver."

Asked about the Old Trafford test match Misbah replied: “I think we need to improve on the last match. We let them score heavily in the first two days and once the opposition score is almost 600 runs it is difficult to come back. After getting starts we need to go big. That is how you get back into the game and thats really important for us."

He replied to a question about Yasir Shah’s performance at Old Trafford he said: "It can happen to anyone. One bad game from his debut is a good record. We believe he is good enough to come back really strong and that is what we are hoping for ."

Misbah commented: "Ben Stokes is a big loss because they have in one player a good batsman and impressive bowler. Finn is a good bowler but this will affect their balance. we need to look at whoever is playing and make our plans accordingly."

Referring to Cook and Root he said: "In every team there are key players and we have to put pressure on the opposition by getting their main players out."

Speaking about Edgbaston Misbah said: "It’s always good to play in an atmosphere like Edgbaston. People are there to enjoy it. We have really enjoyed the atmosphere at the previous test matches. It is unusual for us to have huge crowds for test matches for us."

Looking ahead to the Test he said: "Everybody was disappointed by their performance at Old Trafford. You don’t want to lose matches like that. It is good chance for us after going one up to now show character. This test is really important for us. The rankings are a big incentive for us to hopefully become No.1 in the world."

Asked about Younis he replied: "Younis Khan could produce an amazing innings to win the match. He is experienced enough and we have more belief in him than anybody else. He can get a big hundred for us and we always depend on him."

Finally Misbah was asked about test cricket returning to Pakistan given this will be the 500th test match England have hosted. he said: "Not playing home matches hurts our overall development as a nation. We need to keep the interest of youth and this is one area where we have ben unlucky. we want international cricket back in Pakistan. If we are not playing international cricket the youth are not watching their heroes which is such a big attraction to them to play. With international cricket we can develop infrastructure.

At school and club level the activity has dropped and we want to see a fever for the sport in our country. We don’t want kids playing with iPads and mobile phones we want physical activity which helps their physical and mental growth. That’s really important. Obviously the security situation in Pakistan has been improving and everybody has been working. Hopefully things will be better in the future."