The forced withdrawal of England fast bowler Simon Jones from the Pakistan tour this winter has brought relief to some Pakistani batsmen.
Jones, England's best bowler in their recent Ashes triumph with 18 wickets at 21 apiece, has been ruled out of the tour with an injured right ankle.
- Schedule: England's tour of Pakistan
Pakistani vice captain Younis Khan said on Friday that Jones' absence would be a big setback for the touring team.
"It is good for us and bad for England. Because he was the one bowler who really mastered the art of bowling reverse swing at a good pace in the Ashes series," Khan told Reuters.
England are to play three Tests and five one-day internationals in Pakistan. They arrive on October 26 and the first Test in Multan starts on November 12.
Jones led the England bowling against Australia, causing their batsmen numerous problems with his pace and ability to reverse swing the ball.
Khan said Jones would have been very dangerous on the abrasive pitches of Pakistan where the ball loses its shine quickly. "Any bowler who can reverse swing the ball at good pace can be very difficult to face on our tracks."
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Another consistent Pakistani batsman, Asim Kamal, said that bowling conditions were different in Pakistan but Jones would still have been a threat.
"He took the key wickets against Australia and he was the one who formed a good pair with Andrew Flintoff with the old ball," Kamal said.
Former Pakistan skipper Rashid Latif said the openers would have to be very watchful against Matthew Hoggard with his ability to disguise his straight ball while swinging the new ball both ways.
"England overall have a good pace attack but Jones' injury means they are going to miss a key component in Pakistan," he said.
Pakistan is also coping with a spate of injuries to its pace bowlers. Shoaib Akhtar, Mohammad Sami and Umar Gul have all had fitness problems in recent months and Shabbir Ahmed is still under a cloud over his bowling action.
