Pakistan leave out Waqar

Pace master Waqar Younis has been left out of Pakistan's 14-man squad for the first Test against England on Wednesday, team officials said.

Selectors said Waqar was a great player but he did not fit with their plans for Lahore, which is expected to favour a spin attack.

"Waqar is an experienced player and it's very unfortunate that he doesn't come in to our scheme of things for the first Test because we will be playing on a spinning track," said chief selector Wasim Bari.

Younis, 28, has taken 308 wickets in 67 Tests and was declared man of the series against Sri Lanka in the last Test series in Pakistan in March.

The Lahore Test kicks off the three-match series on England's first tour of Pakistan in 13 years. Pakistan won the one-day series 2-1.

The squad

Moin Khan (captain), Inzamam-ul-Haq (vice captain), Saeed Anwar, Imran Nazir, Shahid Afridi, Salim Elahi, Yousuf Youhanna, Qaiser Abbas, Abdur Razzak, Wasim Akram, Saqlain Mushtaq, Mushtaq Ahmed, Danish Kaneria, and Azhar Mahmood.

Mail Cricket Editor