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Kamran Akmal grateful to Stewart for keeping tips

Akmal was dropped from the Pakistan side that lost the second Test against England by nine wickets at Edgbaston.

Zulqarnain Haider, Akmal’s replacement as wicketkeeper, made an impressive 88 on debut and did not look any worse behind the stumps than his predecessor, axed after a host of missed chances in recent matches.

But a finger injury suffered at Edgbaston ruled Zulqarnain out of the remainder of the tour.

That meant Akmal returned for the third Test at The Oval, where Pakistan won by four wickets to cut England’s series lead to 2-1 ahead of the fourth and final Test starting at Lord’s here on Thursday.

Akmal held eight catches at The Oval and, even if most of them were straightforward, the fact they were taken was a huge to boost to Akmal in particular and Pakistan in general.

“Missing the match at Edgbaston gave me the ideal opportunity to assess my game and it was the perfect time for some reflection.” Akmal told the PakPassion.net website.

“Alec Stewart provided me with some tips on my wicketkeeping and I have been implementing Alec’s ideas and thoughts.”

Akmal has also tapped into the thought of legendary Pakistan wicketkeeper Wasim Bari and Paul Farbrace, a former first-class keeper with Kent and Middlesex who went on to become the assistant coach of Sri Lanka.

“In addition to Alec Stewart’s help, Paul Farbrace and Wasim Bari have also provided me with some advice and guidance on a couple of technical issues,” Akmal added. “I’ve taken on board all of the advice that has been given to me and it definitely paid dividends at the Oval.”

Akmal has also been struggling for runs of late but took heart from the way in which England opener Alastair Cook ended a lean run with a century in the third Test.

“All players suffer a bad spell in their career with the bat. Take a look at Alistair Cook who has been struggling with the bat of late, but he has bounced back with a century at the Oval.

“I will look at the way he has fought back with the bat as an inspiration and hope I can do the same at Lord’s.”

Pakistan’s top-order was bolstered at The Oval by the return of world-class batsman Mohammad Yousuf and Akmal said: “Yousuf’s introduction to the squad has made a huge difference to everyone’s morale and belief. He’s such an experienced campaigner and his calmness really rubs off on the rest of us.”

Already this season, Pakistan have drawn a series against one of the Ashes contenders in Australia (1-1) and Akmal believes the form of their bowlers especially means they could achieve a similar result against England.

“Mohammad Aamer’s in great form and Wahab Riaz bowled very well on debut (at The Oval).

“We’ll give it our best shot at Lord’s and I hope we can level the series.”