Saturday 31 October 2015 09:12, UK
Pakistan risk opening themselves up to the threat of Adil Rashid's leg-spin if they prepare a pitch for the third Test that offers significant help to slow bowlers, says Sir Ian Botham.
All-rounder Rashid proved a thorn in the hosts' side with the bat in the second Test, his battling 61 taking England to within 6.3 overs of a draw.
Find out what Sir Ian Botham is tipping up for the third Test in his Sky Bet tips here.
But it is with the ball that Botham feels Rashid - who has seven Test wickets to his name so far - could come into his own in Sharjah, where Alastair Cook's side must win to level the series.
The Yorkshire spinner spent an hour receiving advice from Shane Warne on Friday, 24 hours after the Australian legend gave Pakistan's Yasir Shah a tutorial on Thursday.
Looking ahead to the third Test - live on Sky Sports 2 from 5.30am on Sunday - Botham said: "Pakistan could prepare a dust-bowl so it will suit their spinners but I don't think they'll want to face Adil Rashid on a turner.
"There's no doubt they are scared of him because of all his variations. He's already got a five-for in this series and is a real danger.
"This is a match England need to win but first they need to win the toss - that would be a massive help and the law of averages says they should!
"Then they've got to play really positive cricket and get big runs on the board in the first innings - that's how they will give themselves a chance of winning.
"There's no reason why they can't win. They've shown enough in the first two Tests to show they can square the series."
Changes
England will make at least one change to their team for Sunday after Mark Wood was ruled out with an "ongoing ankle condition", raising the possibility of Yorkshire seamer Liam Plunkett earning a recall. Alternatively, Samit Patel could play if England opt to play three spinners.
Jonny Bairstow seems almost certain to replace Jos Buttler as wicketkeeper, while James Taylor is back in the frame - although Botham says that should not be at the expense of Ian Bell, who has scored 118 runs in the series at 39.33 with one fifty.
"I'm not sure where all this negativity has come from with regard to Ian Bell. People have short memories, they seem to forget he got a 63 in the first Test and a good 46 in Dubai.
"He's not been in top form but I'd definitely stick with him. We don't want to be making too many changes.
"As I said after the second Test, I'd bring Alex Hales in - he's a specialist opener - and give him a go. The Moeen Ali experiment hasn't worked. I've no idea why they picked him as an opener for this series in the first place because he's certainly not going to be opening in South Africa. He should move down the order to seven or eight.
"It's a real shame about Buttler as he's a really talented cricketer but he's having a horrid time and just lacking confidence and needs a break."
England win - 5/2
Joe Root top England run scorer (1st inns) - 5/2
Adil Rashid top England bowler (1st inns) - 3/1
