'England ready for Pakistan'

England Test skipper Alastair Cook believes his batsmen are well-prepared to deal with Pakistan's fiery attack next month after getting plenty of practice in the middle against a weakened Sri Lanka side.

England crushed Sri Lanka 2-0 in the three-Test home series that concluded on Monday, facing little resistance from a team shorn of frontline pacemen Dushmantha Chameera and Dhammika Prasad through injury at different stages during the tour.

However, Cook's side can expect a far bigger challenge from a formidable Pakistani pace attack spearheaded by left-armers Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz, supplemented by tricky leg-spinner Yasir Shah.

"They've got a very good pace attack, backed up with spinners," Cook said after the rain-hit final Test against Sri Lanka ended in a tame draw at Lord's.

"But we're ready for them. We scored a lot of runs against Australia's attack here last year. I think it's going to be a brilliant series."

Amir will be returning to Test cricket after serving a five-year ban following a spot-fixing scandal in England, while the four-Test series will be Shah's first since he served a three-month suspension for a doping violation.

Cook will also be delighted to have finally found a stable opening partner in Alex Hales, who finished the series against Sri Lanka as the second highest scorer on 292 runs from five innings.

His performance marked a significant improvement by the 27-year-old Hales, who averaged just 17 in his debut Test series in South Africa earlier this year as he struggled to make the transition from limited-overs cricket.

"Three scores of 80 and above from Alex Hales was really pleasing," Cook said of his eighth opening partner since Andrew Strauss retired in 2012.