Huffs, puffs and a fashion crisis

Even in a practice session, Shoaib Akhtar can be a fearsome prospect © Getty Images

Even from 50 yards away, the lank hair and the powerful shoulders are unmistakable, as is the shake of the head that gets the locks out of his face as he turns back to start his bowling run. As you get closer, you see that he's wearing leg-warmers that appear inspired by a surfer's wetsuit. Moments later, Shoaib Akhtar commences the charge towards the middle. As the batsmen make the initial movement into the stroke, you can sense some hesitancy. Even in a practice session, Shoaib can be a fearsome prospect when anywhere close to full pelt.

The attempted slower ball, though, is a leg-side full toss and Younis Khan tucks it away happily enough. Shoaib grunts to himself as he returns to the top of the mark, and after a searing delivery that cannons into the splice of the bat, he pauses for a breather and a chat with Bob Woolmer. When Pakistan were in India last year, he was the prodigal son, the renegade that no one in the team management wanted to touch with a bargepole. Since then, chastened by criticism at home and from the top brass at Worcestershire where he played part of the county season, Shoaib has bowled as well as he has ever done, combining scorching pace with terrific control, while also mystifying England with a slower ball that is quite simply a work of art.

With five days to go before the big curtain call, the Pakistan team are having a relaxed training session at the Gaddafi Stadium. The temperatures at night have been lurching towards zero, and everyone's well-swathed on a chilly morning. Inzamam-ul-Haq, who unleashes a couple of booming drives when his time comes, is attired in a blood-red zip-up jacket, more ski-slope than cricket field, and Mohammad Sami has on lime-green leg-warmers that scream fashion tragedy.

Sartorial gaffes apart, nothing has been left to chance with regard to preparation. Mushtaq Ahmed, as roly-poly as ever, is around in his capacity as quasi-bowling coach, and Woolmer stands around keeping an eye on what goes on around him. Shahid Afridi smacks the ball around with characteristic élan and there are zippy spells from Sami and the highly promising Mohammad Asif, who looked to have added a couple of yards of pace since his Sydney 2005 debut.

Sourav Ganguly and Parthiv Patel ditched their mates at the Bagh-e-Jinnah © Getty Images

In the makeshift Bedouin-like tent where chairs and kitbags have been kept, you can also see the glimpses of professionalism which was so alien to most Asian teams even half a decade ago. There are plenty of bananas and oranges and electrolyte-replenishing drinks, and the players make sure that there's no chance of dehydration setting in.

While Pakistan practise their lines before opening day, the Indians who arrived yesterday haven't been idle either. By afternoon, Sourav Ganguly, Anil Kumble and Parthiv Patel are going through their paces at the academy attached to the Gaddafi, rather than kill time watching their compatriots take on Pakistan A at the Bagh-e-Jinnah. After two India-Pakistan series that were characterised by the dosti-dosti spirit, there is a grim determination on view here that suggests it will only be about cricket this time. The recent Ashes series gave Test cricket a huge transfusion and captured the imagination of a new generation. Now, it's time for an even more intense rivalry to build on that.

If the preparations are any indicator, no effort is being spared.