It's a real shame the tourists no longer start against an invitational team, as they often used to against the Lavinia Duchess of Norfolk's X1 at Arundel.

I was in my early twenties when I played against the first South African touring side to come back after apartheid at Highclere Castle.

It was the one and only time I met the queen. I got a few runs and it was an amazingly special day.

Those fixtures were nice, relaxed affairs, celebrating the arrival of the touring team.

The last time Pakistan came to England, in 2010, they lost the Test series 3-1.

I think they are in a much better place this time around.

You can't knock what England did against Sri Lanka, although they were poor opponents. Pakistan will be a much stiffer test without a doubt.

Watching the clips of Mohammad Amir, he is already looking like he wants to correct a few people's opinions of him after the spot-fixing affair.

I think England will cope with the challenge from Pakistan, because they are very quickly becoming a top two or three side.

In all forms of the game they are going to be up there for some time, which is great.