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Leeds: England will discover if a fixture schedule that left them without any Test cricket at the height of the season has worked in their favour when they face Pakistan at Trent Bridge next week.
National selector Geoff Miller is due to announce England squad's for the first of a four-Test series on Sunday.
Pakistan will go into the match on the back of a three-wicket second Test victory against a strong Australia side at Headingley on Saturday.
England, by contrast, have not played Test cricket since overpowering a weak Bangladesh team at Old Trafford in June.
Their international diet this month has been restricted to four one-day internationals, against Australia and Bangladesh, two of which they lost.
Fast bowler Stuart Broad and all-rounder Paul Collingwood missed the two Bangladesh Tests and although they featured in the one-dayers against the Tigers, Pakistan's impressive pace attack in particular are likely to pose a far sterner challenge than that of their Asian counterparts.
Meanwhile star batsman Kevin Pietersen hasn't played since injuring his thigh against Australia on July 3.
England's selectors were hoping he would be able to play for Hampshire in a 40-over match against Kent on Sunday.
But Hampshire have indicated they won't pick the 30-year-old because he has already said he will be leaving the south coast club when his contract expires at the end of the season.
Meanwhile off-spinner Graeme Swann was rested for the three one-dayers against Bangladesh, although he has, along with the in-form Broad, featured for Trent Bridge-based Nottinghamshire in county cricket, with promising fast bowler Steven Finn excused one-day duty entirely.
England will be without Ian Bell after the middle-order batsman broke his foot fielding in the second one-dayer against Bangladesh.
Bell has now been ruled out of what will be England's final four Tests before they begin the defence of the Ashes in Australia, starting in November.
But his injury appears to have spared England the short-term headache of how to fit Collingwood back into the side.
Former Ireland batsman Eoin Morgan, who might have made way for Durham all-rounder Collingwood had Bell been fit, now looks likely to keep his place in the squad.
Ravi Bopara, dropped from the Test side after struggling against Australia last year, struck a quickfire 45 not out and took four wickets in a crushing 144 run third ODI win against Bangladesh at Edgbaston earlier this month.
Bopara bolstered his case for a Test recall with two hundreds this week in Essex's first-class County Championship match against Yorkshire to leave him vying with Morgan for a place in the starting XI.
As for the bowlers, Yorkshire seamers Tim Bresnan and Ajmal Shahzad could find themselves competing for the one spot in a seam attack set to feature James Anderson, Broad and Finn, with Swann the lone spinner.
