London, Aug 3 (CB) : Alastair Cook and Joe Root batted Pakistan into submission in the second Test at Old Trafford to level the series with a massive 330-run win. So it came as little surprise when Misbah-ul-Haq felt that his side needs to knock these two pillars of England batting line-up early to boost its chances at Edgbaston in the third of the four-Test series, starting on Wednesday (August 3).

Cook and Root scored 506 runs between them in the last Test, paving the way for a morale-boosting win. Misbah is hoping to gain 'pyschological advantage' by nullifying their threat early. "In every team there are key players and at the moment those two (Cook and Root) are in really good form," Misbah said, on Tuesday (August 2). "If you really have to put pressure on the opposition, it's important to get their main players out because those are the two pillars of their batting.

"Psychologically, that can also give you an advantage and damage the opposition if you can get them early, because other (members of the England) batting line-up are struggling at the moment. That's really important for us to just get them early and put them under pressure."

After the Cook-Root show, Pakistan's problems were made worse when they folded for 198 and 234. Misbah acknowledged that his batsmen need to convert their starts. "We need to really improve," he said. "After getting starts we really need to go big."

Cook, on the other hand, backed both out-of-sorts Gary Ballance and James Vince to come good. Both middle-order batsmen have been under fire for their paltry scores in this series. "Throughout my time as captain there's always been something up for discussion and at the moment it's the middle-order," Cook said. "Until the guys get good scores consistently, that will be the case but they're very good players and they got picked because of outstanding form for their counties.

"I like the way he (Vince) plays. He's got a couple of starts and the way he handled the whole situation in a different format in the United Arab Emirates is a good indicator of how he can handle the pressure. He needs that score for his confidence and to get you guys (the press) off his back."