Captain Misbah-ul-Haq is looking forward to a prosperous expedition for his fast bowlers ahead of Pakistan's Test series against South Africa.

The sides have not met on African soil since 2007, when the hosts won the three-match affair two-one despite impressive performances from fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Shoaib Akhtar.

Akhtar has since retired and Asif is serving a ban for his involvement in 2010's spot-fixing scandal in England. The experienced Umar Gul and left-armer Junaid Khan are now at the fore of the pace attack, with the uncapped Mohammad Irfan and Ehsan Adil also named in the 16-man squad.

The recipient of 27 wickets in eight matches, all but one of which have been played on the sub-continent, Junaid is statistically Pakistan's most form fast bowler. Spinner Saeed Ajmal, meanwhile, is third only to South Africa pair Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander in the ICC player rankings for Test bowlers.

"Junaid would love to bowl in these conditions and Irfan will do well if he can put the ball in the right areas. Saeed is the world's top spinner and in these conditions you get turn and bounce especially on the fourth and fifth days," said Misbah.

Misbah's men have not played in Pakistan since 2008, when terrorist attacks on the touring Sri Lankans' team bus halted international cricket in the country.

They have subsequently adopted the United Arab Emirates as their 'home' venue, and played a slew of limited-overs series on the sub-continent, which offers low and slow conditions entirely contrary to the pace and bounce expected in South Africa.

"We have to bat well. Whenever we go abroad, we try to practice against bounce and pace. We use different tactics for that and we make sure we get ready before the Test matches," he added.

"It's really difficult when you are not playing a format on a regular basis. You really have to work hard. But that's how it is. We are not playing more Test matches. But we have to adjust because we are professionals."

Pakistan and South Africa will meet for three Tests, two Twenty Internationals and five ODIs. The tour gets underway with a four-day fixture between a South African Invitation XI and the tourists at Buffalo Park in East London in late January.