For Misbah-ul-Haq, who turned 39 recently, this could be one his final few chances to achieve cricketing glory for his nation. Also, this being the final installment of the Champions Trophy, it would be the only opportunity Pakistan would get to win a prestigious title they have never won so far.
The word most associated with the Pakistan cricket team is “unpredictable”. Asked to comment on Pakistan’s chances in the tournament, Cricket365.com had this to say, “How on earth does one predict Pakistan? We’re going to say they won’t make it out of their group this time, given they have the Proteas, India and the West Indies to contend with. Or they’ll win the whole thing, you never know.”
Heavily criticized for their inconsistency and controversies off the field, Pakistan, however, has been in steady form over the last couple of years-winning 8 out of 12 tournaments they played. Speaking of the team, the skipper is confident of winning once the team gets used to the cold, overcast conditions of the British Isles where the ball moves about a lot in the air and swing bowlers often come to the party. The strategy for Pakistan would be to play as many practice/warm up matches as possible and put in extended hours at the net to be fully prepared before taking to the field against the West Indies on June 7th.
“Some of our players are new to the side but most of the team have already been to England quite often. When we last came to England, in 2010, we had a good ODI series, and we always get good support from the crowd. So yes, there is no doubt that at the moment we have a good balance in the side and we have a really good chance to do well in this tournament. We’ve got a good bowling attack for the conditions.”-said Mohammad Hafeez ahead of their Champions Trophy campaign. Pakistan will be looking to quickies Junaid Khan and newcomer Mohammad Irfan to exploit the conducive environment for quick bowlers and provide early breakthroughs. The spin pair of Saeed Ajmal and Mohammad Hafeez are also expected to cause trouble for the opposition though the conditions would be generally more suited to seam bowling.
When it comes to batting, it would be Hafeez and co-opener Nasir Jamshed who will be called upon to deliver a solid start. Having been dropped from the side for two and a half years after 2009, Jamshid came back strong and scored two ODI centuries against India last year. Widely praised as a technically sound batsman who loves to play cricketing shots, Jamshid is developing into a promising long-term prospect. His performance in England would be crucial to his future in the national cricket side and the team feels he’s got everything it takes to shine.
The practice matches haven’t seen Pakistan at its best though as they managed to narrowly win over Ireland in Dublin. Chasing a small total of 229 to win, Pakistan lost half their side with the scorecard reading only 60. However, a determined effort from Kamran Akmal (83 from 85 balls) which was suitably complimented by Shoaib Malik (43 off 58) and Wahab Riaz (47* off 35) saw Pakistan through with 2 wickets to spare.
However, the men in green put up a strong show against Scotland as they coasted to a 96 run victory. Skipper Misbah-ul-Haq led the batting from the front with a strong 78 not out as Pakistan put up a score of 231-7 and then bowled their opponents out for 135.
The second ODI between the two teams was washed out without a single ball being bowled.
Pakistan are in a tough group with West Indies, India and South Africa. However, if anyone knows about pressure, it’s the Pakistan captain who maintains that his side is not relaxing even for a second and is hungry to prove themselves after enduring a troublesome period marred with controversies over the last 3 years. The derby against India on June 15th is the match everyone is talking about and the skipper is nothing but upbeat as he says, “Obviously playing against India is always important because of the interest of people back there in India and Pakistan, all over the world I think, huge fan club for these two teams, so it’s really important for us to play well in that game and just win.”
His country would be hoping they win that one and all the others to bring the final Champions Trophy title to Pakistan.
