Charged-up Pakistan ready for World Cup

Alam urges players not to under-estimate any team, even if it’s lowly ranked.

HAMBANTOTA: Pakistan team manager Intikhab Alam said his team is fully charged up for the World Cup despite losing their last warm-up against England. The 1992 champions play their opening match against minnows Kenya on Wednesday.

“The boys are confident of launching their World Cup campaign on a positive note,” said Alam. “We want to win all our group matches.”

Pakistan beat Bangladesh before going down to England in the lead-up to the tournament.

Alam, who was manager-cum-coach with the team which won the 1992 edition and the 2009 World Twenty20, said the aim is to take no team lightly.

“We know that it’s a World Cup and no team has come for an outing, so we have to be at our best to beat any side, whether it’s a lowly-ranked or a top team,” said Alam.

Prior grateful to Mushtaq

Matt Prior paid tribute to the influence of former Pakistan leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed after being labelled England’s best player of spin by teammate Stuart Broad.

Prior’s return to the middle-order for the World Cup campaign has been seen in the context of Kevin Pietersen’s promotion to partnering captain Andrew Strauss.

Prior played alongside Ahmed at Sussex where the leg-spinner twice took more than a hundred first-class wickets to the side to the 2003 and 2006 County Championship titles. Although Ahmed retired three years ago, he was employed as England’s spin-bowling coach.

“One of the biggest factors was having Mushy playing at Sussex,” said Prior.

“I spent a lot of time talking to him and working with him was a massive help.”

Published in The Express Tribune, February 21^st, 2011.