Cricket: Pakistan keeping feet on the ground

Misbah admits sense of achievement, says team ready for Sri Lanka.

LAHORE:

There was a sense of achievement in the Pakistan camp, according to captain Misbahul Haq, after whitewashing Zimbabwe across all three formats.

However, the feet, the captain added, were firmly placed on the ground as the team awaited tougher challenges of the future, the first of which will be given by Sri Lanka in the UAE next month.

Pakistan beat Zimbabwe in the one-off Test, clinched the One-Day International (ODI) series 3-0 before winning the two Twenty20s as well to finish off the tour on a winning note, much to the delight of Misbah and outgoing coach Waqar Younis.

Misbah said that the tour served its purpose and the confidence gained in the recent triumph would help them in the series against Sri Lanka even though the rankings did not change for Pakistan.

“In cricket it’s all about confidence and that only comes by winning,” Misbah told reporters on his arrival from Zimbabwe. “We won each and every match convincingly and the most important aspect is that each and every player was given an equal chance.”

Misbah said that the team’s spirit was high and this would motivate them to achieve good results against the Lankans.

“As a player, you always look ahead when you are confident. I think during the Zimbabwe tour all the players were positive and this will help us in the UAE.”

Pakistan play three Tests, five ODIs and a Twenty20 against Sri Lanka.

Waqar a satisfied man

Meanwhile, former captain and coach Waqar Younis said he was a satisfied man after his 18-month stint with the team.

“Credit must be given to all the boys who performed well during the tour,” said Waqar. “It was my last tour with the team and I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of it.

“It was a short tour and somehow Zimbabwe were assumed as weak but you can’t asses the opponents until you face them. Our results speak for themselves. We won all the matches on the tour and players did their best and gelled well to give this good performance.”

Waqar, 39, had announced that the Zimbabwe tour will be his last assignment as he cited medical reasons for leaving the post. He confirmed that he is due to undergo medical rehabilitation in Australia.

“My stint was a great learning experience. There are shortcomings in every team and there’s obviously room for improvement but that’s the learning process.

“All these issues can be sorted out by discussion but the team showed excellent all-round capabilities in all three forms of the game.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 22^nd,  2011.