National team demolishes Afghanistan 34-0

Pakistan to take on Nepal next in 11th West Asia Baseball Cup 2013.

KARACHI:

Pakistan began their campaign at the 11th West Asia Cup 2013 with a 34-0 win against Afghanistan at the Punjab Stadium in Lahore on Saturday.

The national side played the second match of the day with Sumair Zawar, Nasir Butt, and Abu Bakar scoring five runs each, while Basit Murtaza, Adnan Butt and Umair Bhatti contributed four runs each.

“Pakistan will win this championship,” Pakistan Federation Baseball (PFB) Secretary Syed Khawar Shah told The Express Tribune. “We hold the 23rd position in the world and we are the strongest team here.

“Our goal is to keep winning and prove to people that we have the talent. But at the moment we don’t have proper facilities such as a separate stadium for baseball.”

Khawar emphasised that Pakistan has been competing in international tournaments and the federation has also worked hard to get foreign teams to visit the country. However, he said that the lack of pitches for baseball has hindered progress of the sport in Pakistan.

“Our team is performing very well,” said Khawar. “We have changed our playing tactics as well.



“Now we have adopted a more American style of playing, the players are more attacking now and hit harder. But we want to request the government to support baseball. We need a stadium.”

Commenting on the arrival of international teams in Pakistan, the official said he was grateful for the trust showed in the federation’s security arrangements. He especially thanked Sri Lanka for periodically sending their teams for different events in Pakistan.

In today’s fixtures, Pakistan will play Nepal while Afghanistan will face Sri Lanka, who beat Nepal 18-0 in the opening match.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 1^st, 2013.

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