Smith blames atrocious fielding for loss

Pakistan coach, Waqar Younis, lauds fighting spirit as hosts keep series alive.

DUBAI: It took Pakistan another last-wicket win to ensure the battle for the One-Day International (ODI) series in the UAE stays alive for the deciding match to be played tomorrow.

While Pakistan just about managed to hold on at the end – chasing 275 to level the series – the win should also be largely attributed to South Africa’s appalling display in the field with dropped catches and missed runouts.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith duly lamented his side’s poor bowling and fielding display but remained confident that his team has the potential to bounce back and lift the trophy.

“Supporting the bowlers by giving them the confidence is important,” he said. “When you’re under pressure, or may be low on confidence, you need that bit of support to get going again.”

South Africa, batting first, registered the highest score on the ground with the captain laying the foundation with a 92 off 105 balls in his comeback match. It was Smith’s highest score against Pakistan and also took him past 5,000 runs in ODIs as captain. However, despite his efforts, he agreed that fielding was a key aspect that proved South Africa’s downfall.

“We weren’t good enough in the field throughout the night and we didn’t bowl well either. I thought 274 was a great total that we had but we messed up in many ways and that cost us the match. Pakistan did well during the crucial stages to win, had good control of the game but Shahid Afridi’s dismissal let us back in.

“We managed to bring them under pressure and had chances to win the game but our failure to close it off was disappointing. We didn’t catch the ball, missed a close run-out towards the end that could have easily bagged us the match.”

Smith also remained disappointed in his strike bowler Dale Steyn who was playing his first match of the tour. Steyn was very expensive and conceded 79 runs in his 10 overs while Wayne Parnell, also playing his first match of the tour, gave away 53 runs in 8.5 overs.

“I really don’t want to blame them but it was pretty disappointing the way both performed, especially Steyn. He’s been out for a while and needs to get his form going as he’s one of our front-line bowlers.”

Waqar praises Pakistan’s fighting spirit

Pakistan coach Waqar Younis has praised his team’s fighting spirit that kept them in the series.

“It was one hell of a game,” said Waqar. “The best thing about today was our batting, we didn’t really let them get on top of us. We just made sure that the momentum keeps going and didn’t let the run-rate climb too high. A win like this boosts the team and credit to everyone, especially our bowlers, as at one point it seemed that they were on course for a 300-plus total.”

Younis remained impressed with fast-bowler Wahab Riaz who not only grabbed wickets but also played yet another useful cameo towards the end to help Pakistan’s task with the bat.

“Riaz is progressing well. He can bat and he is bowling good Yorkers. Even Zulqarnain Haider nudged the ball well and he, along with Riaz, made sure that we play 50 overs and in the end they did a commendable job.”

‘Pakistan players lack standard’

Former Pakistan Test batsman Mudassar Nazar has said that the current Pakistan squad is not up o the mark of international cricket and lacks quality. Nazar, working as a coach at the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) Global Academy in Dubai, said that a continuous run of defeats has clearly shown the lack of quality in current Pakistan cricket team.

“The way they are playing at international circuit it suggests that this might be the worst outfit Pakistan ever had,” he told Sports Encounter. “I won’t put blame on either player-power, match or spot-fixing or any other thing. I’d say the team simply lacks what it takes to play international cricket.”

Waqar Younis

“It was one hell of a game. The best thing about today’s match was our batting, we didn’t really let them get on top of us. We just made sure that the momentum keeps going and didn’t let the asking-rate get out of hand.”

Graeme Smith

“We managed to bring them under pressure and had chances to win the game but our failure to close it off was disappointing. We didn’t catch the ball, missed a close run-out that could have easily bagged us the match.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 7^th, 2010.