NOTTINGHAM – Pakistan cricket team Captain Sarfaraz Ahmed has said that histeam is fully capable of making a comeback and it is resolute to bounceback in the remaining matches of the ICC World Cup.
In a statement issued on Saturday after loss against West Indies (WI) intheir first match, he said Pakistan team have eight more matches to play inthe tournament, adding that the team need to forget about the past and moveforward with a positive mindset.
West Indies crushed Pakistan by seven wickets in a one-sided World Cupmatch at Trent Bridge on Friday, with the two-time champions showing theyare a resurgent force in the one-day game.
Addresing in a press conference, skipper expressed that they know theirfans will be disappointed with the manner in which they played in the WorldCup opener against the West Indies. “We are hurt too as no one wants tolose a World Cup match like that. All those who have played this great gamewill vouch the pain the players undergo following such an ordinaryperformance”, he added.
“Despite the defeat, I am confident that we have the ability to bounceback. We have to back ourselves and not think too much about what happenedin the first game,” he asserted.
Sarfaraz further said, “That match is gone, we have the type of players whocan win the next match for us. Insha’Allah, we will bounce back in the nextmatches. All matches will be tough, so we need to regroup ourselves andcome hard in the next match. The format of this tournament is good and itallows every team to bounce back.”
“England are a tough team but we have played them in a series recently. So,all we need is to play at our potential and come up with a win”, Sarafarzassured.
Last month, England whitewashed Pakistan in 5-ODI match series with firstmatch being washed out due to rain.
Pakistan is all set to face World Cup host England at Nottingham on June 3,2019.——————————
*Arthur promises Pakistan will bounce back after ‘shocking’ World Cup start*——————————
Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur has insisted they can bounce back from a”shocking” start to the World Cup.
Hostile fast bowling by the West Indies saw Pakistan slump to just 105 –their second-lowest World Cup total — in a mere 21.4 overs at Trent Bridgeon Friday.
The West Indies, two-time former champions, then polished off the meagretarget in 13.4 overs on the back of dashing opener Chris Gayle’s 34-ball 50which included six fours and three sixes.
Arthur did not hide from the scale of a seven-wicket defeat, saying it hadgone against everything he had seen from his players in the build-up.
“Yes, it was a shocking start — the players did not take the preparationsinto the the middle,” Arthur told AFP. “But we will dust ourselves off andcome back strong.”
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Pakistan’s batsmen were undone by the short-pitched bowling of the WestIndies pace trio.
Oshane Thomas led the way with four for 27, while captain Jason Holder(three for 42) and Andre Russell (two for four) also made tellingcontributions to a match that was all finished in under half of thescheduled 100 overs.
Opener Fakhar Zaman and number three Babar Azam scored 22 each while WahabRiaz (18) and Mohammad Hafeez (16) were the only other Pakistan batsmen toreach the double figures.
Arthur said his team’s batting performance was all the more disappointingas they had expected to face short-pitched bowling and prepared accordingly.
“We knew that we were going to get short-pitched bowling and had preparedvery well for it, so was disappointing to see us play like that because wewere prepared,” the South African said.
Pakistan have now last their last 11 completed one-day internations butRiaz insisted they did not have a mental block when it came to facing fastbowling.
“We didn’t play the short ball well but we’ve seen in past series that wecan score runs against that sort of bowling,” said Riaz. “If people want tobowl us bouncers, then we will have no problems with that.
“It’s not a mental issue. We have been losing in the past, we need to finda way to get out of this pattern,” he added.
Pakistan have a short turanaround in which to put their abject defeatbehind them before they return to Trent Bridge for their second World Cupgame against tournament hosts England on Monday.
England, the world’s top-ranked ODI side, launched their World Cup campaignin style with a 104-run victory over South Africa at the Oval on Thursday.
They came into the World Cup on the vack of 4-0 ODI series rout of Pakistan– whuich included a three-wicket win at Trent Bridge.
But Arthur said Pakistan would be a better side for that experience.
“Yes, we know how good England are but we know them and are battle-hardenedagainst them.” -APP/AFP
