Pak look to finish strong against Windies

Pakistan will be looking to give unshakeable proof that the West Indies were fortunate to gain a victory in their One-day International series, when the final match is contested on Thursday at the Guyana National Stadium.

The Pakistanis were upstaged by rain and a blistering innings from Lendl Simmons to lose the previous match last Monday at Kensington Oval by one run under the Duckworth-Lewis Method.

The visitors have an unbeatable 3-1 lead in the series, following victories in the first three matches, but they will want to sign-off with a strong performance to knock West Indies back down a few notches, particularly with the two-Test series looming.

Pakistan captain Shahid Afridi said that though the conditions they contested the previous match were difficult, his side should have still performed much better.

"We started on a difficult pitch, but the way Mohammad Hafeez batted, we thought we would have scored 270 to 275," he said.

"But I think we missed that chance, and we did not bat well in the end. It was disappointing because we missed an opportunity to score a big total, and we have to do much better, and show more consistency in the future."

Afridi said though the Pakistanis wanted to give some of the less experienced players an opportunity to play, he still felt that they were good enough to help the side finish the series on top.

"I am pretty happy with our boys, and the way they have played in this series, so I think we can be proud," he said.

"We set a total in the previous game, and in the conditions, and with our attack, I felt it was a decent target, but the weather played a role, and we lost."

West Indies Darren Sammy was relieved to get a victory over a Test-playing nation other than Bangladesh for the first time in two years, but he is looking forward to the final match, and hoped there are no interruptions to prove that the hosts are the genuine article.

"It has been a long time since we have beaten a top side, but we took the opportunity, and came through in the end," he said.

"We needed that victory, and it was good to win against a top side, and the guys will take the positives from this game, and we will look to take confidence from it, and put it into play here."

As always, the two teams will keep their gazes fixed to the skies to see if the weather will allow them to achieve their goals. The forecast for Thursday indicated scattered thunderstorms with a 60 percent chance of rain.

But the Guyana National Stadium, a gift from India to the Guyanese people, boasts a hi-tech drainage system under the surface. Like many of the international grounds in the Caribbean now, it was installed when the facility was constructed ahead of the 2007 World Cup, which was staged in the region.

Squads:

West Indies (from): Darren Sammy (captain), Dwayne Bravo (vice captain), Carlton Baugh Jr, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Kirk Edwards, Anthony Martin, Ravi Rampaul, Kemar Roach, Andre Russell, Marlon Samuels, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Lendl Simmons

Pakistand (from): Shahid Afridi (captain), Misbah-ul-Haq (vice captain), Abdur Rehman, Ahmed Shahzad, Asad Shafiq, Hammad Azman, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Hafeez, Mohammad Salman, Sadaf Hussain, Saeed Ajmal, Tanveer Ahmed, Taufeeq Umar, Umar Akmal, Usman Salahuddin, Wahab Riaz

Umpries: Asoka De Silva (SLK), Norman Malcolm (WIS)

Match Referee: Jeff Crowe (NZL)

TV Umpire: Joel Wilson (WIS)

Reserve Umpire: Peter Nero (WIS)

Pak trio deserved ICC ban, says Steve Waugh

Abu Dhabi, Feb 8(ANI): Former Australian captain Steve Waugh insists that former Pakistan captain Salman Butt, and fast bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir got what they deserved after being banned by the International Cricket Council (ICC) over spot-fixing charges.

Waugh said that though he has some sympathy for 18-year-old Amir, he was in no doubt about how Butt had disgraced his role as the nation's captain.

"That's a major deterrent. To get five years, for most players, that's your career over. And rightly so for someone like a captain of a team who is responsible for the culture and character of the team and influences younger players," the Sydney Morning Herald quoted Waugh, as saying.

"The worst possible sin you can commit as a captain is to do something like that. I feel a little bit, I guess, of compassion for the young guy because he would have seen it happening with the other players."

"Butt, I don't have any sympathy for him and Mohammad Asif has sort of been a serial offender in a lot of areas. At some stage someone's got to take a stand," he added.

Butt was banned for 10 years, with five years suspended, while fast bowlers Asif and Amir were handed bans of seven years with two suspended and five years respectively.

The charges relate to alleged incidents during last year's Lord's Test against England, when Britain's 'News of the World' tabloid claimed the players were willing to deliberately bowl no-balls.

http://in.news.yahoo.com/pak-trio-deserved-icc-ban-says-steve-waugh-20110207-225006-207.html

Pak under tremendous pressure to do well in Champions Trophy: Afridi

Lahore, Aug.31 (ANI) : Newly appointed Pakistan vice captain Shahid Afridi has said that being the ICC Twenty20 World Cup champions, Pakistan will be under tremendous pressure in the Champions Trophy.

Expressing full confidence in his team, Afridi said the T20 World Cup triumph proves that Pakistan has the ability to win mega tournaments.

"Carrying the tag of T20 World Cup winners into Champions Trophy means there are automatically going to be a lot of expectations from us to do well. The way we won T20 World Cup means we have the ability to win the Champions Trophy, but the only thing is we have to develop mindset to handle pressure as well," The Daily Times quoted Afridi, as saying.

Afridi, who has recently been appointed captain Younis Khan's deputy replacing Misbah-ul-Haq, rejected reports of a rift in the team, saying his prime objective would be to perform both with the bat and ball.

He said there is no additional pressure on him after being appointed the vice-captain, and stressed that he would continue his natural 'boom boom' style during the Champions Trophy.

"Having been named as vice-captain is not going to mean any additional pressure on me because I have been around for a long time and Younis is a top captain who knows how to lead the side," he said, adding, "I have been given the T20 captaincy and now made the vice-captain. This is good enough for me now. But I know my primary and most important role still remains to contribute consistently as a player." (ANI)

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