KARACHI: Pakistan’s cricket authorities yesterday ordered English-style pitches to help their struggling batsmen prepare for the Champions Trophy, to be played in England in June.
Pakistani batsmen had a woeful time on the fast and bouncy tracks in South Africa where they were whitewashed 3-0 in Tests and edged out 3-2 in the one-day series last month.
Teams from the sub-continent raised on slow, dry pitches have traditionally struggled in countries like England and South Africa, where conditions offer more help to quick bowlers.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) decided that after the South African debacle, in which the tourists were shot out for their lowest Test score of 49 in the first Test in Johannesburg, the team needed intense preparation for the eight-nation Champions Trophy to be held from June 6-23.
“The committee noted that during the South Africa tour batsmen struggled and considering the venue of the Champions Trophy it was decided that special pitches, which are close to the English conditions, would be prepared for the training camp,” a PCB release said.
The 10-day camp will be held at Abbottabad, north of Islamabad, while legendary paceman Wasim Akram will lead a separate 10-day fast bowling clinic in Karachi. Wasim will later join the camp in Abbottabad for a few days, the PCB said.
Media reports said captain Misbah-ul Haq had suggested the team should prepare on fast pitches for the tournament, in which Pakistan face the West Indies, South Africa and arch-rivals India in the initial group stage.
Defending champions Australia, England, New Zealand and Sri Lanka make up the other group.
Meanwhile, former New Zealand captain John Parker weighed into the debate about the controversial sacking of Ross Taylor as skipper yesterday with a scathing report about how the situation was handled.
Parker is part of a group said to include several former captains who compiled a nine-page report on the affair, critical of New Zealand cricket chiefs, coach Mike Hesson and Brendon McCullum, who replaced Taylor as captain. Parker’s report calls for unresolved issues to be addressed despite repeated urging from New Zealand Cricket (NZC) chief executive David White that the matter be laid to rest.
The document backs Taylor’s claim that he was told before the second Test in Sri Lanka in November that he was not wanted as captain in any form of the game, although NZC argues Taylor was told he could remain as Test skipper.
It also says Hesson initially accepted Taylor’s request to blood new internationals on the Sri Lanka tour but three days before the team was named Hesson said all the older players would be going. Parker’s group wants a change in the structure and governance of NZC but White said the attacks were damaging.
“Attacks such as this are divisive and unhelpful. For the sake of the game the focus should now be on the Blackcaps’ upcoming tour of England,” he said.
White’s comments were included in a terse NZC statement which said it was “disappointed and saddened by the recent attack made by John Parker and some unnamed individuals”. AGENCIES
