da bet esporte： Zimbabwe get their tour of Pakistan underway on Monday with a four-daymatch against a strong Patron’s XI
The Preview by Faras Ghani13-Jan-2008
The tourists are confident of a good showing in Pakistan © AFP
Zimbabwe’s tour of Pakistan gets underway on Monday with a four-daymatch against a strong Patron’s XI captained by Shahid Afridi. Stripped ofTest status, the Zimbabwe officials had wanted to play the longer version against strong teams to get their playersback in the mindset of Test cricket. However, with small boundaries onoffer at the DHA Cricket Stadium – a venue where Zimbabwe played a Test inNovember 1993 – it is difficult to expect much defensive play, especiallywith the likes of Afridi and Brendan Taylor being involved.Prosper Utseya, Zimbabwe’s captain, and Robin Brown, their coach, said that the team was on the recovery path and the confidence levels were high after a couple of high-profile victories in the recent past: Zimbabwe beat Australia in the World Twenty20, and won an ODI against West Indies at home recently.”We are young in age, not experience,” Brown had said. “We played four-daygames in South Africa with good results and the more cricket we play, themore experience we will gain. We’re not too far away from getting back towhere we were.”With wins against Australia and West Indies preceding the 100% record in South Africa, it is difficult to tag them as pushovers. A flat track with lots of cracks awaits them inthe four-day match, one that will test their all-round abilities,something Brown is eager to prove to the sceptics.However, even though Patron’s XI contains only a handful ofinternationals, most of them have had terrific starts to the domesticseason. While Afridi, Fawad Alam, Sarfraz Ahmed and SamiullahKhan have been in touring parties before, the likes of Sohail Khan, KamranHussain and Naumanullah will be hoping to impress the selectors further.While Naumanullah was adjudged best batsman in the recently concludedQuaid-e-Azam Trophy, Sohail has grabbed 65 wickets in nine matches duringhis maiden domestic season and Kamran, the 30-year-old left-armfast-bowler, has not only managed 568 runs but also 35 wickets in theTrophy.Zimbabwe’s practice session was delayed in the morning as their luggagehad not arrived yet, while some of the Patron’s XI players were busy at the National Stadium, where they are participating in a high-performers camp. The action will shift to the DHA Cricket Stadium from tomorrow, and the pitch and the conditions suggest plenty of fireworks – with maybe a few broken windows of the surrounding houses – over the next four days.Squads
Patron’s XI – Shahid Afridi (capt), Khalid Latif, Nasir Jamshed, AfaqRahim, Naumanllah, Fawad Alam, Kamran Hussain, Sarfraz Ahmed (wk), YasirShah, Wahab Riaz, Sohail Khan, Samiullah Khan Niazi, Rizwan Ahmed, RaufAkbar, Khurram ManzoorZimbabweans – Prosper Utseya (capt), Gary Brent, Chamu Chibhabha,Elton Chigumbura, Keith Dabengwa, Timycen Maruma, Hamilton Masakadza,Stuart Matsikenyeri, Christopher Mpofu, Tawanda Mupariwa, Ray Price, VusiSibanda, Tatenda Taibu (wk), Brendan Taylor, Sean Williams