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Pakistan prepare seriously for Australia match

For the first time in the World Cup Pakistan got down to some serious practice, when they had a rigorous two-hour session at the nets to fine tune themselves for their crucial match against Australia at Headingley cricket ground tomorrow.

Pakistan skipper Wasim Akram lamented yesterday that some of his team members were woefully short of form after both warm-up games were washed out and practice conditions at Chester-le-street in Durham were unsatisfactory.

Akram had his fingers crossed during the two-hour drive to Leeds, hoping that it would not be another frustrating day as the Pakistanis encountered driving winds lashed with heavy showers enroute to the famous Yorkshire ground.

On arrival they found a slippery outfield with the square covered but eventually were able to get down to work at the wet ground, aided by half a dozen bowlers from the Yorkshire County Cricket Academy.

Pakistan's problems were however far from over, as their changing room was laid out with rugby kits belonging to Leeds Rugby Club, who play on an adjoining pitch and share the cricket club's facilities. The rugby team had a home league match scheduled later in the evening.

The Yorkshire County Club officials then hurriedly made alternative arrangements for the cricketers. Rawalpindi express Shoaib Akhtar, touted as the world's fastest bowler, sat out in today's workout but said he would be fit to play against Australia tomorrow. Akhtar had left the field early due to a sore knee in Pakistan's match against Scotland at Durham.

Meanwhile, Australia travelled up from Cardiff to Headingly, but decided against training today.
After Thursday's defeat at the hands of their arch-rivals New Zealand, the Aussies were in a sombre mood and coach Geoff Marsh said he could not put his finger on what went wrong with his team's disappointing performances in their opening two matches.

Marsh said the squad was hungry for a win and hoped that the frontline batsmen would strike on Sunday. He further said that he was still puzzled after the defeat at the hands of the Kiwis.

The Pakistan skipper, Wasim Akram, was confident that his bowlers would again strike and restrict Australia to a moderate total. "We have a trementously balanced bowling attack with great variety," he said. Akram added, "Though bowling is our strength, I would want the batsmen to play to their full potential against the Aussies."

If Pakistan beat Australia, they will become the first team from pool 'B' to advance to the Super Six stage of the competition. They have already recorded two victories from as many matches, over the West Indies and Scotland.

UNI