|
|
| February 04, 2007 | Sunday | Muharram 15, 1428 |
South Africa, Pakistan lock horns in first ODI
CENTURION (South Africa), Feb 3: South Africa and Pakistan switch from Test to One-day International cricket in the five-match ODI series starting at the Supersport Park here on Sunday, giving both the teams the last chance to tune up ahead of next month’s World Cup in the West Indies.
South Africa’s 15-man squad for the series is their probable World Cup party, while Pakistan have named a 17-man squad for the series, indicating they need to do some fine tuning ahead of the mega tournament in the Caribbean.
South African captain Graeme Smith said, “We've been pretty consistent in ODI cricket over the last few years. We would like to carry that on going forward to the World Cup. We're a powerful one-day team and are confident.”
Smith added that Pakistan would provide strong opposition in a battle between second and third teams in the ICC rankings. “It should be a fantastic (one-day) series. Pakistan have got some world-class players, including some good ODI all-rounders. In South Africa we've had better of them but we've got to show them a lot of respect.”
Meanwhile, South African batsman Herschelle Gibbs is serving out the last match of his ICC suspension in Sunday’s opening ODI against Pakistan and is set to be replaced by Loots Bosman.
Bosman could either open the batting or come in at number three, depending on how the South African team management views the recent batting woes of AB de Villiers.
De Villiers is palpably out of form, but his last ODI innings saw him score 92 not out, opening batting against India at the same ground in early December.
Coach Mickey Arthur said he was eager to keep the side that beat India in that last ODI together. “There are a couple of different scenarios when it comes to replacing Gibbs, but otherwise we would like to start with the side that finished against India. You can almost consider that our best XI,” Arthur stated.
He hoped his team would show the same ruthlessness they exhibited in dispatching Pakistan by ten wickets in the one-off Twenty20 International at the Wanderers, Johannesburg Friday night. “I was very impressed by the skills we showed (in the Twenty20) and hopefully it sets us on the way for a good ODI series.”
On the other hand, Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq is still carrying a back injury, but hopes he will be able to play on Sunday.
The veteran batsman said his team had been given a good talking to after a performance at the Wanderers that coach Bob Woolmer described as abject. “I was very disappointed with batting and bowling and we have to pull up our socks in both the departments,” said Inzamam who has represented Pakistan in a record 370 ODIs so far.
Teams (from):
South Africa: Graeme Smith (captain), Jacques Kallis (vice-captain), Loots Bosman, Mark Boucher, AB de Villiers, Herschelle Gibbs, Andrew Hall, Justin Kemp, Charl Langeveldt, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Robin Peterson, Shaun Pollock, Ashwell Prince and Roger Telemachus.
Pakistan: Inzamam-ul-Haq (captain), Younis Khan (vice-captain), Mohammad Hafeez, Yasir Hameed, Imran Nazir, Shoaib Malik, Mohammad Yousuf, Shahid Afridi, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Razzaq, Zulqarnain Haider, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan, Mohammad Asif, Abdur Rehman, Shabbir Ahmed, Imran Farhat and Mohammad Sami.—Agencies
|
|
