April 05, 2007	Thursday	Rabi-ul-Awwal 16, 1428

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LAHORE, Apr 4: Pakistan’s assistant coach Mushtaq Ahmad has expressed shock and disappointment over his team’s early exit from the World Cup last month. Mushtaq, who on Wednesday appeared before the three-member committee evaluating the performance of Pakistan in the mega event, told reporters that he could only tender his apology to the nation for the bad performance of the team in the first round.

"There is no excuse for the poor performance which has really disappointed the nation and I can only apologize to public for that," Mushtaq said.

He claimed the team entered the World Cup with complete preparation and planning but failed to deliver on the field on the given day.

Commenting on the security arrangements during the World Cup in the Caribbeans, he said they were not upto the mark. "The security arrangements for the foreign teams in Pakistan are a lot better than what I saw in the West Indies," he said.

He denied that all-rounder Shahid Afridi had to face extraordinary interrogation of the Jamaican police investigating the mysterious death of Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer.

"First of all, we appeared before the investigating team as witnesses and not as suspects and I think both me and Afridi were treated in the same manner as others," he said.

Referring to the severe criticism in media over his appointment and performance as assistant coach, Mushtaq said it was the PCB which had hired him for the job and the critics should have spoken about it then. Mushtaq also denied the recent match-fixing allegations, saying that there was no truth in the charges whatsoever.