October 1, 2007	Monday	Ramazan 18, 1428

KARACHI, Sept 30: After a mixed diet of One-day Internationals and Twenty20 cricket over the past few months, Pakistan and South Africa face the exacting task of asserting themselves in the longer version of the game as they clash in the opening Test of the two-match series at the National Stadium from Monday.

Both Shoaib Malik and Graeme Smith, who coincidentally first played against each other at the junior level and share the same date of birth (Feb 1 – with Smith a year older at 26), now face contrasting challenges as rival skippers in what promises to be an exciting battle.

After being asked to take over soon after Inzamam-ul-Haq resignation from captaincy following Pakistan’s first-round exit at the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, Shoaib played down the nerves factor on the eve of becoming Pakistan’s 26th Test captain.

“Although it is going to be my first Test as captain, I’m not feeling nervous because I’ve played several Test matches,” Shoaib, who has appeared in 18 Tests since making his debut against Bangladesh in 2001, told a media conference on Sunday.

On a pitch that appears to be well-prepared and dry but devoid of grass, Shoaib insisted it is the home team’s prerogative to prepare tracks to suit their own strengths.

“I don’t know why people make a fuss of it. They (South Africans) have a strong pace battery. We need to support our main weapon,” he remarked while referring to leg-spinner Danish Kaneria and the 27-year-old uncapped slow left-armer Abdul Rehman.

Pakistan’s trump card is Kaneria, who has 198 wickets in 46 Tests and is at the threshold of becoming only the sixth Pakistani to take 200 Test wickets.

The Pakistan captain sounded optimistic that his team would transform its Twenty20 form into Test cricket. However, he warned his players to guard against complacency.

“The South Africans are a very good team, and we have to be at our best to defeat them. But I am confident that we have the players who can transform their Twenty20 form into Test cricket and achieve the desired results,” he added.

Shoaib, meanwhile, paid tribute to his predecessor Inzamam, but refused to speculate on the former captain’s future. “Inzamam was an integral part of the Pakistan team when he was playing. The fact is players come and go, but the game moves on.” South Africa, who won 2-1 when Pakistan played them in their own den earlier this year, are keen to start the latest series on a bright note.

For Smith it would be a sentimental journey to the National Stadium where Pakistan have lost just once in 39 Tests (winning 21), and where the South Africans have, until now, avoided playing a Test.

The big left-handed opener’s only knocks worth remembering as a 17-year-old tourist with the South Africa Under-19s in early 1999 were here (73 in the first innings of the first ‘Test’ and 72 in the third and final one-day match).

On Sunday Smith must have noticed the changes that have taken place in and around the historic venue since he was last here in Karachi more than eight years ago. The floodlights were installed in 2000, the flyover was built last year and the magnificent giant replays-cum-scoreboard screen has been mounted on the eve of this Test match.

But the skipper remained focussed on the business end of the tour and was quick to admit that his men were prepared to challenge their hosts all the way in the coming series.“Playing in the sub-continent provides the biggest challenge for us because of the contrasting conditions. In this part of the world you have to learn to play in extreme hot weather and get used to the atmosphere.

“But we have been working on the mental aspect of this challenge and the boys are ready to cope with the situation,” Smith stressed. “The pitches are not going to help the seamers, but we have to make the best use of them.”
Smith expected Paul Harris, the slow left-armer, to play a major role. “He is a confident guy. He is looking forward to bowling on these pitches.”

At the time of writing, the South Africans were keeping their fingers crossed over the fitness of young fast bowler Morne Morkel, who is making a steady recovery from an injury to his left foot sustained during the warm-up match against the PCB Patron’s XI on Saturday.

Michael Owen-Smith, South Africa’s media manager, told Dawn that the prognosis of the 22-year-old tall speedster is still being monitored.

“Right now, I can’t say for sure whether Morne would play. He is scheduled to undergo a fitness test in the morning before the final decision is made,” he said.If Morkel is declared unfit then either veteran all-rounder Shaun Pollock or paceman Andre Nel would come into reckoning.

Pakistan, too, have a question mark over Mohammad Asif who is bothered by an elbow niggle. But the pace spearhead is expected to share the new ball with in-form Umar Gul.

The biggest plus point for the home side is the return of Mohammad Yousuf, the ICC Test player of the year, to their line-up. After a record-breaking 2006 when he amassed 1788 runs with nine centuries (both records for a calendar year), Yousuf has generally gone through a lean time this year.

Teams:

PAKISTAN: Salman Butt, Mohammad Hafeez, Younis Khan, Mohammad Yousuf, Misbah-ul-Haq, Shoaib Malik (captain)
, Kamran Akmal, Abdul Rehman, Umar Gul, Danish Kaneria, Mohammad Asif, Faisal Iqbal, Yasir Hameed, Rao Iftikhar, Taufiq Umar.

SOUTH AFRICA: Graeme Smith (captain), Herschelle Gibbs, Hashim Amla, Jacques Kallis, Ashwell Prince, A.B. de Villiers, Mark Boucher, Shaun Pollock, Paul Harris, Andre Nel, Makhaya Ntini, Jean-Paul Duminy, Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel.
Umpires: Simon Taufel (Australia) and Mark Benson (England).
TV umpire: Riazuddin (Pakistan).
Reserve umpire: Afzaal Ahmed (Pakistan).
Match referee: Alan Hurst (Australia).