CHRISTCHURCH: If there were rumblings within the team, Pakistan did well to hide it under the surface during training here on Thursday afternoon, with the mood generally upbeat and plenty of laughs before the players got into their individual and collective grooves.

In the past week, the Pakistan team have had eight players reportedly being fined for breaking team curfew ahead of their World Cup opening against India, which they subsequently lost by 76 runs, and further unrest has been reported between players and the fielding coach.

Away from the media glare, however, Pakistan were able to go about their routines in the unassuming setting of Hagley Park. Their session began with a playful yet competitive form of football and tennis, during which the spin bowling coach Mushtaq Ahmed was very active and vociferous in his appealing for what he clearly felt were wrong calls by the appointed referee. Misbah-ul-Haq appeared the least involved, standing in the background and parrying the ball back softly whenever it found him.

After standard stretches, Pakistan coaches Waqar Younis and Mushtaq gave catching practice to Ahmed Shehzad and Haris Sohail.

Meanwhile, Luden gave Sarfraz Ahmed throw-downs for about 15 minutes, during which the wicket-keeper was seen animatedly expressing himself once after collecting a couple deliveries while diving full stretch to his left.

But it would be presumptuous to read too much into that exchange, apart from the fact that Sarfraz will probably miss out against the West Indies on Saturday because of how long Umar Akmal practised his wicketkeeping after time in the nets.

The Pakistan bowlers put in good time at the practice nets behind the playing field, and the batsmen had decent hits. Sohaib Maqsood, in particular, appeared keen to belt the cover of the ball and was seen charging and heaving at both his team-mates and the local net bowlers. Sohail Khan, the sturdy right-arm fast bowler, bowled bouncers to Nasir Jamshed that had the left-hand opener ducking.

After training, Haris Sohail spoke of the need to forget the India defeat and look ahead. “That has passed so we are looking at the next game versus West Indies and then onwards. The boys are really geared up, ready and training hard. Hopefully, the positive results will show,” he said.

On his own performance — he is 12 ODIs old — Haris hoped to improve on a habit of getting starts but not converting. In his 11 ODI innings, the 26-year-old has crossed the fifty-mark only once and has five scores of between 20 and 39. “I’m missing out a bit but practising hard. I get to 30-odd and then find ways to get out, so I’m keen to take such starts forward. The aim is that when I’m in such a situation, I don’t falter and ensure I convert it into a long innings,” he said.

“The focus is to put in the hard yards. I’ve doubled my efforts in practice. I feel good. God-willing, the next time I’m in a situation to produce something good, I will produce a big innings.”

You really can never tell what exactly is happening with Pakistan cricket teams, but from the hard yards put in at Hagley Oval the signs, outwardly at least, are that cricket is indeed the focus.—Cricbuzz

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2015

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