AUCKLAND: Captain Misbah-ul-Haq insists his bowlers can slam the brakes on South Africa’s batting superstars with AB de Villiers their prime target.

“I think our bowling is doing really well and we are confident that we have got the bowlers who can get wickets against any team,” Misbah said on Friday.

“We played South Africa in 2013 and 2014 and we know how these batsmen play and we are confident that we have the bowling to put them under pressure.

“AB is the best batsman in the world in limited overs cricket.

“Obviously we have good bowlers who can put him under pressure but the only way to stop him is to get his wicket. If he stays there it’s not easy to stop him.

“Mohammad Irfan is fit. He bowled three or four overs in the nets and is feeling OK, there are no issues with him.”

Misbah hit back at criticism from ex-players who advised him to think out of the box, asking should hapless tailender Irfan be sent in as an opener?

Pakistan’s top order has flopped in the last four games with opening stands of 11, 0, 1 and 10 which put enormous pressure on the middle-order.

When asked what he thinks of former captains, Javed Miandad and Ramiz Raja’s advice of thinking out of the box, Misbah quipped: “Out of the box? Should we open with Irfan?”

Misbah said that Sarfraz Ahmed is being considered as an opener.

“He (Sarfraz) has opened the innings in the United Arab Emirates. But here the conditions are different,” said Misbah.

“Haris Sohail has a swelling on his heel — let’s see how he responds to treatment.

“If Haris rules out, then Sarfraz Ahmed will fill in,” he said.

“Everybody is determined. We all know that it’s an important game for us if we want to progress in this World Cup.

“You can’t control the weather so you need to be prepared and hope that it’s a full game and go into it with positive thoughts that you can win.”

Published in Dawn March 7th , 2015

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