LEEDS: Andy Flower, coach of the ICC World XI team, is looking forward to being involved in a series that enables Pakistan fans to “see their heroes” after years of being “starved” of international cricket, he told AFP on Friday.

The former Zimbabwe batsman and ex-England coach was named on Thursday as the man who will oversee a World XI that will play three T20 Internationals in Lahore next month in a bid to revive international cricket in Pakistan, where the sport has a fanatical following.

“This is important both for Pakistan cricket and for Pakistan as a country as a whole,” Flower told AFP in a telephone interview.

“Pakistan is a major cricket nation and it’s very important for cricket there that the fans can see their heroes at home.

“It’s something they’ve been starved off in recent years.”

Flower, now the England and Wales Cricket Board’s director of coaching, added he was looking forward to overseeing a World XI squad imbued with a “special spirit”.

“Of course they are professionals who will be getting paid.

“But beyond the narrow confines of playing, I sense they are keen to do something for Pakistan cricket.

“I think there will be a special spirit in the team,” explained Flower, adding he had complete “trust” in safety arrangements overseen in part by ECB security expert Reg Dickason.

South Africa captain Faf du Plessis will lead a side that also includes Australia’s George Bailey and South Africa’s Hashim Amla as well as former England all-rounder Paul Collingwood.

Flower was the coachand Collingwood the captain when England won their lone global limited-overs title — the 2010 World Twenty20 in the Caribbean.

Flower is eager to experience the “passion” Pakistan has for cricket again.

“In the early days with Zimbabwe, many of our matches were against the sub-continental teams so we got to know their players well,” he said.

“In 1995, my brother Grant -- who has since coached Pakistan — and I shared a record partnership by brothers in a Test [of 269] against Pakistan. He scored a double century and I got a hundred.

“That was probably the proudest moment of my playing career,” added the 49-year-old former left-handed batsman.

TAMIM PROUD OF WORLD XI CALL-UP

Meanwhile, Bangladesh opening batsman Tamim Iqbal said he is proud to be part of the World XI team that will play three T20 matches in Pakistan next month.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chairman Najam Sethi on Thursday announced that South African captain Faf du Plessis will lead the World XI that comprised illustrious names from at least seven Test-playing nations.

“I feel that representing the World XI is a big achievement for me and I’m very proud of it,” Tamim told reporters in Dhaka. “I think that 10 Test playing nations are like a family. Someone has to help international cricket get back to Pakistan.

“They [ICC] has taken a fantastic initiative. If they are successful in hosting, I hope more international teams will visit Pakistan.

“It should have started at some stage. We have taken the first step. I think this is really a fantastic thing but it should have been organised a long time ago,” the opener said.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2017