Pakistan to play 11 matches before World Cup

The Newspaper's Sports Reporter Published April 3, 2019

The thrashing by the Aussies has punctured Pakistan’s belief that it was on course in its World Cup preparations. — AFP/File

LAHORE: Pakistan will play 11 competitive matches, including two Twenty20 fixtures, before they start their World Cup campaign against the West Indies on May 31, the Pakistan Cricket Board announced on Tuesday as it issued the schedule of the team’s tour of England.

Ahead of the World Cup in England, Pakistan square off against the hosts in five One-day Internationals as well as a one-off Twenty20 International as well as three practice matches against county sides, that includes a T20, and two World Cup warm-ups against Afghanistan and Bangladesh.

“The Pakistan coach [Mickey Arthur] will now consult the selection committee and discuss the schedule of the player fitness tests, training camp and squad announcement for the ICC Cricket World Cup, which will take place in England and Wales from May 30 to July 14,” the PCB press release stated.

“As per the ICC regulations, all participating sides have to submit their 15-player World Cup squads by April 30 but can make changes until May 22 without needing the ICC’s approval. Post May 23, all player replacements will have to be approved by the Event Technical Committee.

“The Pakistan team will depart for England on April 23 where they will play England in a series of practice and international matches, before entering the ICC World Cup 2019 against the West Indies on May 31 at Trent Bridge.” Schedule:

April 23: Departure for England.

April 27: One-dayer vs Kent (Canterbury).

April 29: One-dayer vs Northamptonshire (Northampton).

May 1: T20 vs Leicestershire (Leicester, D/N).

May 5: One-off Twenty20 International vs England (Cardiff).

May 8: First 1st ODI vs England (The Oval).

May 11: Second ODI vs England (Southampton).

May 14: Third ODI vs England (Bristol).

May 17: Fourth ODI vs England (Trent Bridge).

May 19: Fifth ODI vs England (Headingley).

World Cup matches:

May 24: vs Afghanistan (warm-up, Bristol).

May 26: vs Bangladesh (warm-up, Cardiff).

May 31: vs West Indies (Trent Bridge).

June 3: vs England (Trent Bridge).

June 7: vs Sri Lanka (Bristol).

June 12: v Australia (Taunton).

June 16: vs India (Old Trafford).

June 23: vs South Africa (Lord’s).

June 26: vs New Zealand (Edgbaston).

June 29: vs Afghanistan (Headingley).

July 5: vs Bangladesh (Lord’s, D/N).

Published in Dawn, April 3rd, 2019

WorldCup19

Sport

5-0 loss against Australia 'incredibly hard', says Arthur

Pakistan cricket can benefit hugely by getting rid of team’s coaches

ODI drubbing

Sarai Alamgir

Apr 03, 2019 01:19pm

Looking at their most recent ODI performance, I can only see them winning 2-3 matches in the WC, which is a shame, because this is the Pak team, and deserve to be at the top, but due to poor selection and laid back attitude of players, who just want to perform on personally basis, the overall team has become a shadow of what it was once known for.

Recommend 0

Shib

Apr 03, 2019 01:36pm

Need a right mix of players... Cannot afford the politics any more. Please remove Inzimam from selection committee...in the interest of cricket and Nation.

Recommend 0

Vikas

Apr 03, 2019 03:42pm

“Playing” 11 matches is correct term. Winning the 11 matches - not important.

Recommend 0

Vikas

Apr 03, 2019 03:43pm

@Sarai Alamgir, against which teams do you see them winning? For this team beating even Afghanistan who are turning up to be a good fighting team is going to be tough. The mental state for winning is there currently In Afghanistan’s favour.

Recommend 0

Dr. Salaria, Aamir Ahmaod

Apr 03, 2019 05:22pm

Great news for greenshirts. In fact, it's imperative that the 2019 World Cup squad of greenshirts must get together immediately without wasting any more time in England on top priority basis and start playing together in as many practice 50-over matches as possible against top teams of the world to get ready for the big world cup encounters.

Recommend 0

FAS

Apr 03, 2019 05:41pm

@Sarai Alamgir, I think Pakistan team will win 6 to 7 matches. Except England and New Zealand all teams are vulnerable. CWC 2019 will be highly competitive this time. Even south africa, india are struggling to find right combination.

Recommend 0

Waseem Sarwar

Apr 03, 2019 08:22pm

5 matches against England would be gold for World Cup preparation. They are at home, hot favorite to win the cup first time so playing against them will be a huge bonus.

Recommend 0

Sarai Alamgir

Apr 03, 2019 08:28pm

@Vikas , I definitely see them winning against India :-) I think India should be more worried about Afghanistan, as in the asia cup, they came very close.

Recommend 0

TOMATO

Apr 03, 2019 09:53pm

@Sarai Alamgir, Two back to back losses against India on your home ground and you are still crowing????

Recommend 0

Uzebk

Apr 04, 2019 01:58am

@FAS, and does Pakistan have the combination??

Recommend 0

AZulfi

Apr 04, 2019 02:25am

ODIs are won by batsmen and lets face it England, India and Australia (esp. if both Warner and Smith are picked by Australia) are the strongest batting teams right now and these three are favourites imo. RSA and SLA not as strong as they used to be. Both NZ and Windies possess talented ODI batsmen and can reach KO stages as well. What Pakistan desperately lack right now is quality hitters in the middle and late middle order. This was reflected in our inability to finish games (and post commanding totals) despite making good starts in recent games against Australia. Pak though tend to play well in England and how we perform against England in the five ODIs in May with a full strength team will tell us more about our chances in the forthcoming world cup

Recommend 0

Riaz

Apr 04, 2019 06:24am

As this World Cup format is different I can’t see Pak progressing to know out. I see them won max 2-3 games. Opening game against WI will be interesting I see WI this one, as WI have fire power. Need to win this opening game to set the tone!

Recommend 0

JackJones

Apr 04, 2019 09:55am

So Pakistan needs to select 15 players by April 30th (changes can be made by May 22nd w/o ICC approval). Please DO NOT select Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Mohammod Abbas, Yasir Shah and Husnan. Scoring a century in the pakistan cup (Umar Akmal) does not make up for the disaster in the Australia series and the discipline challenge. Asif Ali is a better batsman. Need to strongly consider including Wahab Riaz. Emad Wasim is not a spinner and NOT an ODI player.Pakistan needs another spinner besides Shadab. Should that be Umer Khan? Inshallah Hafeez will recover soon for the World Cup.

Recommend 0

JackJones

Apr 05, 2019 04:02am

Just heard that PCB has announced a 23 player squad for the fitness test. Disappointed that Wahab Riaz, Umer Khan and Ruman Raees are NOT included in that list. Shoaib Malik no doubt is experienced but what is the use of experience if you cannot perform, it is a dead weight. As i said earlier, Emad Wasim is NOT a spinner and a ODI player, he is good for T-20. Glad to see Abid Ali and Asif Ali in the list. Thank you for NOT including Umar Akmal, he is drama.

Recommend 0

Ali

Apr 05, 2019 07:38am

@FAS, wake up. It's morning. Stop dreaming.

Recommend 0

Ali

Apr 05, 2019 07:38am

11-0 and then 9-0 in world cup

Recommend 0

JackJones

Apr 05, 2019 08:04am

@TOMATO, Pakistan cricket teams home is Pakistan and not UAE. Seems like the over 160 runs One Sided defeat in the CT 2017 final is still hurting. I say move on.

Recommend 0