ISLAMABAD: Head coach Ijaz Ahmed on Friday said Pakistan team’s priority was to top the group and progress to the quarter-final and beyond in the ICC U-19 World Cup which started in South Africa on Friday.

Pakistan, who are placed in Group ‘C’, play Scotland in their opening World Cup match on Sunday. Their second match is against Zimbabwe on Jan 22, followed by the third and final group match against Bangladesh on Jan 24. All three games would be played in Potchefstroom.

The Pakistan team underwent a strenuous training session at the North West University Sports Village after arriving in Potchefstroom, according to a press release issued here.

“Our priority is to top our group and stay in the city as the team which finishes second would have to travel to Johannesburg. So we want to stay here, get totally familiarised with the conditions and progress to quarter-final and beyond in Potchefstroom,” Ijaz remarked.

“We played our first warm-up a day after we arrived in the country. I feel the bowlers were a bit stiff and wayward in that game. In the second match our bowlers Amir Khan, Tahir Hussain, Aamir Ali and Abbas bowled well while support bowlers Fahad and Qasim Akram also delivered and we won the game.”

Pakistan are on a high after convincing wins in the two warm-ups against Nigeria and Sri Lanka during their five-day stay in Pretoria.

“Our first game was against Nigeria and it was a straightforward game for us as we got them out for 109. The batsmen were not challenged much and we called back opener Haider Ali after he had scored a quickfire 50. It was almost a 10-wicket win for us,” the head coach stated.

“Our game against Sri Lanka challenged us but Fahad Munir played really well for us and we also called him back after he reached his 50. Mohammad Haris also batted impressively besides Haider’s contribution at the top of the innings.”

Ijaz said the Pakistan cricketers have had a great camp at the National Cricket Academy (NCA) and “they have been working hard since we have landed in South Africa. Now, the time to deliver has arrived”.

Published in Dawn, January 18th, 2020