Pakistan unfazed about possible change in conditions at Providence

by Akeem Greene

Pakistan’s fielding coach Steve Rixon is confident that his team will combat any possible change in conditions at the National Stadium, Providence when they face the West Indies in a three-match One-Day International Series beginning on Friday.
Since cricket began playing at the facility in March 2007, the he pitch was the topic of much criticism for being too slow and low. However, four of the six pitches located on the square of the cricket field were re-laid and the curators have voiced that it will offer much pace and bonce.

If this comes to fruition, it will be a vast change from what the team experienced during the 2013 tour, where both sides’ spinners wreaked havoc in the two matches.
“To us whether it bounces or is  slow, it is  not going to make much difference; we cater for both, we played against both  and very well, we don’t have any problems whether it is turning or has little bounce in the wicket so bring it on whichever way,” the Australian confidently stated.
When the two sides played last year in the United Arab Emrites, Pakistan steamrolled the West Indies 3-0 and so far on this tour, they have the more confident team geared to win any series.
For the continued success over the Caribbean side, the coach felt that his side have just handled conditions better. “We played our conditions very well, the guys have played well and the conditions served up here we have enjoyed and we played quite well; the one day cricket too won’t be any different and to win after the UAE was not quite a surprise, it was certainly a learning curve for the West Indies boys and they will come back stronger,” Rixon contended.
While the management is confident, the series holds key in their qualification for the 2019 World Cup where they are precariously ranked at eighth place on 89 rating points just five ahead of West Indies.
Pakistan have already lost 1-4 this year in an away series to Australia and will be looking to bounce back under new captain Sarfraz Ahmed who will be using the series as preparation for September’s Champions Trophy in England.
“It has been a major concern for us since the start of our tour and our major focus is on the one-day game; it is something we have not played well over the years and it is something we are looking at heading into the champions trophy,” the fielding coach explained.
He added, “We have set our targets on this one day series for the moment, we were 9th when we first started so we got ourselves in a better position, we have to continue to play well and get ourselves ready for the championship trophy.”
Meanwhile, West Indies have stated that they will have an aggressive approach to leg-spinner Shadab Khan who has troubled them in the T20 series.
In response, Rixon urged the home side to bring it on, adding that “they [West Indies] have got some fine batsmen, we saw that with [Evin] Lewis the other day, allot of the guys have been improving over the years; it is exciting time for West indies cricket, so I would like to think if they continue playing the cricket that Caribbean produces it will be the right way to go.”
Pakistan Squad reads:  Ahmed Shehzad, Kamran Akmal, Mohammad Hafeez, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Fakhar Zaman, Asif Zakir, Sarfraz Ahmed (captain & wk), Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Mohammad Amir, Fahim Ashraf, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Asghar.