NEW ZEALAND TOUR OF PAKISTAN, 2020-21
Pakistan was able to afford to smile after emerging from a prolonged quarantine © AFP
Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq revealed that the idea of withdrawing from the New Zealand tour had crossed his mind as the team was subject to a prolonged period of isolation in Christchurch before the players and the officers decided to end the tour.
The Pakistan tour turned into chaos upon arrival after it emerged that some of the team members had violated local health protocols set out by New Zealand health authorities. This was followed by the emergence of more than half a dozen positive cases within their ranks, forcing local authorities and the board to confine the team to additional days of quarantine without access to the practice and training facilities that had been established. awarded to the West. Indias side.
Having completed their 14-day quarantine in Christchurch, the players and officials from Pakistan finally moved to Queenstown to begin preparation for their T20 series against New Zealand that begins on December 18.
“Obviously these were not normal circumstances and we discussed the cricket table options, but in the end we decided that now that we have been in New Zealand for so long we should stay and finish the tour,” Misbah told reporters on Friday (December eleven). “We are a bit unlucky that we couldn’t start training after three days. But in the end we have to make up for lost time and now we have a mission to play good cricket and win here,” he added.
Misbah also called on players and officials to sacrifice themselves to facilitate the conduct of international cricket amid the Coronavirus pandemic. The former Pakistan captain also implored the cricket tables to find ways to make the life of bubbles easier for athletes. “If we have to coexist with COVID-19 and also make sure that cricket is played, then all teams have to make sacrifices like we did here. We are here to support international cricket in difficult times so that cricket fans and the people can watch cricket and some entertainment.
“[But] it’s a huge mental stress for the players who are the primary stakeholders in the sport and from what I know the cricket tables are already working on ways to make things easier for us. ”
Given the lack of practice time due to health reasons, Misbah hopes Pakistani batsmen will take time to acclimate to conditions and wants bowlers to make up for any handicaps in the other dimension and fight the Lockie Ferguson fire. fit with fire bowling. on your own. Misbah also hoped that the experience of touring England earlier this year would have helped the team adapt quickly.
“Hitting is a challenge for us, but we can make up for it with our bowling skills,” Misbah said. “We know he (Ferguson) throws at over 150 km / h. He’s a very hostile bowler, but if they have one, we have four players like this who can hit 150. Wahab [Riaz]even Shaheen [Afridi] it also touches 144 when it peaks.
“New Zealand is a tough opponent, we saw them play the West Indies, but we are confident in how we played the last two series and England’s experience will help us, and we hope we are ready for competitive cricket on December 18.” He concluded.
© Cricbuzz
