Australia open tour against KCCA today (25 Sep 1998)
KARACHI, Sept 24: Speed merchant Waqar Younis returns to top level cricket when he tests his fitness and form against the Australians who begin their six-week tour of Pakistan on Friday with a four-day game against Karachi City Cricket Association
25-Sep-1998
25 September 1998
Australia open tour against KCCA today
By Samiul Hasan
KARACHI, Sept 24: Speed merchant Waqar Younis returns to top level
cricket when he tests his fitness and form against the Australians
who begin their six-week tour of Pakistan on Friday with a four-day
game against Karachi City Cricket Association (KCCA).
Younis, who has captured 267 Test wickets in 53 matches, has not
played competitive cricket for nearly three months after suffering an
elbow injury. The injury also cut-short his appearance in the English
County Championship for Glamorgan who finished at a disappointing
13th after winning the title last year.
Younis' comeback preparations were further dented by intermittent
rains that hit the Lahore metropolis last week. But the four-day
match is expected to provide him the real tonic for the series ahead
though the hot weather might restrict him from bowling at full
throttle or long spells.
"I haven't tried my elbow yet but I am very comfortable now and
satisfied with the way it has responded to the treatment," he added.
"The basic objective of playing this game is that I want to regain my
lost rhythm. If I thought I should play the Test, I would confirm my
availability otherwise I would pull out.
"Test cricket is a different ball game and you have to be super-fit
to sustain the rigours and I have not bowled for over three months,"
Younis said.
The selectors, who are expected to meet later this week to finalize
the first Test squad, are themselves in a quandary. They have three
other pacemen - Wasim Akram, Mohammad Zahid and Shoaib Akhtar - in
line. Zahid and Akhtar are the quickest bowlers around while Akram's
track record speaks for itself.
Although it was still unclear what type of a wicket is being prepared
for the first Test at Rawalpindi, the selectors are likely to pick up
three pacers with Azhar Mahmood as the fourth seamer.
Pakistan captain Aamir Sohail, who will be leading Karachi, gave the
support and confident Younis would be needing. "It is not a matter of
performance. He is playing because he is short of match-practice. I
am sure that when the selectors announce the squad (for the Test),
Younis would be there."
Sohail said he was playing the four-day match because he wanted to
judge the strength and weakness of the Australian team. "I could have
seen them playing from outside but it's a different experience while
in the field," he said.
KCCA, the reigning Quaid-i-Azam Trophy champions, have further
beefed-up their side by including pinch-hitter Shahid Afridi, world's
youngest Test player Hasan Raza, Test spinner Ali Husain Rizvi and
Test discard Azam Khan.
Australian captain Mark Taylor hoped that Karachi would provide his
team the real test and practice before next week's first Test.
"Ideally, we would have liked to have two warm-up matches before the
first Test but that probably couldn't be organized because of the
current schedules.
"It would have been nice to have one more lead-up game. But we had
only one side match four years ago and we played it right. So, we
have to make sure that we give everything we can in the next four
days," said Taylor, who scored a pair when he played here last time
in the first Test in 1994-95, said.
Australia's only other four-day game after this one is after the
first Test. The four-day at Rawalpindi between Oct 8 and 11 will be
followed by back-to-back Tests at Peshawar and Karachi.
"I haven't seen the Karachi side but I expect a pretty good and hard
game. Waqar Younis is playing the match and I believe they (Karachi)
have picked up some more good players," Taylor remarked.
The Australian opener said he would not be trying anything different
against Karachi except to play good cricket. He said he was hoping
for good and long innings from his batsmen and the bowlers working
hard by bowling to a decent line and length on a wicket which appears
to be a batting strip.
Stuart MacGill, who has been drafted into the side in place of an
absent Shane Warne, will be making his first impression when he was
announced in the playing team.
"It would be a good chance for him to get some overs under his belt
and find form for the matches ahead," Taylor said.
Australia have left out paceman Damien Fleming, seamer-cum-spinner
Colin Miller and batsman Darren Lehman out of their side.
Teams:
Australia: Mark Taylor (captain), Steve Waugh (vice-captain),
Michael Slater, Mark Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Justin Langer, Ian Healy,
Gavin Robertson, Stuart MacGill, Michael Kasprowicz, Glenn McGrath.
KCCA (from): Aamir Sohail (captain), Shahid Afridi, Suleman
Huda, Hasan Raza, Farhan Adil, Saeed Azad, Azam Khan, Atiquz Zaman
(wicketkeeper), Iqbal Imam, Ali Husain Rizvi, Zafar Iqbal, Waqar
Younis, Ali Gohar.
Umpires: Salim Badar and Riazuddin
Match Referee: Iqbal Sikandar
Match Referee: Iqbal Sikandar
Source:: Dawn (https://dawn.com/)