Interview with Pakistan Manager
Cricinfo
Rhys Williams speaks out about Zimbabwe triumph
It had taken just a few overs, but Pakistan were already seemingly in control of the first one day international and the series as debutant Fawad Alam and Shoaib Malik, the captain, set the pace as Pakistan batted first. That was further backed up by the performance from Shoaib Akhtar and the rest of the bowling attack as aside from small resistance, they crushed the Zimbabwean batsman. The next two matches followed the same sort of pattern, with the new Pakistan players performing well, if not better, than some of the older Pakistan players.
Were you happy with the performances in Zimbabwe?
Yes, of course I was delighted. Having just taken over the reigns here at Pakistan, I was a bit nervous about the whole situation - especially playing a potential banana skin in Zimbabwe. However, the players stepped up to the mark and produced fantastic performances in the three matches to produce a wonderful, and quite easy series victory.
Were the opposition lacking in ability, resulting in limited opportunity for your team to be tested?
Yes and no. In some parts, they have shown that they are quite capable of competing in international cricket however they often folded when under pressure, resulting in substantially easier wins for us than I was really hoping for. With some tough matches to follow this year and next, it wasn't a series that reached its maximum potential in my opinion.
Did you feel the new guys performed very well?
Absolutely! Finding Fawad at the top of the order is fantastic! He has smacked a couple of 50's (I think) this series and fully deserves his place amongst the team in the future. Then of course the lower order was stabalised with the introduction of the new guy. I was criticised for not picking Misbah, but I felt that as this was a tour of Zimbabwe, I wanted to give some 'lesser' players a go - and they performed. Finally, Ali Asad performed excellently as an opener alongside Akhtar.
Are you looking forward to the series against South Africa and Australia?
Oh yes indeed! I can't bloody wait! It will be a great chance to gauge where we are in world cricket (in both forms (minus T20) of the game). I would hope that we could show a good effort against both teams, especially as we are playing at home. The test series' will be very interesting. The Australians, of course, now less-stable than before will hopefully find it tough on our home turf - the same goes for the improving South Africans. ODI's are more of a lottery and I'd be happy with some good performances.
Predictions: erm... v Aus Tests: Drawn series, v Aus ODI's: Pak to win by 1
v SA Tests: Pak win v SA ODI's: SA by 1.
Hopefully they should be very close, and interesting series.
Ask Williams: If you have any questions for the new Pakistan manager, please ask them, and he will respond. (Good questions will get reps
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