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A round-up of matches on August 16 at the Under-19 World Cup 2012

ESPNcricinfo staff16-Aug-2012Pakistan sealed a comfortable win over New Zealand in Buderim to make it three victories in a row and set up a quarter-final clash with arch-rivals India.Each of Pakistan’s five bowlers picked up at least a wicket each, as New Zealand’s decision to bat first backfired. The top-order batsmen got starts but batted slowly and were dismissed after being set. Opener Joe Carter made 21, captain Will Young chipped in with 18, Robert O’Donnell made 29 and Henry Walsh top-scored with 33. But only one stand in the entire innings went past 50. Seamers Zia-ul-Haq and Ehsan Adil bagged two wickets each and Mohammad Nawaz’s left-arm spin continued to be effective, fetching him two wickets as well. All New Zealand managed in the end was 152 for 8 in 50 overs.In their response, Pakistan lost their captain Babar Azam early but Imam-ul-Haq made 40, adding 51 with No.5 batsman Saad Ali. Nawaz made a quick, unbeaten 23 and saw Pakistan through to victory in the 32nd over in the company of Salman Afridi.England secured their passage to the quarter-finals of the Under-19 World Cup by routing Nepal in Townsville on the final day of group matches.The wicketkeeper Ben Foakes made a sprightly 92 to underpin a first innings tally of 274 for 7, before Shozair Ali and Reece Topley shared seven wickets to round up the Nepalese for 148, despite a composed innings of 55 at the top of the order by Subash Khakurel.Batting first after winning the toss, England’s innings progressed smoothly enough thanks to Foakes’ rapid scoring, all the top eight batsmen passing double figures. Ben Duckett’s rapid-fire 55 from 33 balls livened up the closing passage of the innings, and ensured Nepal were chasing a very steep target indeed to register an unlikely first win of the competition.As he had done previously in the tournament, Topley struck in the first over of the innings, swinging a delivery through Sagar Pun’s defences and setting the tone for the afternoon. Khakurel’s innings took place amid the wreckage, as Nepal were 9 for 4, then 25 for 5 before Hasim Ansari provided nuisance value with his 36.Ali’s wickets were gained with a combination of swing, speed and intelligent lines, and it was he who concluded the match by splaying the stumps of Nepal’s last man Avinash Karn.Bangladesh confirmed a quarter-final clash with Australia, beating Namibia by seven wickets in Brisbane. The win meant Bangladesh finished the group stage at No. 2 on the Group D points table, behind South Africa but ahead of Sri Lanka.Namibia chose to bat, but could not get much of a partnership going all through their innings. Their batsmen failed to build on starts: while seven of their top eight got into double digits, no one other than captain Stephan Baard got past 20, and even he could only manage 40. The Bangladesh bowlers – left-arm spinner Naeem Islam jnr in particular – maintained very tidy economy rates and shared the wickets around, as Namibia were bowled out for 151 in the 50th over.The chase was anchored by opener Liton Das, who remained not out on 70. Soumya Sarkar, Anamul Haque and Al-Amin played quick cameos around Das, helping Bangladesh ease home with 13 overs to spare.Bangladesh will play their quarterfinal against Australia on Sunday in Townsville.

Neil Dexter’s century saw Lancashire’s hopes of survival slipping away on the first day at Lords’

Vithushan Ehantharajah at Lord's04-Sep-2012
ScorecardNeil Dexter struck 16 fours in his unbeaten innings•PA PhotosNeil Dexter continued his good end-of-season form, finishing the day unbeaten on 123 – his second century of the summer – as Lancashire failed to capitalise on a promising start.It was not the most fluent of knocks but at times Dexter’s strokes offered a glimpse into how different Middlesex’s season would have been had he found this streak earlier on. He drove and cut well, and was able to forget the wild slashes that surfaced during Lancashire’s rare moments of sustained pressure. His score today sees his season come around full circle.”The last time we played Lancashire, back in May, I only managed 47 and got dropped,” Dexter said. “And rightly so – I wasn’t playing well and I wasn’t in a particularly good place, so it’s nice to come back into the first team in good nick, and score a hundred today, against the side I failed to perform against.”It could have all been so different had Lancashire taken one of their two chances off Dexter – two catches of varying difficult, that could ultimately cost them their place in Division One. The first, a sharp diving effort to the left of Steven Croft at second slip, when Dexter had only 11 on the board, was as tough as slip catches come. The second was bordering on the rudimentary, as Dexter had seemingly picked out Ajmal Shahzad, diving in at mid-off, only for the ball to pop out of his grasp. He even took himself to three figures with a cut-shot that perfectly bisected wicketkeeper and first slip and went for four.”I was a bit fortunate today – a couple of chances went to hand, but things are going my way. As a batsman, you have to capitalise when that happens, and I’m glad I did. These are the types of knocks that you need to remember when you’re feeling down about your form; the times when you battle through an innings and make it count for yourself and your team.”Not ideal for Lancashire, who won the toss and put Middlesex in to bat, sensing the pitch and a 10.30am start had something to offer their bowlers. The first two wickets to fall owed little to the track itself – Glenn Chapple trapping Chris Rogers in front for 0 before strangling Joe Denly down the leg-side for 4. However, after Dawid Malan left an Shahzad delivery that clattered into his off-stump, it seemed there may well be enough in the pitch to suggest Middlesex – who had lost their 13th toss in 16 championship games – were up against it.A solid partnership between Dexter and opener Sam Robson partially allayed those fears, as the pair put on 63 for the fourth wicket, before Simon Kerrigan trapped Robson lbw in the penultimate over of the morning session, one run away from what was probably a deserved half-century. Dexter carried on the good work into the afternoon session as he forged another useful partnership, worth 62 with John Simpson, before he was joined by Gareth Berg, with whom he put on 158.The pair scored quickly, as Berg swept the relatively disappointing Kerrigan with ease. Kerrigan has enjoyed an impressive season, but he lacked the control that has seen him take 42 wickets prior to this match. At times he was too short, and it did not take long for Berg to pick him apart.But it would be wrong to blame the loss of initiative on the Kerrigan alone. Shahzad let his frustration get the better of him, persisting on a barrage of short-balls that troubled wicketkeeper Cross more than it did the batsmen, while Kyle Hogg and Tom Smith lacked the control of Chapple, despite Hogg removing Simpson, albeit with another leg-side catch through to the keeper.Any thoughts that the tea interval would help Lancashire reassess their tactics and stop Middlesex’s flow were cast aside, as Dexter and Berg continued about their business, with Berg passing fifty two overs into the evening session. He accelerated as Lancashire toiled without much luck, but fell for a season’s best 83, attempting to pull a short ball, wide of off-stump, and instead feathering through to Cross.The pitch looked to have flattened out as the day went on, which bodes well for Lancashire’s reply, but their immediate concern tomorrow will be limiting Middlesex to 450. At times in the evening session, they played like a team that had already meekly accepted relegation to Division Two. How else could you explain the way they handed Steven Crook the 45 runs he found himself unbeaten on at stumps?

Liam Plunkett has been given permission to talk to other counties. He has a year to go on his Durham contract but has played only one Championship match this season after losing form and confidence.

George Dobell05-Sep-2012Liam Plunkett has been given permission to talk to other counties. He has a year to go on his Durham contract but has played only one Championship match this season after losing form and confidence.”Liam has a year on his contract but the 28 day notice clause has been implemented to give him the opportunity to speak with other counties,”a club spokesman told ESPNcricinfo.Plunkett is not the only unsettled senior player at Durham. Ian Blackwell, who also has a year to go on his contract, is currently on loan at Warwickshire, while Steve Harmison, another man who is contracted next year, is back in the club’s second team having had a loan spell at Yorkshire.”It’s been a frustrating year for Liam,” Durham coach Geoff Cook said. “We have spoken to him and asked him what he wants to do with his future. If he feels there might be better opportunities elsewhere we wouldn’t stand in his way.”Plunkett was charged with drink-driving earlier this year and is currently injury having played just once in the County Championship this season. He has taken 10 wickets across nine Twenty20 and five CB40 matches. He has played nine Tests for England, taking 23 wickets at 39.82. His record across 29 ODIs is better, with 39 wickets at 33.87.

For the first time since readmission, the majority of South Africa’s television viewers could be left without any live Test cricket on their screens for the 2012-13 season

Firdose Moonda19-Dec-2012For the first time since readmission, the majority of South Africa’s television viewers could be left without any live Test cricket on their screens for the 2012-13 season. The national broadcaster, the SABC, has decided it will only air Twenty20s and ODIs and show highlights packages of up to two hours from the upcoming Tests against New Zealand.This comes after it was revealed that the SABC was under financial constraints, which led it to consider not broadcasting any cricket this summer. Cricket South Africa and the SABC were engaged in talks early this week to negotiate and reached a compromise where the free-to-air channel paid ten times less this season compared to last.In a press release, CSA said it hoped that the following series against Pakistan, which includes three Tests, five ODIs and two T20Is, “will be shown by the SABC in its entirety”. The first of two Tests against New Zealand begins on January 2.”It is a huge disappointment for us that the Tests matches won’t be shown live although we are pleased the other games will,” Jacques Faul, CSA acting chief executive told ESPNcricinfo. “We want to grow the game and the communities we want to reach out to will not have access to the matches.”Although CSA sold production rights for home internationals to subscription channel SuperSport, it still controls the broadcast rights. The package it sold to SuperSport excludes the free-to-air rights, which CSA holds back for the SABC. “Even though it means we get less money from those rights we carve them out so we can get the free-to-air broadcast,” Faul said.Last season, the SABC reportedly paid in the range of R30 million (US$3.5 million) to broadcast matches. CSA initially offered the SABC a deal for about half that but it was rejected. It has since had to resort to an even lower rights fee, partly because the parties ran out of time to negotiate further. The first match of South Africa’s home summer, a T20 international against New Zealand in Durban will be played in two days’ time and CSA were anxious for the deal to be sealed.It has, however, led CSA to question its arrangement with the SABC going forward. “We will definitely assess our relationship with them in future because we do not want to do business like this,” Faul said.CSA’s only other option would be to look at an arrangement with e.tv, the other non-subsciption channel in the country. International cricket matches played in South Africa are regarded as “listed sports events” by the Independent Communications Authority, which means they must be available on free-to-air television.Despite those regulations, the SABC does not believe it has failed its remit. “The decision to broadcast these matches is a clear indication that we take our mandate seriously and we are cognisant that the public of South Africa deserve to see their cricket team,” it said in a statement.Cricket is the second-most popular sport in South Africa and almost five times as many people watch T20 and ODI matches on the SABC compared to SuperSport. Almost seven times more watch Test cricket on the national broadcaster and those could now face a blackout on live coverage. SuperSport will continue to show all matches live and the SABC’s main sports radio station, 2000, will provide live ball-by-ball commentary at all the games.

Pakistan’s whistle stop two-week, five-match tour of India that starts on Christmas Day in Bangalore could be kicked off with the 3000 Pakistani ticket-holders for the series being issued Indian visas in less than ten days

Sharda Ugra06-Dec-2012Pakistan’s whistle stop two-week, five-match tour of India that starts on Christmas Day in Bangalore could be kicked off with the 3000 Pakistani ticket-holders for the series being issued Indian visas in less than ten days.The Pakistan tour of India, featuring two T20 Internationals in Bangalore and Ahmedabad, and three ODIs in Chennai, Kolkata and Delhi, has been pushed through via the highest levels of the government and cricket administration on both sides of the border. The PCB will be issued the 3000 tickets and will soon finalise and announce the mechanism to be put in place for the sale of the tickets. Of the total 3000 tickets, there will be 1000 for the match in Delhi and 500 for each of the other four cities. Pakistan citizens holding tickets to all five matches will be issued five-city visas, an unusual diplomatic practice in itself. An announcement on a quicker visa-issuing process for the cricket is expected in a few days’ time.A four-man PCB recce team concluded its visit of India on Thursday, after travelling to each of the venues where the matches will be held. Ehsan Sadiq, the PCB’s director of security and vigilance is the head of the delegation which includes Usman Wahla, manager international cricket, Sohail Khan, senior police officer of the Punjab Police and Nadeem Sarwar, general manager, media. Sarwar said that the issue of security will largely be left in the hands of the hosts. “What we expect is fool-proof security for our players, and we expect that the capability that these cities have will provide that.”The PCB recce team’s chief concerns were more related to practice facilities and net bowlers, and ensuring that team hotels clear out mini-bars. There was, Sarwar said, no strict ‘ban’ on players socialising or attending private parties. “We would discourage individuals from socialising because it’s going to be a very busy tour – five matches in 14 days. It’s not like there’s a ban or a restrictive list [of activities] on the tour, because there is very little time for socialising.”He said the future of Indo-Pak cricketing relations depended on India: “The ball will now be in their court.” As for international cricket in Pakistan, Sarwar said that the PCB was confident that teams would start visiting Pakistan “very soon”. “It is, at the moment, just a question of perception. We are in negotiations with several boards. Teams will start coming to Pakistan, hopefully soon.”On this tour, the Pakistan team, Sarwar said, wanted to redress their recent poor record against India: India had won the previous four games between the teams – two Asia Cup ODIs, the 2011 World Cup semi-final and a World T20 group match in September.The PCB team met with BCCI president N Srinivasan in Chennai and were in Kolkata two days before the Test match between India and England. Jagmohan Dalmiya, the former BCCI president and president of the Cricket Association of Bengal, told the PCB team that he appreciated the role played by PCB chief Zaka Ashraf’s in pushing the series through.The May and June meetings between Ashraf and Srinivasan led to the announcement of a schedule for the series, which is sandwiched between England’s Test and ODI tour of India. In September, Ashraf met with the-then Indian foreign minister, SM Krishna, in Islamabad and two months later, the Indian high commissioner to Pakistan travelled to Lahore for discussions on visa issues with PCB officials.

To beat South Africa, opposition teams need to hone in on one thing: the world No.1 side’s bowlers

Firdose Moonda29-Jan-2013To beat South Africa, opposition teams need to hone in on one thing: the world No.1 side’s bowlers.”The big battle between any team coming up against the current South African one will be between their batsmen against the South African bowlers,” Vincent Barnes, manager of the high performance centre, who was in charge of the South African Invitation side that played against the touring Pakistanis, told ESPNCricinfo. “If you can tame the bowlers, you can get close but if you can’t, you will get a hiding.”On the evidence of the tour match, which few read into, Pakistan’s batsmen have some work to do. Nasir Jamshed and Mohammad Hafeez did well in both innings but of the middle order only Misbah-ul-Haq scored a half-century.”It looked like they were just trying to occupy the crease and then some of them got good balls and got out,” Barnes said. “We can’t judge too much on that. Guys like Azhar Ali and Younis Khan have scored big runs in the past. Jamshed looks like a guy whose natural game is to play his shots and Hafeez is a quality player who scores both sides of the wicket.”While the batsmen will be the ones under scrutiny, some may see the real contest as a battle between bowling attacks as Pakistan’s has a lot to offer. Barnes regards Umar Gul as their “best bowler who is very skilful” and Saeed Ajmal as the “key factor” to their chances of success.He also saw first-hand the two bowlers who will be relatively unknown quantities to South Africa – Junaid Khan and Mohammad Irfan. Left-armer Junaid swings the ball both ways while Irfan, at more than two metres tall, is expected to extract steep bounce. “Junaid drifted in an out a bit. He had some good spells and some average ones,” Barnes said. “Irfan is definitely a massive presence. Bounce will be his strength but he struggled with his lengths and didn’t seem to swing the ball much.”Irfan’s Test debut is the most widely talked about point in the lead up to the series. While Jacques Kallis joked that some of the South African bowlers will go to practice on stilts, he does not actually seem too fazed about the prospect of facing him.”Morne Morkel is not too much shorter than that so we are used to facing quite a bit of bounce. It will be slightly different but nothing we haven’t seen before,” he said. “There is so much video analysis around. I suppose it takes a few balls to get used to facing them but once you’ve seen them on video, you get an idea.” Morkel, at around 1.9 metres tall, has been known to prosper on the more lively pitches on the Highveld and Irfan will hope to do the same in the Tests at Johannesburg and Centurion.But it is not bounce or swing that Hashim Amla thinks will make the difference in the series. Precision and discipline are the traits he rates highest in his home conditions. “I’ve always felt that in South African conditions, it’s usually the guys that are not necessarily quick but quite accurate who do well. Vernon is an example of that,” he said.”I think they’ve got a good bowling attack and what helps the sub-continent teams is that they usually bowl on flat tracks. So when they do come to a wicket that does assist them they have the discipline.”Local conditions are also what Kallis hopes will give South Africa’s bowlers the upperhand in the contest between the pace packs. “They’ve got some good quality batters that have been around a long time but what we have in our favour is that they are not used to our conditions. They will be tested with the short ball,” he warned. Other sub-continent teams have been told the same but Pakistan are the team that have prospered most. They will hope to continue that run.

England and Sri Lanka took the third and fifth spots in their respective playoffs against New Zealand and South Africa

ESPNcricinfo staff15-Feb-2013
ScorecardCharlotte Edwards became the third player to score eight centuries in women’s ODIs, with Australia’s Karen Rolton and England’s Claire Taylor•Getty ImagesAn unbeaten century from England captain Charlotte Edwards led her team to a four-wicket win against New Zealand, which secured third place in the Women’s World Cup. In what may be Edwards’ last World Cup game, she guided the chase of 221 with an innings of 106 off 121 balls, equalling the most centuries in women’s ODIs – eight.After being put in to bat, New Zealand began sedately with a couple of productive partnerships, before the run-out of Sophie Devine and three middle-order wickets to spinner Holly Colvin hurt them. Suzie Bates, the highest run-getter in the tournament, had been dismissed for 21, but No. 3 Amy Satterthwaite, who had scored a century in her previous match, stayed until the 47th over to score 85 and guide her side past 200.England lost Danielle Wyatt early wicket in the chase, but were more assured thereafter. Edwards added 78 with Sarah Taylor, 53 with Lydia Greenway, and 58 with Arran Brindle to help them to 199 for 3 in the 42nd over. They then lost three wickets for three runs, before Laura Marsh and Edwards took England home. Offspinner Lucy Doolan was New Zealand’s most productive bowler, taking 3 for 50 in her ten overs.Edwards was happy to have contributed to a fruitful World Cup campaign. “I came into this tournament after having worked incredibly hard over the winter – not just on my skills, but I had also worked on my fitness. It’s really nice to reap rewards of that. Two hundreds in this tournament, I am really proud of that, for me it’s been about me contributing to the team and today was about getting to third place and ending the tournament on a high,” she said.New Zealand’s captain Bates felt her team needed 30 more runs in their innings. Her team, she said, played their worst in their final three games of the tournament.”I think the last three games, we probably played our worst cricket which is what we will probably remember from the tournament. The game against West Indies where we lost hurt us badly and we didn’t play well enough.”
ScorecardSri Lanka captain Shashikala Siriwardene, with an all-round display, helped her team to the fifth position in the tournament as South Africa were beaten by 88 runs.After choosing to bat, Sri Lanka found themselves at a precarious 14 for 2 in the fourth over. Chamari Atapattu and Deepika Rasangika steadied the innings thereafter to put on 68 runs for the third wicket.Rasangika was dismissed in the 22nd over, and the new batsman, Siriwardene continued to build on the previous partnership with an 82-run stand with Atapattu, who finished as the highest scorer in the innings with 52. Siriwardene was stumped on 44, sending in bowler Eshani Kaushalya to add impetus to the score as she scored a quick 43, off 31 balls. Sri Lanka finished with a competitive 244 for 7.South Africa were unable to put on substantial partnerships in their chase, as they lost wickets at crucial intervals through their innings. Chamani Seneviratna and Sripali Weerakkody helped dismiss the top order, and they were reduced to 49 for 4 in 17 overs. From there on, Siriwardene took over as she picked up 4 for 32 to help finish off the tail. Shandre Fritz was the only batsman to offer any resistance; she scored 54 before being run out by Kaushalya.

Alastair Cook has revealed there is some worry over Kevin Pietersen’s right knee after he was forced to spend time off the field during the first Test

Andrew McGlashan in Dunedin10-Mar-2013Alastair Cook has revealed there is some worry over Kevin Pietersen’s right knee after he was forced to spend time off the field during the first Test.Pietersen, who made 0 and 12, did not field between lunch and tea on the third day. He returned for the final session that was shortened by rain and also fielded when New Zealand batted for a further nine overs on Saturday, although that could have been to ensure he could bat in his usual No. 4 spot if required as the injury was not an external blow.Cook said: “There has been a bit of concern about his right knee in this Test match but he should be fit to play in Wellington.”After Pietersen was dismissed on the final afternoon he was spotted by TV cameras sat in the dressing room with a black X marking a spot on his knee. Pietersen has only been part of the Test leg of this trip having been rested for the Twenty20s and ODIs. He was dismissed by Neil Wagner in both innings at University Oval.Should an injury rule out any of England’s specialist batsmen during the series Jonny Bairstow is the reserve player in the squad.Graeme Swann’s tour ended on the opening day of the Dunedin Test when it was decided he needed surgery on his right elbow. He has returned the UK before flying to the United States for the operation. James Tredwell, the Kent offspinner, has now arrived in New Zealand to bolster the squad.

Joe Root has been named captain of the England Lions team to play New Zealand in a four-day game in Leicester from May 9.

George Dobell29-Apr-2013Joe Root has been named captain of the England Lions team to play New Zealand in a four-day game in Leicester from May 9.Root was scheduled to captain the Lions on their limited-overs tour of Australia, but was instead called-up to the senior squad. James Taylor, who captained in his place, remains part of the Lions team.Among the more intriguing selections is a recall for Michael Carberry, who played one Test in Bangladesh in early 2010, as well as Ravi Bopara and Toby Roland-Jones. The team, which will be coached by England’s limited-overs coach Ashley Giles, contains three players from Warwickshire, the club he coached to the County Championship title last year: Chris Woakes, Chris Wright and Varun Chopra.Jonny Bairstow will keep wicket, in a move that suggests he is currently considered Matt Prior’s deputy in Test cricket. Yorkshire and Warwickshire provide five of the 11 players.England’s eagerness to give Root the captaincy once again illustrates how highly the regard the qualities of a player who seems mature beyond his years in cricketing terms.”With a busy summer of Test cricket ahead, this fixture against New Zealand is an excellent opportunity for our players to show us that they are capable of representing England in the longer format of the game,” said Geoff Miller, the national selector. “Joe Root will lead the side in order to assist his development as a cricketer and provide him with valuable experience of captaincy against quality opposition.”Ashley Giles, England’s one-day coach, will join the management team for the match as he casts an eye over players who are competing for places in England’s Champions Trophy squad this summer.England Lions Team: Joe Root capt, Jonny Bairstow (both Yorkshire), Ravi Bopara (Essex), Michael Carberry (Hampshire), Varun Chopra (Warwickshire), Simon Kerrigan (Lancashire), Graham Onions (Durham), Toby Roland-Jones (Middlesex), James Taylor (Nottinghamshire), Chris Woakes (Warwickshire), Chris Wright (Warwickshire).

Pakistan’s six-day conditioning camp in Abbottabad concluded on Wednesday, ahead of the Champions Trophy in England

Umar Farooq in Abbottabad08-May-2013Pakistan’s cricketers focused primarily on fitness and batting skills during the six-day training camp in Abbottabad, which concluded on Wednesday, ahead of the Champions Trophy in England. The players returned to their hometowns and will reassemble on Monday in Lahore before departing for Scotland.The weather in Abbottabad, at an altitude of 1260m, remained pleasant throughout the camp and the players took part in some practice matches. Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq said the players had ample time to gel.”The purpose of coming here was that the team should train without any distractions,” Misbah said. “It’s a bit cooler here and the pitches had offered some movement for the batsmen to cope with.”Misbah also said the players needed to pay more attention to fitness. “We are seeking improvement in fitness, at least close to the requirements of international cricket. We are not there yet but we are trying to hit the benchmark.”During the camp, you must have seen that fielding is directly associated with your level of fitness and we are working on both,” Misbah said. “We understand that if your fitness and fielding does not improve you will suffer in international cricket, especially in T20 and one-day cricket.”Misbah said the team’s defeats in South Africa had made his players mentally stronger. “In South Africa we played some tough cricket in tough conditions and the boys will benefit from it mentally. You get ready to face difficulties and I think our performance will be good in the Champions Trophy.”Opening batsman and T20 captain Mohammad Hafeez had rigorous net sessions, mainly working on his technique against seam bowling. Hafeez had a poor tour of South Africa, where he scored only 43 runs in the Tests and 118 in the ODIs, and was dismissed by Dale Styen on six occasions.Pakistan’s coach Dav Whatmore said it was more of a skills camp. “Obviously this is not the northern hemisphere, but it’s a destination where we can achieve a few things,” he said. “This is not a conditioning camp, this is skills camp because we are close to the competition. We are pretty happy with what we got, we had some bad (rainy) weather on Sunday but we managed to get 70 overs for ample match practice.”Pakistan had lost the Test series in South Africa 3-0 but fared better in the one-dayers, losing 3-2. “In the last series we were one game from winning the series,” Whatmore said. “We are okay, we just needed to improve on a couple of areas and we would have been a series winner.”Chances in the Champions Trophy is difficult to predict accurately, but I tell you what this team has got the ability. If we play to our potential we can put pressure on any team. Our goal is obviously to win it.”Pakistan will play two ODIs each against Scotland and Ireland later this month before taking on West Indies, South Africa and India in its Champions Trophy Group B matches.