da pinnacle： Younis Khan views success in the World Twenty20 as the best way to make Pakistan smile again
da bwin： Andrew Miller at Lord's31-May-2009Pakistan’s captain, Younis Khan, is ready to turn England into his team’s home away from home, and views success in the World Twenty20 as the best way to make his troubled nation smile again.Since the atrocities outside the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore in March, in which eight security and transport personnel were killed in a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus, Pakistan’s cricketers have been forced into exile. They were barred from competing in the IPL, and their only action since the attack was a low-key ODI series against Australia in the UAE.Now, however, they are on the world stage in a big way, lining up alongside England and Netherlands in the group stage of a competition that, but for a moment’s aberration from Misbah-ul-Haq against India in September 2007, they might well have won at the first attempt.”It is special to be back on the world stage,” Younis told reporters at Lord’s. “Especially in Twenty20s, and especially in England. We are suffering from not playing regularly, and no-one is coming to Pakistan, but all the time in the last few months I have been talking to the boys, and telling them to do well [in this tournament]. There are a lot of media here, and [if we succeed] we’ll be well on our way to our mission, so to speak. It’s very important for us.”There has been much talk in recent weeks about overkill of the Twenty20 format, and burn-out of the game’s star players, but such issues couldn’t be less of a problem for Pakistan, who are desperate to get stuck into some meaningful cricket. “If you don’t play regularly, you don’t have that match fitness,” said Younis. “But the beauty of international cricket is that it is changing all the time in different conditions, so we feel fresh and will do well in England, in’shallah.”Younis admitted his team’s security for this tournament had been stepped up from previous visits to England, but added that such a situation had become common-place for Pakistan. Of greater importance was the opportunity that the visit provides his young players, especially with the prospect of a return to England next summer to play a Test series against Australia.”Playing in England is everyone’s dream,” said Younis. “I have been over here for county cricket [with Yorkshire], and my first Test at Lord’s was fantastic for me. Playing cricket in Pakistan would be better, but we have problems as everyone knows. England is the home of cricket, it will be good for our youngsters to learn to play in any conditions. Sometimes here it rains, sometimes it’s hot, sometimes it’s cold.”With that in mind, Younis said that his team’s tactics would revolve around a more patient game that has sometimes been witnessed in Twenty20 cricket. “I have a couple of plans,” he said. “T20 looks short, but it’s not – 120 balls is enough. If you bat normally but with energy, especially in the middle order where you need good running between the wickets, [a score of] 180-190 is very easy.”In English conditions the new ball does seam, so you need someone like Salman Butt who can play for 20 overs. But in the middle order, we have big hitters like Shahid Afridi and Misbah-ul-Haq, he’s a top Twenty20 batsman. So we are not lacking in players.”Afridi’s power-hitting game might have been designed with Twenty20 cricket in mind, but Younis was careful not to expect him to shred the opposition every innings. “Afridi was one of best players of the last tournament,” he said. “As a captain I have a few good players, but the main thing is everyone respects him. He’ll come in and though it’s not possible to hit every ball for six, the expectation is there. He’s always done a good job for me, and he’ll do good for Pakistan.”Reflecting on the near-miss in 2007, Younis admitted that there had been a few players in tears at the end of the final in Johannesburg. When five runs were needed for victory, Misbah mistimed an attempted scoop over fine leg and lobbed a simple chance to Sreesanth on the edge of the circle. But he remained confident that his team could achieve at least a top-four finish this time, and maybe even go one better than two years ago.”The finishing touches were not there in 2007,” said Younis. “But it was fantastic to be a part of that team in the final. Some guys were crying at the end, but in T20 everything can change. My confidence is that I’ll take this trophy to Pakistan, but if the plan works ins’hallah it’ll be an achievement for us to finish in the top four.”We have a lot of followers all the time in England, and a lot of cities here have Pakistanis and Indians,” he said. “That’s the main reason I’m happy to be in England. Our fans are fantastic back home, they are lovers of T20, and now it’s dependent on us to prove ourselves. If we play good cricket it will be good for our nation. These days the whole nation is depressed, and only cricket [can lift it]. If we play good and win something, they will cheer. To finish in the top four, my nation will come again and start cheering.”
