The Pakistan captain has called on his compatriots to support the team despite losing their first Test series to England since 1982.
KARACHI: Under-fire Pakistan captain Inzamam-ul-Haq has called on his compatriots to support the team despite losing their first Test series to England since 1982.
Inzamam’s team drew the first Test but lost the next two to trail the four-match series 2-0, their first series defeat since early 2005 in Australia. “I know my people are very upset and disappointed with our performances. I can understand their anger. But I would ask them to be patient with this team which has done well in recent past,” Inzamam said in his column in a leading Urdu language daily.
“We will make every effort to win the Oval Test and draw something positive from the Test series and also go into the one-dayers with confidence,” he said.
Inzamam, coach Bob Woolmer and the players came in for scathing criticism after losing the third Test at Headingley, with former captain Imran Khan directly blaming the coach for not preparing properly for the England tour. “They came into the series with a definite game plan to beat us and we unfortunately could not sustain the pressure,” Inzamam said. “We didn’’t play as a unit at all.”
England had lost 2-0 in Pakistan last year but gained revenge without four key players, Michael Vaughan, Andrew Flintoff, Simon Jones and Ashley Giles. “We failed to click as a team and England did. Only Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf turned in brilliant individual performances. They didn’t get the required backing,” Inzamam said.
Inzamam said Pakistan fans should remember their team’s recent success rather than compare their performances to Sri Lanka, who drew 1-1 in England earlier this year. “The team must be supported because it has played well recently to beat England, India and Sri Lanka,” he said. “Players are keen to make amends in fourth Test. They feel the defeat. People say Sri Lanka did better than us and yes they did because they played like a team and with a game plan.”
The fourth Test against England at The Oval is due to start on Aug. 17.
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