da betobet： Match Preview: Sharjah Cup 2002-03: Back on the road, Wisden Staff
Wisden staff02-Apr-2003There has barely been time to take stock of the 52 matches and 42 days ofthe 2003 World Cup, but already the show is back on the road, as Pakistan,Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and Kenya converge on Sharjah for an eight-dayquadrangular tournament.There is $150,000 at stake in the Sharjah Cup, which begins with a matchbetween Pakistan and Zimbabwe on Thursday, but more importantly for thethree Test nations involved, there’s an early chance to bounce back fromtheir World Cup disappointments. Kenya beat both Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe enroute to the semi-finals, while Pakistan failed to qualify from the firstround. As a result, several unproven players will be given theiropportunities in the coming days.For Pakistan and Zimbabwe in particular, the World Cup marked the end of anera, and Thursday’s teams will be almost unrecognisable from the teams thatplayed out a soggy no-result at Bulawayo last month. Wasim Akram and WaqarYounis have both been put out to pasture by the Pakistani selectors, andseveral senior players have been overlooked for the time being, includingInzamam-ul-Haq and Shoaib Akhtar. For Zimbabwe, Andy Flower’s retirementthreatens to be an insurmountable loss, while Henry Olonga, AlistairCampbell and Guy Whittall have also played their final internationalmatches.Most of the attention, however, will be focused on Pakistan’s new managementpairing of Rashid Latif and Javed Miandad. “I was planning to retire afterthe World Cup, but I’ve decided to put it on hold to help my country in therebuilding process,” said Latif, who returns for his second captaincy stint.”It may not be easy to establish ourselves as a top team quickly. We needtime to get the feel of international cricket, but with [coach] JavedMiandad, whom I consider one of the best brains in cricket, at the helm,Pakistan can look forward to regaining lost glory.”Only two members of Pakistan’s squad, the seamer Umar Gul and batsmanMohammad Hafeez, are completely new to international cricket, but theremainder are raw, to say the least. “Most of the players are young andhence, we will try and work on improving the technical aspect of theirgame,” said Latif. “But one has to be patient. We are not expecting the teamto perform miracles. If they win here in Sharjah, it will be a bonus. Theidea is to build a team for the future.”Sri Lanka, who open their campaign against Pakistan on Friday, are in asimilar period of rebuilding. They have already decided not to renew DavWhatmore’s contract as coach, although a reluctant Sanath Jayasuriya hasbeen persuaded to continue as captain for the time being. They enter thetournament without Aravinda de Silva, who has joined the selection panelsince his retirement, while the middle order is also revamped, after theWorld Cup failures of Russel Arnold and Mahela Jayawardene, who averaged ameagre three runs in six innings.For Kenya, however, everything is sweetness and light after theirastonishing World Cup run, and further victories in the coming week are verymuch on the cards for a group of players whose team spirit is unquenchable.They have, however, lost the services of their coach, Sandeep Patil, who hasreturned to India, but another former Indian star, Abid Ali, has beendrafted in for the duration of the tournament. Abid Ali, who is currentlythe coach of the United Arab Emirates, was persuaded to step in by thetournament organisers.