Pakistan take on Guyana in warm up fixture at Bourda today

Jul 11, 2013 Sports

By Zaheer Mohamed
Pakistan will clash with host Guyana in a warm up match today at the world famous Georgetown Cricket Club ground Bourda before the start of their five match one day international series against the West Indies.

Ramnaresh Sarwan

Pakistan will be looking for much needed practice before the series starts on Sunday at the Guyana National Stadium Providence. The visitors will be led by Misbah-ul-Haq and includes the experienced Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Hafeez and Umar Akmal.
Their batting will depend a lot on their captain, ul-Haq, Ahmed Shehzad, Nasir Jamshed, Asad Shafiq and Hafeez who will be representing the Guyana Franchise team in the Caribbean Premier League.
The team’s all-round ability looks good with the versatile Afridi and Hafeez handling that department. Off spinner Saeed Ajmal may prove to be dangerous in the local conditions; Fast bowlers, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan and Mohammad Irfan may not find much assistance from the Bourda sward, but nevertheless will look to make an impact before Sunday’s game.
However they will be up against a Guyana team who may not treat this fixture as a warm up since a number of players will be looking to give the West Indies selectors something to think about. The home team will be led by left arm spinner Veerasammy Permaul, while Christopher Barnwell will serve as his deputy. Ramnaresh Sarwan, who will be at the helm for Guyana in the Caribbean Premier League, will look to regain his place in the regional side. Narsingh Deonarine, Leon Johnson and Assad Fudadin scored centuries in the recently concluded West Indies and Sri Lanka A team series and a good performance here should fancy their chances of a senior team pick.
Devendra Bishoo troubled the Pakistanis on their last tour to the Caribbean, and will be the one to watch on a track which is likely to render assistance to the spinners. While he may want to repeat that performance, his control, variation and consistency will be the key factors. Permaul, Steven Jacobs, Zaheer Mohamed are also capable spinners and may pose some problems for the visitors.
Christopher Barnwell has developed into a talented all rounder and will be a key figure in the host line up. Keon Joseph and Paul Wintz are the new ball bowlers, while Anthony Bramble will perform duties behind the stumps. Action starts at 09:30 hrs.
Meanwhile, tickets for the Red and Green stands for Sunday’s

Saeed Ajmal bowls in the nets during his team practice session yesterday at the Guyana National Stadium.

first one day international are already sold out.
Teams- Pakistan; Misbah-ul-Haq )Capt.), Nasir Jamshed, Ahmed Shehzad, Mohammad Hafeez, Asad Shafiq, Umar Akmal (wk), Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Wahab Riaz, Junaid Khan, Mohammad Irfan, Asad Ali, Umar Amin, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Abdur Rehman and Haris Sohail.
Guyana; Veerasammy Permaul (Capt.), Christopher Barnwell (V. Capt.), Trevon Griffith, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Assad Fudadin, Leon Johnson, Narsingh Deonarine, Anthony Bramble, Steven Jacobs, Devendra Bishoo, Rajiv Ivan, Zaheer Mohamed, Paul Wintz and Keon Joseph.