Pak eager to make amends

While the hosts revel in their changed fortunes 8212; few gave them a chance after being thrashed 2-0 in the recent Test series against Pakistan 8212; the rivals were left to rue their reverses. South Africa are clearly short of match practice, while the Pakistanis have had too much of it.

South Africa8217;s clash against Sri Lanka on Thursday, which they lost by 37 runs, was their first international outing since the one-day series against Australia at home in April. Pakistan, on the other hand, have been on tour since March, playing two Test series and four one-day tournaments across the globe.

It8217;s a problem rival coaches Javed Miandad of Pakistan and Graham Ford of South Africa are aware of and determined to rectify before it is too late. quot;It was a good wake-up call,quot; Miandad said of the five-wicket defeat against Sri Lanka in Wednesday8217;s opening match. quot;It8217;s important we don8217;t start losing interest now, because if we can8217;t win this tournament, it will be a disappointing end to such a good tour for me, the team and the people back home.quot;

Pakistan went into the tri-series chasing their fourth successive one-day title after winning in Sharjah, the West Indies and Bangladesh.

South Africa, on their first overseas tour since the match-fixing scandal which cost former captain Hansie Cronje his career, turned certain victory into an embarrassing defeat on Thursday. Chasing 250 to win, the South Africans lost all 10 wickets for 62 runs after an opening stand of 150 between Gary Kirsten and Andrew Hall.

Ford, however, was more concerned about the bowling attack, which gifted easy runs to the Sri Lankans, including 24 wides and seven no-balls. quot;We were worried about the bowling going into this game and it showed,quot; Ford said. quot;All we8217;ve got to do is keep persevering, and it will pay off. We will give the bowlers a chance to get their rhythm going. There are a few technical problems which we also need to sort out.quot;

After the first 25 overs, the South African bowlers had conceded 24 extras, all from no-balls and wides. Fast bowler Mortantau Hayward was the main culprit with four no-balls and six wides from five overs. He was also the most expensive, going for 40 runs from his first four overs. South Africa8217;s 36 extras, which in effect gave Sri Lanka six extra overs, was only one short of the world record of 37 conceded by Pakistan against the West Indies in 1988.

Shaun Pollock8217;s men are clearly missing pace spearhead Allan Donald, who opted out of the tour to play county cricket for his English club Warwickshire. Pakistan, meanwhile, were hoping fast bowler Waqar Younis will be fit for the match after suffering cramps in his legs against Sri Lanka. Waqar, the mainstay of the attack in the absence of Wasim Akram, was his team8217;s most impressive bowler on Wednesday with 2-11 from five overs. His fitness is crucial for Pakistan who play back-to-back matches against South Africa on Saturday and Sri Lanka on Sunday. AFP