Pak warm-up for crunch game turns heated as Inzi, Younis slug it out

Tempers flared when Younis Khan tackled fellow batsman Inzamam. The pair squared up angrily and when team mate Saeed Anwar, half Inzamam’s size, tried to defuse the situation, he was shoved to the ground by Inzamam.

Coach Richard Pybus called off the game and led the players back to the dressing room. They re-emerged 20 minutes later to resume training in the nets, while Inzamam was driven back to the team hotel. The atmosphere soon relaxed, with Wasim Akram joking with his team mates.

Skipper Waqar Younis played down the incident: ‘‘It’s nothing new. We always have this problem when we play soccer.’’

Asked if any players would face disciplinary action, he replied: ‘‘No.’’

Pakistan must win their game against Zimbabwe to have any chance of staying in the tournament, although even then they are likely to lose out to England on run rate.

Inzamam, one of the world’s leading batsmen, has had a wretched World Cup, having made 16 runs in five innings, averaging 3.20. He was run out for six after a mix-up with Anwar in Pakistan’s key game against India on Saturday at Centurion. Anwar went on to make a century but India still won by six wickets.

Pakistan’s progress in the tournament has been marred by reports of deep and bitter factionalism, taking its toll even on team selection.

The infighting was most evident during the vital game against India, when Waqar and Wasim were not on speaking terms. Inzamam filled in as an interlocutorduring that match.