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Pakistan's emphatic 10-wicket victory over the West Indies in the World Cup quarterfinal has cheered up coach Waqar Younis.
“You got to give credit to the Pakistan team for the way it bowled and for the way it batted and finished the match on such a commanding note. I believe there was no load-shedding in Pakistan today so that people could watch the game fully.
“I thank the fans back home for their prayers and this is a gift to them and I am over the moon,” Younis said.
The coach was happy with the manner in which openers Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Hafeez notched the winning runs.
“The bowling has always been good. It is just that we had a few issues with our batting. We didn't get the starts we would have liked in this tournament but today I am more than happy with the way Hafeez and Akmal batted. Hafeez is a smart cricketer, be it with the ball or the bat,” Younis said.
He also commiserated with the West Indies team. “When I was playing, they ruled the world but now they are going through a bad patch.
“If it was all smiles in the Pakistan dressing room, the West Indies change room was a picture of gloom and an upset captain
Darren Sammy skipped the post-match press conference and instead coach Ottis Gibson squared up to the media. “We are very disappointed. The captain was not feeling good enough to meet you guys and so I am here. It is time to take serious decisions.”
“For the last ten years, West Indies cricket has remained at the same level with the same players.
“We need to think hard and change a few things before we host Pakistan in April. The seniors did not perform well,” Gibson said.
The coach was pragmatic in his assessment of the team. “We stumbled into the quarterfinal after defeating Ireland, The Netherlands and Bangladesh, but against the big boys we failed. But when we came to Dhaka we were positive and we had our plans against the Pakistan spinners.
“The pitch did not get anyone out today. It was a combination of poor batsmanship and very low confidence.
“Sammy did not score the runs that he was expected toin the tournament, but captaincy is something that happened to him because of circumstances and he is trying his best and I don't think there will be a change in that position for now.”
“Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan have been around for a while and we need to strike a balance between seniors and young cricketers for the future,” Gibson said.
“You got to give credit to the Pakistan team for the way it bowled and for the way it batted and finished the match on such a commanding note. I believe there was no load-shedding in Pakistan today so that people could watch the game fully.
“I thank the fans back home for their prayers and this is a gift to them and I am over the moon,” Younis said.
The coach was happy with the manner in which openers Kamran Akmal and Mohammad Hafeez notched the winning runs.
“The bowling has always been good. It is just that we had a few issues with our batting. We didn't get the starts we would have liked in this tournament but today I am more than happy with the way Hafeez and Akmal batted. Hafeez is a smart cricketer, be it with the ball or the bat,” Younis said.
He also commiserated with the West Indies team. “When I was playing, they ruled the world but now they are going through a bad patch.
“If it was all smiles in the Pakistan dressing room, the West Indies change room was a picture of gloom and an upset captain
Darren Sammy skipped the post-match press conference and instead coach Ottis Gibson squared up to the media. “We are very disappointed. The captain was not feeling good enough to meet you guys and so I am here. It is time to take serious decisions.”
“For the last ten years, West Indies cricket has remained at the same level with the same players.
“We need to think hard and change a few things before we host Pakistan in April. The seniors did not perform well,” Gibson said.
The coach was pragmatic in his assessment of the team. “We stumbled into the quarterfinal after defeating Ireland, The Netherlands and Bangladesh, but against the big boys we failed. But when we came to Dhaka we were positive and we had our plans against the Pakistan spinners.
“The pitch did not get anyone out today. It was a combination of poor batsmanship and very low confidence.
“Sammy did not score the runs that he was expected toin the tournament, but captaincy is something that happened to him because of circumstances and he is trying his best and I don't think there will be a change in that position for now.”
“Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Chris Gayle and Ramnaresh Sarwan have been around for a while and we need to strike a balance between seniors and young cricketers for the future,” Gibson said.