Aussie win can really kick-start our challenge – Waqar

Waqar Younis

KANDY, Sri Lanka, (Reuters) – Pakistan are already  safely through to the World Cup quarter-finals but coach Waqar  Younis is putting a very high premium on their final “dead rubber”  with Australia.
Victory in Colombo on Saturday could give the winners the  top spot in Group A which would mean they would play the  fourth-ranked side from Group B in the last eight.

Waqar  Younis
Waqar Younis

“If you win, then you can leave a mark,” Waqar told  reporters in Kandy after Monday’s seven-wicket victory over  Zimbabwe saw them through.
“But the bigger thing is the momentum. Also beating the  world champions will give us a lot more of a confidence  booster.”
Australia, four-times champions and winners of the last  three tournaments, have not lost a game in their last 33 World  Cup matches since 1999.
Waqar knows that beating Australia will take a considerable  improvement for his team which followed a super 11-run win over  Sri Lanka on Feb. 26 by crashing to New Zealand on March 8.

ERROR-PRONE
They still have a concern behind the stumps although  error-prone wicketkeeper Kamran Akmal followed a dismal  performance against the Kiwis with a couple of safe catches  against Zimbabwe.
There were suggestions among the media that Kamran’s younger  brother Umar could take his place as wicketkeeper but in the  event he pulled out against Zimbabwe because of injury.
Umar Akmal’s absence made room for young batsman Asad Shafiq  to make his World Cup debut and he took the opportunity to hit a  career-best unbeaten 78 leading the team to victory.
“He (Umar) didn’t play because he had a problem with his  finger. He got hit the other day and he had twisted his ankle,”  Waqar said.
“Asad Shafiq made a bit of difference because he is very  compact and he played very sensibly. He is the future and is  going to turn out to be one very good cricketer for Pakistan.”
Shafiq’s admirable innings masked another disappointing  display from Pakistan’s top order batsmen.
The young openers Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad have  scored a paltry average of 15.4 runs for the first wicket in  their first five World Cup group matches.
Afridi also has a headache rotating his bowlers. He tops the  World Cup wicket-taking list on 16 with his leg-spinners but  while Shoaib Akhtar still offers express pace in bursts, at 35  years old he now needs a longer recovery time.
“Shoaib Akhtar is no longer 22. That’s what one has to  understand. He is in his mid 30s or the other side of the 30s,”  Waqar added.
Wahab Riaz, 25, offers Afridi an affective replacement. “He  is another bowler who bowls 145 (kph) and he is a left armer. It  gives us a variety,” said Waqar.