Not enough time for Pak to prepare for WC: Akram
Karachi: Former Pakistan captain Wasim Akram has expressed concerns over the national cricket team not getting enough matches and time to get acclimatised to the conditions in New Zealand and Australia ahead of the World Cup, starting from February 14. "It takes time to adjust to the pitches and conditions in both countries and I have toured those nations many times in the past. I just think a few warm up games and two ODIs against New Zealand is not the proper preparation for such a mega event. "We should have played a full ODI series in New Zealand and had some more games in Australia before the World Cup," insisted Akram, who was a part of the 1992 World Cup winning squad and also captained Pakistan to the 1999 edition final in England. The fast bowling great told Geo News channel that he was surprised with the way New Zealand today defeated Pakistan by seven wickets with 63 balls to spare in the first ODI. He said both the batsmen and bowlers are yet to adjust to the conditions in New Zealand.
Windies arrive for World Cup campaign
Sydney: A weary but upbeat West Indies side arrived here to begin preparations for the 2015 cricket World Cup. They arrived to a warm reception from fans and well-wishers Friday following a 12-hour flight from South Africa and are expected to get right down to their preparation ahead of the start of the tournament Feb 14. They will utilise local club facilities.Off the field, the West Indies are expected to meet a few members of the West Indian community.
Dey to be manager for warm-ups too
Perth: The BCCI has decided to continue with Biswarup Dey as Indian cricket team's administrative manager till the two warm-up games for the World Cup against Australia and Afghanistan scheduled on February 8 and 10 respectively. "Dey was scheduled to fly back on February 2 along with the reserve players Mohit Sharma and Dhawal kulkarni. The Indian team had a day off as the players decided to rest.