Not 'ideally' prepared for England series: Waqar Younis

Pakistan cricket team’s bowling coach Waqar Younis has lamented a lack of preparedness before the much-awaited One-Day International series against England.

While addressing a virtual press conference in Derby, Younis spoke at length about Pakistan’s preparedness for the England series, the performance of Pakistan bowlers and plans for the T20 World Cup.

To a question, the former captain and a two-time head coach reproached that due to the inclement weather, the bowlers are not getting ideal practice before the all-important series, but adjusting well to the new conditions.

“We are not getting ideal weather since the last couple of days but this is usual in England. Our bowlers are not getting ideal preparations, but responding well in these conditions even though they had come from different conditions of UAE.”

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Pakistan is scheduled to play three ODIs, starting with a day-night game in Cardiff on Thursday, July 8, followed by a three-match T20I series over the next two weeks. They have been in Derby where they first completed their isolation and are now practising ahead of the series.

However, the damp weather of England has badly hampered their preparations, as a couple of outdoor practice sessions and an intra-squad practice match was cancelled due to the rain.

"We've been unlucky that the weather is not that good here. The bowlers have responded well with whatever opportunity we get. We did get some outdoor practices and bowlers have done well in that."

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He, however, praised bowlers for their adaptability, noting it is never easy to adjust to new conditions and a different format.

"We're coming over from extreme weather [in the UAE, where most of Pakistan's squad was involved in the PSL] and it's tough to adjust from four-over cricket to 10-over cricket. But they are good bowlers and I'm pleased overall. They're coming from hot weather so we didn't need any long tune-up."

Waqar expressed satisfaction over bowlers’ performances in the recent series and hoped that they will do well in much-familiar UAE conditions during the upcoming World T20 Cup scheduled to take place later this year.