Match facts
Friday, August 23, 2013Start time 1330 local (1130 GMT)
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Big Picture
In a relatively quiet month for international cricket, save for the
ongoing marquee Test series in England, Zimbabwe and Pakistan have
managed to shoehorn a series to fill a gap in the calendar. Shortly
after the series was confirmed came the off-field distraction involving
the Zimbabwe players and the cricket board. A familiar pay dispute led
to fears over whether the tour would get under way but, thankfully, the
players made peace with the board with the formation of a players union.
The dispute, however, disrupted the hosts' practice schedules and though
they have since resumed training, it remains to be seen if it has been
sufficient. This is in contrast to the preparations ahead of the recent
home series against India. The players trained for ten weeks, but it
wasn't enough to stretch an experimental Indian side. The batting was
the biggest let down, followed by the fielding. The result was a 5-0
thrashing. It will only get tougher against Pakistan, who're playing
full strength despite the low-profile nature of the tour.
Prosper Utseya, the offspinner, has insisted that the players are in the
right frame of mind. "We have managed to put that [contractual issue]
behind now and some of the players have been offered contracts," Utseya
told the Zimbabwe Herald. "Obviously I am not sure what they've
got, but they looked happy. It is good that ZC have managed to meet us
halfway going into the series."
Series wins in the West Indies have given Pakistan confidence after the
gloom of the Champions Trophy. The performances of the youngsters in the
two T20s in the West Indies, including Umar Amin and Zulfiqar Babar,
should have pleased them immensely. A few players have been busy in the
Caribbean Premier League, though, among them, only Mohammad Hafeez
features in the upcoming T20s. The rest of the squad have been training
in Lahore.
Form guide
Pakistan WWWLW (last five completed matches, most recent first)Zimbabwe LWLLL
Players to watch
Sikandar Raza is likely to play his first game against the
country of his birth, but that alone shouldn't be the only talking point
about him. Raza's 82 against India was the highest individual score by a
Zimbabwe batsman in the series and though his form fell away in the
remaining games, it marked him down as a player to watch. What Raza
needs is consistent scores to keep his place in the XI.
Zulfiqar Babar had to wait till he was 34 to get his first
opportunity for Pakistan. The left-arm spinner was picked in the T20
squad for the West Indies and had a dream debut, taking 3 for 23, but
his job didn't end there. Batting at No. 8, Babar had the honour of
facing the final ball of the match with one needed to win. He finished
the game with a swagger, hitting a six. He ended the two-match series
with five wickets and the expectations off him would have increased.
Team news
Zimbabwe trimmed their practice squad to 15 on the eve of the series. There were no surprises in the squad.*
Zimbabwe (possible): 1 Vusi Sibanda, 2 Hamilton Masakadza, 3
Sikandar Raza, 4 Brendan Taylor (capt & wk), 5 Malcolm Waller, 6
Sean Williams, 7 Shingi Masakadza, 8 Prosper Utseya, 9 Natsai M'shangwe,
10 Brian Vitori, 11 Tinashe Panyangara
Pakistan are without Umar Akmal for the series, after he was withdrawn
after suffering a seizure while flying in the West Indies. Sarfraz Ahmed
was named the replacement wicketkeeper.
Pakistan (likely): 1 Nasir Jamshed, 2 Mohammad Hafeez (capt), 3
Ahmed Shehzad, 4 Umar Amin, 5 Haris Sohail, 6 Shahid Afridi, 7 Sarfraz
Ahmed (wk), 8 Sohail Tanvir, 9 Zulfiqar Babar, 10 Saeed Ajmal, 11 Asad
Ali
Stats and trivia
- In the last bilateral series between these sides in Zimbabwe, in 2011, Pakistan won both T20s
- Shahid Afridi needs 84 more for 1000 T20 runs. Mohammad Hafeez is the only Pakistan batsman to pass that milestone. Umar Akmal is second with 929.
Quotes
"Their batsmen are prone to cracking under pressure and that is what we
will have to do if we are to get the better of them. We really need to
put them under pressure and play smart cricket."Zimbabwe's Prosper Utseya
* - 15.30 GMT, August 22, 2013 - Story updated following Zimbabwe's squad announcement
Kanishkaa Balachandran is a senior sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo
Feeds: Kanishkaa Balachandran
© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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