Major Has Little To Say

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30677, 17 February 1965, Page 10

Major Has Little To Say

Major Mohhammad Saeed, the manager of the Pakistan cricket team, was almost as negative in his replies to questions as some of the cricket seen in the three tests between New Zealand and Pakistan when he was interviewed yesterday.

Asked if he considered the New Zealand team would match Pakistan on its own pitches, Major Saeed said he did not want to comment on that question. When asked if the technique of the New Zealand players was suited to Pakistan pitches, he replied: “They probably will have to adjust.” Were there any players in New Zealand whom you were impressed by?

Major Saeed: I do not want to differentiate between players. Do you feel that the dull cricket in the tests was a major reason for the small crowds?

Major Saeed: I cannot comment. I do not know the size of your crowds normally. Are these small? Told that they were smaller than usual for tests. Major Saeed said that he could still not comment.

Asked if he considered that in all the tests both teams seemed to be influenced by a fear of being beaten, Major Saeed said he was sure that his captain Hanif was not worried about being beaten, “and I don’t

think John Reid was either.” “But would the scoring rates, such as Pakistan’s 161 in 360 minutes on the first day of the second test, indicate a desire to win a fourday test?” Major Saeed: Conditions often could dictate scoring rates. Asked if there was the possibility of Pakistan touring New Zealand again, Major Saeed replied that as he was not a member of the Pakistan Cricket Board he could not say. Asked finally what was his opinion of the standard of umpiring in New Zealand, Major Saeed finished the interview on the note on which it started—“No comment-”