Pakistani captain was not confident

Press, 8 February 1979, Page 30

Pakistani captain was not confident

The Pakistani captain, Mushtaq Mohammed, was a worried man before the final day of the cricket test at Lancaster Park yesterday. Mushtaq said he had had a sleepless night after making his declaration 40min before stumps on the fourth day and, then seeing the New Zealand openers score 23 runs without loss.

“I was not optimistic in fact I was honestly worried,” he said.

The turning point had come when Wright and Howarth had been dismissed in consecutive balls before lunch.

“New Zealand was four down at lunch and under pressure. I was worried again when Parker and Lees started moving the run rate.

“Parker, T thought, played a magnificent knock and Lees used the right tactics: it was not easy to survive out there.”

Mushtaq said that he had bowled at a rough patch left by the fast bowlers’ run-ups and it had helped him to get turn and bounce of differing height.

Although his heel injury had not bothered him while!

bowling he had had muscle trouble in his right shoulder during his long spell of 20 successive overs, an affliction he felt might have been caused by the wind. One of the problems facing Mushtaq and his selectors will be choosing the second test team with the return of the three Packer players. “But it is a good position to be in with a lot of fellows capable of test places,” said Mushtaq. The New Zealand captain, Mark Burgess, said that the Pakistan spinners had bowled well on a pitch that had showed the usual wear and tear of a fifth day The wrist spinners had been a problem to the New Zealand batsmen, who had not had a chance to face world-class leg-spinners in their domestic programme. Burgess felt that New Zealand had been unlucky with one or two decisions going in favour of Pakistan. ‘‘We seem to struggle with that problem more with tests at home,” he said. Pakistan would be stronger theoretically for the next two tests, “but I’m sure we’ll be stronger too, and will improve.”