Batting was again the focus on the fourth day of the conditioning camp in Abbottabad. Pakistan have been susceptible to top order collapses in recent times and with management no doubt mindful of the importance of lower-order runs, the bowlers participated in an extended batting session.

by Farid Khan (6th May 2013)

Batting was again the focus on the fourth day of the conditioning camp in Abbottabad. Pakistan have been susceptible to top order collapses in recent times and with management no doubt mindful of the importance of lower-order runs, the bowlers participated in an extended batting session. The specialist batsmen were put through a series of drills in the form of physical training sessions at the Army PT School within the Pakistan Military Academy where the team is staying.

Saeed Ajmal, Junaid Khan, Abdur Rehman, Ehsan Adil, Asad Ali and Mohammad Irfan had individual batting sessions in the nets, tailored by assistant coach Shahid Aslam. He spent time adjusting their stances, in particular focusing on strategies for negotiating short-pitched bowling. The main objective of the drill was clear - to ensure the tail-enders could provide stout resistance when called upon. At the end of the training session, Pakistan's premier bowlers Saeed Ajmal and Junaid Khan spoke to the press.

Saeed Ajmal has often indicated plans to unveil a new delivery before a before major contest, but his focus in the training camp has been on consistency "I have no plans to introduce new variety, but I am working harder on my existing varieties. There will be instances where batsmen will work me out, but I am also concentrating on working them out. We have scheduled training accordingly and it's going well.”

Plans are also being development for individual batsmen with the coaches “We are working out which batsmen plays which shot well and we are practising. Chris Gayle has been playing wonderfully well in the T20s and we have been studying videos of him because we are due to face the West Indies.”

Ajmal believes being based in Abbottabad has aided preparations “The conditions are very good. The weather is very good and the pitches have bounce, as we will find in England. The practice is going very well. The PCB made a very good decision in holding the camp here and it's benefiting us a lot. InshAllah this practice will help us a lot in England. In my experience, whichever country you go to, 90% of the wickets are batting-friendly. Only 10-15% tend to be green wickets. I am expecting batting wickets in the ICC Champions Trophy. We have the advantage here in Abbottabad that there is bounce in the pitch and it's helping the spinners because there is not much turn and we are focusing on length and the areas in which you should be bowling. I have played there and the pitches in England suit the Pakistan team as the ball tends to turn, especially at The Oval. We are practicing hard and planning, whether that be for tail-enders or other batsman at the ground. We will prove this to you as we have worked them out. Chris Gayle is no doubt a very good batsman, he is an outstanding hitter of the ball, but we also have an advantage. I am the number one ranked bowler in the world and I will try my best to get him out quickly.”

Ajmal also believes tail-enders' batting practice can play an important part in helping Pakistan in the Champions Trophy and the seaming conditions will aid the specialist batsmen too “It used to be rare for tail-enders in Pakistan to receive batting practice, but the coaches have told us that if tail-enders contribute even 10-15 runs, 70-80 runs can be added to the score. That's why we are practising in match conditions and even if the top order struggles, the tail can get us to a par total. If we train on these pitches, our batsmen will be prepared and will bat well. We are practising on seaming pitches and our thoughts are that if there is a seaming pitch, we will be able to perform even better."

Junaid Khan also stressed the importance of professionalism and the ability to adapt to match situations. Wasim Akram's involvement has been an important one feels Junaid “In Karachi, Wasim told us the manner in which to bowl. When he came to Abbottabad for two days, it was to assess whether we had taken his advice on board or whether we'd just listened to him for ten days and not implemented any of his ideas. He also assessed the areas requiring further improvement. At this level you have to be able to perform on dead wickets and grassy wickets. Our coaches, whether that be Mohammad Akram or Dav Whatmore, advise us on how to bowl on any kind of wicket. My technique is the same but my in-swinging delivery wasn't very effective, so Wasim worked on that. He also helped me with my death over bowling. Mohammad Akram has professional training and tells how to bowl, whereas Wasim told us things which he learned from his own time of playing cricket. Mohammad Akram use to work alongside Wasim as well and agreed with what Wasim had to say - Mohammad Akram is a qualified coach, whereas Wasim is teaching us based on his own experience.”

Junaid has been pleased the camp has been located at his home ground of Abbottabad “The ground and environment here is great. The weather is also similar to the weather we will encounter in England. In yesterday's practice game, the ball was swinging around a lot. If we have such camps in Abbottabad before tours to New Zealand or England - places where the ball seams a lot - the quality of our cricket will improve here and it will be beneficial for us."

Tomorrow, on the fifth day of the conditioning camp, the players will play a practice match. The match had initially been scheduled for today, but was rescheduled as focus was placed on individual players' strengths and weaknesses in the nets. In the practice match, the players will be reminded of their roles for the upcoming matches in England, Scotland and Ireland.

  Discuss!