The Hindu : Sport / Cricket : Pakistan hopes to restrict Lara

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 11, 2005

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Sport - Cricket

Pakistan hopes to restrict Lara

KARACHI: Searching for a maiden Test series victory in the West Indies later this month, Pakistan believes it has to restrain batting maestro Brian Lara to achieve its goal.

The Pakistan team leaves on Wednesday to play three one-day Internationals and two Tests in Barbados and Jamaica.

Lara has played just seven of his 115 Tests against Pakistan since making his debut against it at Lahore in December 1990.

Pakistan has picked leg-spinner Danish Kaneria and off-spinner Arshad Khan in the absence of strike bowlers Shoaib Akhtar and Mohd. Sami, who were not considered for the tour on fitness grounds.

"Lara has been one of the finest batsmen against spin bowlers including (Sri Lanka's Muttiah) Muralitharan and (Australian) Shane Warne and on this tour we are banking on the spinners in the absence of our main fast bowlers," Inzamam said.

"We definitely will have to bowl with a plan to him. The key to our success is how our spinners bowl to him and the other batsmen. We have expectations from Kaneria as he bowled very well in India."

Pakistan squad: Inzamam-ul-Haq (captain), Younis Khan, Salman Butt, Yasir Hameed, Bazid Khan, Yousuf Youhana, Asim Kamal, Kamran Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Abdul Razzaq, Shoaib Malik, Rana Naved, Shabbir Ahmed, Rao Iftikhar, Shahid Nazir, Danish Kaneria, Arshad Khan; Coach: Bob Woolmer.

Tour itinerary: May 11: Departure, May 15: Warmup one-dayer at Antigua, May 18: 1st ODI at St. Vincent, May 21: 2nd ODI at St. Lucia, May 22: 3rd ODI at St. Lucia, May 26-30: 1st Test at Barbados, June 3-7: 2nd Test at Jamaica. — Agencies

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