Pak cricketers to train on `English` pitches to prepare for Champions Trophy

Karachi: Pakistan`s cricket authorities have ordered special pitches, which are close to English conditions, to be prepared in the training camp to help their struggling batmen ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy, which is to be played in England in June.

Pakistan gave a flop show in South Africa, where the batsmen struggled on the bouncy and fast pitches before being whitewashed 3-0 in Tests and edged out 3-2 in the one-day series recently. According to a Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) release, after reviewing the struggle of the batsmen during the South Africa tour and considering the venue of the Champions Trophy, the board decided to prepare English-like pitches in the training camp to acclimatize the batsmen to the conditions in England. The PCB decided that after the South African debacle, the team needed intense preparation for the eight-nation Champions Trophy and organised a training camp, to be held at Abbottabad, and also called upon legendary paceman Wasim Akram to lead a separate 10-day fast bowling camp in Karachi. Teams from the sub-continent raised on slow, dry pitches have traditionally struggled in countries like England and South Africa , where conditions offer more help to quick bowlers. ANI