Miandad, Qadir hail Pak`s victory over England

Karachi: Former Pakistan cricket captain Javed Miandad believes steps taken to clean up the sport has led to the national team`s improved performance at the international level.

"It is because the sport has been cleaned up that we are performing well and winning consistently," Miandad said referring to the country`s victory over England in the first Test in Dubai. Since the spot-fixing scandal broke out in 2010, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) enforced a strong anti-corruption code in domestic circuit as well in the national team with some senior players also being sidelined because of suspicions over their conduct. Miandad said England lost the first Test heavily because they came into the series after a long break and were not accustomed to the conditions in the UAE. "Their batsmen struggled to adapt to the conditions and once again they proved to be fallible against quality spin," Miandad, who is also the director of cricket, said. He said Pakistan has a golden opportunity to seal the three-match series if they continue to remain focused on the sport and don`t let the pressure off the English batsmen. "Pakistan now clearly has the psychological edge over England and the secret now is to maintain this pressure in the remaining matches," he insisted. PTI