WINDIES TOUR OF PAKISTAN, 2018

Situation more than adequate to get cricket back in Pakistan: Stuart Law

by Ahsan Iftikhar Nagi • Last updated on

"It's a bit daunting for the people outside but once you get here and see it for yourself, you feel more confident." © AFP

The much-anticipated three-match series between Pakistan and Windies was held in Karachi by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to send a message to world that the country was safe to host international cricket once again. The three-match series, that the hosts clean-swept, turned out to be a success on that front and if the country's cricket board needed any recommendations, Windies coach Stuart Law provided them with one after the end of the series on Tuesday.

"The security has been outstanding," Law said. "We were communicated very well about the issues or incidents that may arise here, but we haven't seen any of them," Law said. "It's a bit daunting if you are not used to the set-up. It's a bit daunting for the people outside but once you get here and see it for yourself, you feel more confident. I'm not saying that it has open the floodgates and everyone will come rushing back.

"People will still have reservations but from what I've seen here it's more than adequate that's for sure to make sure that we can get cricket back in Pakistan. I feel sorry for the Pakistan players who don't play enough cricket in front of their home fans. Every game for them is away game. So, you feel for those boys who can't play in front of their families week in and week out.

Windies were beaten quite comprehensively in all three matches. The chasm between the two sides lessened to a certain extent after the hosts thrashed Windies by 143 runs in the first T20I. Pakistan won the second match by 82 runs and the last by 8 wickets.

Their arrival in Karachi from halfway around the world less than 24 hours before the first ball of the series was bowled also had a role in how the series unfolded. When the West Indian coach was asked whether things would have been different had his side gotten enough time to train ahead of the series, he said, "You never know, we don't have a crystal ball. But we got better as the tournament went on. The tour was somewhat rushed and the IPL is starting soon. We have a lot of players involved in the IPL and their franchises are pretty ruthless when it comes to player activity. It wasn't probably ideal timing, but I'm glad for the people here in Karachi. When you look back, yes I'm disappointed with our result, but there's lot of smiles on faces, and there are lot of people happy out here.

"I thought every time we went out we had more positive attitude towards the game of cricket. We probably lacked desire in the first two games, whether that was jet lag or whatever reason, it's still no excuse when you play international cricket as you representing your country, your people, your family and yourself. We lacked a bit of desire and energy in the first game, it got better in the second game, tonight it was an improved mark again, but Pakistan are rolling on a tide of wave with a moment of confidence and they are playing very good cricket.

"The positives we can take are that we brought a very young team here with a little bit of experience. I'm pretty impressed with Keemo Paul, who I thought stood out. He worked for us in Zimbabwe in 50 over cricket. Another debutant tonight Andre McCarthy showed good intent with the bat. Odean Smith was another young quick, who impressed. It's a difficult task coming here playing in Pakistan. We did lose the series 3-0 we got better as the series went on and that's a good sign for us."

© Cricbuzz

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