T20 World Cup
Buttler’s big call on Pakistan pace quartet ahead of T20 World Cup Final
MELBOURNE
Captain Babar Azam told his rejuvenated Pakistan side on Saturday to ride the wave of four consecutive victories and win the Twenty20 World Cup final.
The 2009 champions suffered last-ball losses to India and Zimbabwe to start their tournament but bounced back to surge into Sunday’s final against England at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.
“We have lost the first two matches, [but] the way we came back the last four matches, we’ve performed very well,” Azam said at his pre-match press conference.
“I’m more excited than nervous … it is no doubt that pressure exists, but it can only be suppressed with confidence and belief in ourselves. And for good results, it is important that one must do so.”
Pakistan are slight underdogs against Jos Buttler’s England, but Azam is banking on the strength of his fast bowlers to give them an edge, particularly in the six-over powerplay.
“England is a competitive team, their (10-wicket) win to reach the finals against India was a proof of that,” he said.
“Our strategy is to stick to our plan and use our pace attack as our strength to win the finals.
“Utilising the powerplay to grab as many wickets will be essential for the match,” he added.
Notwithstanding any late injuries, Pakistan are set to name the same team with Shaheen Shah Afridi spearheading a dangerous attack and Azam and Mohammad Rizwan headlining the batting.
Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja met the squad on Friday and gave them a pep talk, reflecting on how the Pakistan team he was part of beat England to win the 1992 one-day World Cup.
“When the chairman came and shared his experience of the World Cup, it put a massive boost in our confidence,” said Azam. “He advised us to stay calm and focus on what goes well.”
More than 90,000 fans packed the MCG when Pakistan played India early in the tournament and they have enjoyed solid support wherever they have played in Australia.
“They give us confidence and [it’s] good to see when we go anywhere, any stadium, they come and support the Pakistan team,” he said.
Meanwhile, England captain Jos Buttler has paid Pakistan’s fast bowling attack the ultimate compliment on the eve of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final by declaring some of their quicks will finish their careers among the best pace bowlers the country has ever produced.
Buttler will go head-to-head against Pakistan’s bevy of quality pacers in Sunday’s T20 World Cup final at the MCG and his battle at the top of England’s batting order will go a long way to deciding who claims the coveted trophy.
Left-arm quick Shaheen Afridi already has 10 wickets at the tournament and is renowned as one of the best quicks in T20I cricket, while Naseem Shah, Haris Rauf and Mohammad Wasim have been among the better-performed seamers at this year’s tournament.
Pakistan have been well renowned for producing quality fast bowlers over a long period of time, with the likes of Wasim Akram, Shoaib Akhtar, Waqar Younis and Imran Khan among the best quicks to have ever played.
But Buttler rates the current batch so high that he believes many will finish their careers among the best fast bowlers from Pakistan.
“They are an excellent team and have a long history of producing quality fast bowlers, and the team we are up (on Sunday) against is no different,” Buttler said at the MCG on Saturday.
“I am sure some of the guys we will go up against will go down at the end of their careers as some of the best bowlers Pakistan have ever produced and that’s a huge part of why they have got to a World Cup final.”
Buttler said he used to dream about getting the chance to hold the World Cup trophy aloft when he was growing up in England and the dynamic opener gets the opportunity to make that dream a reality in his first ICC tournament as captain.
The right-hander only took over from former skipper Eoin Morgan earlier this year and could become the second England men’s player to captain a T20 World Cup side to glory after Paul Collingwood achieved the feat in the West Indies in 2010.
“You certainly have a few dreams about that kind of thing and it really links back to your time as a kid and the kind of stuff you would be doing in the back garden with your brother and sister and pretending to lift the trophy and that kind of thing,” Buttler recalled.
“Now to be able to have that opportunity to have a chance to live that kind of thing out is incredibly special.”
Buttler said England’s recent series victory in Pakistan will have little bearing on Sunday’s result, given conditions expected in Melbourne will be vastly different to what they experienced on the sub-continent during the seven T20Is against Babar Azam’s side.
“We have played against them a lot recently but that was in very different conditions,” Buttler noted.
“Even though we have played each other in quite a few games, here in Melbourne is going to be a bit different to the series in Pakistan.
“We know we are up against an excellent team and that is what you expect in a World Cup final.
“We will focus on them a bit and on us a lot to ensure we turn up tomorrow and give the best account of ourselves.”
Buttler is hopeful of regaining key fast bowler Mark Wood (hip) and top-order batter Dawid Malan (groin) from injury for the MCG contest after the pair missed England’s emphatic 10-wicket triumph over India in Adelaide on Thursday.
The England skipper said the duo will be given right up until the toss on Sunday to prove they have recovered from their ailments.
