West Indies great Clive Lloyd arrived here Thursday and quickly got
down to work with the Pakistan Junior team ahead of this month’s World
Cup in New Zealand
04-Jan-2002West Indies great Clive Lloyd arrived here Thursday and quickly got
down to work with the Pakistan Junior team ahead of this month’s World
Cup in New Zealand.Lloyd, a former West Indies captain, spent nearly two hours in the
nets with the juniors at the Rawalpindi Stadium and said he was
impressed with what he saw.”There is a lot of variety especially in the bowling department and I
think Umar Gul is quite a good prospect but I’ll know more about all
the players towards the end (of my trip).”Umar, a right arm fast bowler, comes from Peshawar and played for
Pakistan Under-19 against the Sri Lankan juniors late last year, a
one-day series which Pakistan won 4-1.Playing for PIA with whom he made his first class debut in October,
Umar snapped up five wickets for 46 runs against ADBP in the Patron’s
Trophy.Representing Peshawar in the national under-19 championship semifinal, he finished with a match haul of 10 for 90 against Bahawalpur
while in the final against Lahore he took five. “He has got pace,”
Lloyd remarked.Lloyd who will be in Islamabad only for a few days said that Pakistan
batting was also good, particularly the middle order. “But I would
like to see them in a match.”Lloyd said that brief as his stay was, he would focus on the “mental
side” and do the “finishing” that would include besides other aspects
running between the wickets and fielding.Meanwhile, coach of the junior team Haroon Rashid, said that Lloyd had
appreciated the kind of training that had been imparted to the
players. “He was happy to learn that some of the things which he had
in mind had already been dealt with in the camp.”The junior camp began in December and would continue for a few more
days before the team leaves for New Zealand where the World Cup gets
under way from January 14. Pakistan are in a group that has England,
Nepal and Paupa New Guinea. “The main thing is to qualify and I think
with the talent Pakistan have they should be able to do that.”
