Yousuf Youhana faces the press corps
Anand Vasu18-Mar-2004When Yousuf Youhana filled in for Inzamam-ul-Haq in the pre-match press conference at Peshawar, he brought fresh thoughts and words with him. And, since he does not bear the burden of captaincy, he had the luxury of being more fulsome in his praise of the Indian batting line-up than Inzamam.
Yousuf Youhana: ‘cricket has become very fast-paced and entertaining’© Getty Images
On the relative strengths of the two teams
“Given the quality of India’s batting, there obviously will be some pressure on our batsmen. The Indians possess the best batting line-up in the world, but at the same time, we are also batting well. The fact that we scored 344 chasing 350 for victory in the first match and made 329 in the second game is evidence enough that we are performing with the bat as well. Both matches so far have been pretty close, and I think the teams are quite evenly matched. If their batting is very good, then so is our bowling.”On how India have posted 349 and 317 despite the strong Pakistan bowling attack
“In the first match, we conceded quite a few extra runs and deliveries, and they made the difference in the end. But otherwise, I thought our bowlers did pretty well in the first match. At one stage, India looked like making between 375 and 400, so to keep them down to 349 was a pretty good effort on an excellent batting track, a flat track full of runs.”On the fast pace of cricket today
“Cricket has become very fast-paced and entertaining these days. All around the world, the trend is to make flat wickets, and it is the batsmen who are calling the shots – even in Australia, where teams are regularly making and chasing 300. It’s difficult for me to say exactly what is now a secure score in one-day cricket. After all, if you get off to a good start in the first 15 overs, then if you bat normally and without taking any risks for the rest of the innings, you can easily post 300-plus.”On the game being loaded in favour of batsmen
“There’s not much of a challenge for the batsmen on such surfaces, to be honest. It’s fairly easy to make runs, but there is also a little bit of pressure in the sense that you know that if you make less than 300, you are definitely not safe. As for the bowlers, I can’t talk much about the field restrictions and such because those are not my decisions, they are the ICC’s decisions. But I suppose if a fast bowler were to be allowed to bowl say two bouncers in an over, it could make for a more even contest.”Haroon Rashid, Pakistan manager
On Pakistan’s slow over rate
“The problem seems to have got a little worse in the recent past. We are trying our best to curb extra deliveries, and I can assure you that you will see a lot of improvement in the next few matches. That we have three or four fast bowlers with longish run-ups is no excuse at all. We have noticed that our bowlers have extended followthroughs, they walk very slowly back to their bowling marks, and the fielders aren’t quick to move between overs. Also, when a team makes 350, obviously the ball is disappearing to the ropes so often and has to be retrieved! It’s just a matter of saving a few seconds here and there, and I am confident we will be back on track for the rest of the series.”
