Salman,Yasir shine with bat against Windies
Bureau Report

LAHORE—Century maker Salman Butt and Yasir Hameed who saw a triple figure slipping out of his hand believe that back to form will help them in securing a place in the test series against West Indies.
“We are delighted to play useful knocks which have resorted our confidence and we are optimistic to win places in the team in the series against West Indies “, they said while talking to APP after opening day play of the two-day practice match of Patrons XI against West Indies here on Wednesday.
Salman who remained unbeaten at 106 and retired out was beaming with confidence to come out of a bad batch which deprived him a place in the team for the ICC Champions Trophy which concluded in India recently.
“This innings has boosted by confidence and I believe it will serve as an inspiration to do better if given a chance “,he said.
“During the bad patch I endeavoured to work on my technique to avoid playing erratic shots and todays knock has shown a visible improvement in my batting “,he asserted.
Salman Butt said the wicket was good and he made best use of those balls which were ideal for stroke making and his strategy worked out well.
Yasir said it was unfortunate to miss the century after being so close. “ I could not concentrate on a low ball which was enough to close my innings “,he said.
He said he was feeling relaxed after scoring a solid innings which helped the team to get a good total.
Answering a question both of the batsmen said their ultimate dream is to represent the country in the World Cup and God willing they will be getting places in the team to be a useful part of it. West Indies batsmen Ramnaresh Sarwan said the home side openers (Salman and Yasir) batted too good to post a big total on a wicket which was equally good for batsmen and bowlers.
“It is a practice match which will help in getting fully warmed up for the test series which is a very important task ahead of us and we want to exhibit our top performance in it “,he said.
He said conditions in Pakistan are different from India as Pakistan has lively wickets and good batting and bowling tracks.
“We have to be at our best because Pakistan will be a tough rival in their own backyard and we are ready for taking a tough challenge in a decent manner “,he asserted.