Asif, Rehman to undergo fitness test: Malik

MULTAN—Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik said on Thursday that pacer Mohammad Asif and spinner Abdur Rehman will undergo a fitness test on Friday before the match to see if they were fit to join the team for fourth one day international (ODI) against South Africa.
Abdur Rehman had experienced a groin problem in the third ODI while Mohammad Asif had to miss the three ODIs due to elbow injury. Talking to reporters at Multan Cricket Stadium (MCS) Shoaib Malik said that his team was looking forward to score a victory in the fourth ODI to seal the series 3-1.
Morale of the boys is up and they will make all out efforts to win the series decider in Multan. He said that the way the boys are performing will lead the home team to series victory. Meanwhile, both teams had a practice session in the nets.
South African coach Micky Arthur said on Thursday that his boys were not distracted by the security concerns adding that Pakistan team played well to score victories in last two one day international matches.
“Management has dealt with the security related issues really well and I myself and the team are satisfied with it”, SA coach told reporters at a press conference at Multan Cricket Stadium (MCS). “Thats over now,” Mickey Arthur said a day before entering the fourth ODI in Multan which he described as a ‘do or Die’ game. Pakistan lead by 2-1 in the five-match ODI series.
It may be noted that the fifth and final ODI’s venue has been changed from Karachi to Lahore on request from South African team management due to security concerns following October 18 blast incident at a political rally in Karachi.
Arthur said that home conditions also played some role but Pakistan team was hungry for success and played better cricket than us. He said that he had also toured Pakistan as player but then turf used to have some bounce and pace. However, after facing defeat in the first ODI, hosts may have thought of slow and turning turf so their players like Afridi and Shoaib have edge over the visitors.
He admitted that his boys faced difficulty in facing middle overs but added that the team will come up with a plan to counter this. “We want to go home with victory in the series.” Its up to us now to come back tomorrow and counter all the challenges from the home team.
To a question, he said that Jacques Kallis was a fantastic player and hoped he will be performing to the best of his potential in the forthcoming match. A.B Morkel, who accompanied the coach in the press conference, said that he was enjoying his first trip to the sub- continent and was willing to show best performance in challenging environment.—Agencies