Malik eyes successful 2008

LAHORE—Pakistan cricket captain Shoaib Malik Tuesday said he hoped his players will put the miseries of 2007 behind them and bounce back with strong performances in the next 12 months.
“Apart from a few positives the last year was not very good for us, but I am sure that the team will settle and do well in the new year, in which we have to play Australia and (compete) in various important tournaments,” Malik told.
Pakistan had a year to forget in 2007, crashing out of the World Cup in the first round in the Caribbean, where their coach Bob Woolmer also died.
Woolmer’s death came a day after Pakistan’s loss to minnows Ireland in a game they had to win. The former England batsman was found dead in his hotel room in Jamaica. The defeat prompted Inzamam-ul Haq to relinquish the captaincy and quit one-day cricket.
The 25-year-old Malik took over after first-choice Younis Khan declined to take charge citing personal reasons, while Mohammad Yousuf was not considered for the job.
The inexperienced but energetic Malik did well to lead Pakistan to a one-day series win over World Cup runners-up Sri Lanka before his team reached the final of the inaugural Twenty20 World Championship held in September in South Africa. “Our series win over Sri Lanka and runners-up finish to India in the Twenty20... were the bright points and if we keep that sort of intensity we can also improve our Test performance,” said Malik.
Pakistan lost all three of their Test series — two against South Africa (home and away) and to arch-rivals India in India late last year. They also lost the one-day series against South Africa and India and were relegated to sixth in both one-day and Test rankings. “It’s not that we lost one-sided contests, but the notable thing was that we made minor mistakes and if we have learnt from those mistakes, which I am confident we have, then we can do well in this new year,” said Malik. Pakistan face Zimbabwe in a five-match one-day home series later this month before their real test comes against world champions Australia — a series which Malik hopes will raise his team’s confidence. “Whenever you play against Australia your confidence rises because they are a world class team and I hope that if we do well it will help us in the ICC (International Cricket Council) Champions Trophy later this year,” he said.
Malik also played down fears that Australia could pull out of the tour after last week’s assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and the ensuing unrest in the country.
“I don’t see the series being disturbed over security fears because things will settle down and the Pakistan Cricket Board and players like me will do our best to have this series on our grounds,” said Malik.—Agencies