Brian Lara and Inzamam-ul-Haq spoke to the media on the eve of the third Test
Osman Samiuddin in Karachi26-Nov-2006
Lara wants his team to have ‘a very good plan foreach and every single [opposition] batsman’ © Getty Images
One hundred and forty-nine runs: it is what Mohammad Yousuf needs to breakSir Viv Richards’s thirty-year old record for the most Test runs in acalendar year. And it is precisely what the West Indies will be trying tostop him from achieving during the third Test at Karachi.Brian Lara told reporters at the National Stadium he was aware of therecord and would prefer it to stay in his countryman’s hands.”Mohammad Yousuf is of course challenging the record, but we would likeViv Richards to continue holding the most runs in a calendar year. Sowe’ll be coming really hard at him for that.”It hasn’t yet worked, as 439 runs and a lowest score of 56 from threeinnings for Yousuf suggests, though four dropped catches through theseries hasn’t helped. But Lara pointed out that Yousuf wasn’t the onlythreat. “He’s been batting very well but you need a very good plan foreach and every single batsman. You have the likes of Imran Farhat whoscored two half centuries in the last game and he’s a very good player aswell. Inzamam is due for a score in the series so we are not going to takeanyone lightly. We’ll be doing our homework and ensure that we come outand nullify the impact they have.”Though West Indies have often slipped in the past immediately followingencouraging performances, Lara insisted the Multan Test might havebelatedly signalled a change. “We are working very hard as a team. You knowwe talk about transition all the time but I think transition is somethingthat is not tangible. You have to actually go away and perform and do itconsistently and then you see yourself actually turn the corner.”I feel that the Test in Multan is maybe one of the better Tests I’veplayed in, in a long, long time away from home. We didn’t get the finalresult but playing against one of the main nations in world cricket andhaving them under pressure for 14 out of 15 sessions was definitelysomething. Being 502 for 4 at one stage in Pakistan is a performance wehaven’t see for quite some time. Let’s see if we can put not just fivedays but ten days of good cricket together now.”The final XI, he added, would be decided upon inspection of the surfacebut repeated that only the combination most likely to win the Test wouldbe picked. “We are going to play our best combination and if we play 15good sessions of cricket then the chances of a result improve.” A returnfor Ramnaresh Sarwan appears unlikely given the side’s performance inMultan, but Lara was keen to insist, again, that he remains in thepicture.”Sarwan will be considered like all players in the squad. I repeat Sarwanremains the brightest of talents in the West Indies cricket over the last15 years. He is looking forward to the chances if given and I can see heis eager to get out in the middle,” Lara said.Rare is the press conference in Pakistan where questions aboutsub-standard pitches aren’t asked. One reporter asked Lara whether he hadany recommendations for the PCB in order to help them produce betterpitches. Lara sidestepped diplomatically, before pointing out: “Someonerightly said that Pakistan won the first Test and West Indies should havewon the second Test if they had taken their catches.”His counterpart, Inzamam-ul-Haq also played down fears that he wasinfluencing the production of flat wickets in Pakistan to aid his batsmen.Visibly incensed by a query, Inzamam retorted, “Over the last three years,most Tests in Pakistan have ended with a result. Even in Multan, hadcatches not been dropped there might have been a result. Pitches produceresults here and it’s not true that I ask curators to make flat pitches.”In any case, he expects Karachi’s pitch to be livelier. “I expect thewicket to offer help to pace bowlers. West Indies have a very good paceattack and they can get support here but our bowlers have also done well.Hopefully there will be a result.”Karachi will be Lara’s last Test in Pakistan and though he is keen to dowell, a result for his side, he said, would be immensely more important.”That question has been asked of me around the world recently. It will bemy last Test in Pakistan and on a personal note, yes I would like to dosomething really special. But, if after six years, we can beat a majorTest nation away from home and leave a great memory for West Indies likethat, that will be my number one aim.”
