Pakistan's Malik says lowly opponents better then none |
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Thursday April 10, 09:35 PM
testing dirtying
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KARACHI (Reuters) - Pakistan are better off playing against low-ranked teams like Zimbabwe and Bangladesh than not playing any international cricket at home, captain Shoaib Malik said on Thursday.
Bangladesh are touring Pakistan at short notice after Australia postponed their test tour last month due to concerns over security.
They play the second one-day match on Friday in Faisalabad after the visitors were thumped by 152 runs in Tuesday's opening match.
"Playing cricket against any side is better than not playing any at all. Every type of match, every series is important for us," Malik told a news conference.
He noted Pakistan had two important events coming up -- the Asia Cup starting in June and September's Champions Trophy.
Following a sweep of Zimbabwe earlier this year, the five-game series with Bangladesh would allow Pakistan to experiment with different combinations and players, he said.
"We have tried a number of experiments and ideas in the last few matches. So these contests are good for us," Malik added.
Bangladesh coach Jamie Siddons hoped his team would give an improved performance in the remaining matches of the series.
"One slip-up doesn't make a series. Pakistan are a better team than us. They have to play badly and we have to play very well for us to win. But the last game was a little embarrassing," Siddons said.
Bangladesh were bowled out for 129 in 29.5 overs after Pakistan scored 322 for five in a match twice interrupted by power failures.
"Pakistan are a very good team. We didn't play well and we hope to do better tomorrow (Friday). In the last game our batting failed and the power blackouts meant we lost concentration at crucial points," he added.
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