Bad weather follows Pakistan to Taunton

LONDON: Last Friday in Bristol, persistent rains played spoilsport forcing Pakistan to share a point with out-of-sorts Sri Lanka.

It was a World Cup game that Pakistan must have thought they would win maybe even comfortably. But the rain gods thought otherwise. Rain, it seems, has followed the Pakistanis who were forced to take their training session at the Taunton country ground indoors because of wet weather on Sunday afternoon.

Pakistan who had arrived in Taunton, a quaint town in Somerset, from Bristol on Saturday, had reached the county ground to hold their first training session ahead of the tough World Cup game against Australia at the venue on June 12.

But their training session was interrupted by rain and the players were forced to rush back to the dressing room. It was decided by the team management to hold the training session indoors. They took turns in nets and then returned to the field for some fielding and catching practice as soon as the rain stopped.

Meanwhile, talking to Geo.tv, senior Pakistani all-rounder exuded confidence ahead of Wednesday’s game against defending champions Australia.

“The victory against England has really boosted our confidence and we are now mentally prepared to face any team,” said Hafeez, who gave a match-winning performance with the bat in Pakistan’s surprising 14-run win against hosts England in Nottingham last week.

Hafeez, 38, who is featuring in his last World Cup hoped that he will make it a memorable event. “I really want to keep performing in every match. The idea is to give more than my hundred percent for the team,” he said. Pakistan will hold another training session on Monday (this morning) at the Taunton County Ground.