Training at Lord’s thinking about Durham!

LONDON: Even as their fans were losing hope, Pakistan’s players carried out a high-intensity training session here at Lord’s on Wednesday.

Well aware that they would virtually be out of the race for the World Cup semi-finals in case England defeated New Zealand in Durham later in the evening, the Pakistanis remained confident that they would somehow qualify for the last four.

However, they did anxiously follow the action in Durham where England made a strong start as they cruised to 123 for no loss in the 19th over. “Things aren’t looking good for us,” lamented a team official on the sidelines of the training session.

But the mood in the Pakistan camp got lifted when New Zealand’s pacers managed to restrict England to 305-8 despite Jonny Bairstow’s stunning hundred. “It seems New Zealand still have a chance,” said the team official.

Such was the scenario for Pakistan that the England-New Zealand game became one of the most important games of the World Cup for them. They were praying for New Zealand to beat England because such a result would have kept them alive in the hunt for a semi-final spot. In case of New Zealand’s victory, Pakistan would just need to beat Bangladesh in their last group match at Lord’s on Friday. But an England win would leave them with a near impossible task of making it to the semi-finals.

Meanwhile, the Pakistanis are focused on the game against Bangladesh. They are well aware of the fact that Bangladesh, who crashed out of the World Cup following a loss against India, won’t be easy opponents on a Lord’s wicket that could be helpful for spinners.

All of Pakistan’s players including the injured Wahab Riaz took part in Wednesday’s training session. Wahab, who is suffering from a fractured finger, bowled in the nets and even featured in some of the fielding drills.

Pakistan have been mulling over the option of omitting the misfiring Fakhar Zaman for the game against Bangladesh. But there were no such signs on Wednesday as the left-handed opener spent a lot of time in the nets trying to regain his lost touch.

Pakistan carried out their training session in the morning and once the team returned to their hotel in Swiss Cottage, the players disappeared in their rooms. “Most of them must be watching the England-New Zealand game,” an official said. “That’s the best the players could do because their World Cup destiny was in New Zealand’s hands.”