Bradburn: Pakistan don't get to play a lot of the top nations

Pakistan's coach Grant Bradburn stopped short of calling them an isolated team in international cricket, but did point out the lack of experience against big teams and in India as they fight to stay alive and hope for other results to go their way in the World Cup.

After winning the first two matches, against Netherlands and Sri Lanka, Pakistan have lost four in a row, including against archrivals India, and stand on the brink of elimination. Not only do they need to keep winning every remaining match but also hope one of the four teams in the lead right now slips down.

Bradburn was asked what went wrong with Pakistan after they were once among the favourites, especially till Naseem Shah got injured during the Asia Cup. "Look I'm not sure where you get favourites from because there are 10 teams in this tournament, there's 150 cricketers who are the best on the planet," he said. "In terms of the ICC rankings, we know they are skewed because we don't get to play India, we don't get to play a lot of the top nations who haven't been to Pakistan of late.

"We were No. 5 in April, we became No. 1 recently before the tournament, and that might be where you term the phrase favourites. But we're realistic. We have not been the best in the world as yet, so which highlights where we are in this tournament right now. We have no divine right to beat anyone in this tournament. We have to play quality cricket, and we have to put all three departments of our game together.

"We are desperate to bring joy to our nation. We are desperate to make our nation very proud of this cricket team. And we are also realistic in the knowledge that we haven't put all departments of our game together over the last four games but four losses does not define who we are as players, as coaches or a team, So we're determined now to focus on what we can control and that is putting our best on the park in these last three games and then leaving that to fate as - to determine the remainder of the tournament for Pakistan."

If you consider India, Australia, England, New Zealand and South Africa the "top teams" in ODI cricket - England are defending champions after all - Pakistan have played 19 ODIs against them between the World Cups. Sri Lanka and West Indies have played more than that. New Zealand's aggregate is lower but they are also one of them. Among teams playing this tournament, only Bangladesh and Netherlands have played less against the "top teams".

Asked if that, coupled with Pakistan's players not playing the IPL, makes them feel isolated, Bradburn answered in the negative, but also did point out the lack of experience in these conditions. "No, we don't feel isolated or intimidated by that," Bradburn said. "Mickey [Arthur] and I, when we took over this team in April, six months ago, we recognised that the team was playing a gear or two below where we wanted the team to be playing in terms of the brand, because we know the brand of cricket that is winning against quality teams is a more dynamic brand than perhaps, we were playing. So, we set a new course in April this year.

"So, it hasn't been a big lead-in to this major tournament for us. Ideally preparation for a tournament like this starts four years ago. We started six months ago and changed direction in the way that we want to play the game of cricket , especially the one-day brand. We've shown some positive signs of that over the last six months, and as I've mentioned, during this tournament, we're very proud of some of the performances that we've put on the park.

"It's taking a little bit longer than we were hoping, but we want to play a dynamic brand that matches the challenge of the conditions we're playing in. So, this tournament is foreign condition for us. None of our players have played here before. Every venue is a new one, including this one. So, we've done our homework meticulously on our opposition, on our venues that we're playing at, and we're prepared very, very well for each and every encounter. But the reality is that each and every venue is a new one for us and we don't feel disadvantaged at all in terms of the knowledge, the quality, the skill, the backing that we have for this team of cricketers.

"We've been consistent with our selection; we've backed our players and we still back our players to perform and show the brand of cricket that we want to play that matches the task at hand and also, we're the best in the world. And we've acknowledged over the past period of time that we're not at that level that we want to be, but we're certainly pushing hard to improve our brand of cricket because we know that the skills are within our players."

Pakistan's strength has historically been - and presently is - fast bowling but, as mentioned here, fast bowlers with prior IPL experience have done much better in this tournament. Bradburn did speak of the challenges his fast bowlers faced in the absence of swing.

"Look, we haven't got on a roll in this tournament, and we understand that it's fine lines here in Indian conditions," Bradburn said. "And particularly, I would say, with our bowlers, we're renowned for having a fantastic group of fast bowlers, both here and at home. We have a great resource of fast-bowling talent in Pakistan. We do rely on swing, but we haven't experienced too much swing here. The balls are different. The conditions are different, and certainly the ball tends to wear a lot quicker here.

"So, you know, we're learning that on the fly as well so therefore our lines have been different that we've been bowling and we haven't put enough balls in good areas really to create the pressure that we want and to take the wickets."

Lucknow, Delhi and Dharamsala have been the venues that have helped seam bowlers in this tournament, but Pakistan don't have a single match there. The first match played in Kolkata, where Netherlands upset Bangladesh, will be cause for optimism as the Netherlands bowlers drew disconcerting bounce from the surface.

Bradburn said the mood within the camp was great and there were no tensions among the players as reported. "The environment is great. There's never any issue in terms of the environment. We have a wonderful group of players who are very determined to bring joy to their nation, play a quality, exciting brand of cricket for our fans and to make our country and our families proud of the performances that we put on the park. This is a very tight group and feel free to wander down towards the dressing room and watch the training today you will see a very good vibe."