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'We were not 100% into it' - Hafeez

Mohammad Hafeez has said that Pakistan's fielding and bowling are areas of some concern but he would not read too much into their one-wicket loss at the hands of BCB XI in their only practice match of the tour

Mohammad Isam
Mohammad Isam
15-Apr-2015
File photo: Mohammad Hafeez scored 85 out of Pakistanis' 268, which they could not defend  •  Getty Images

File photo: Mohammad Hafeez scored 85 out of Pakistanis' 268, which they could not defend  •  Getty Images

Mohammad Hafeez has said that Pakistan's fielding and bowling are areas of some concern but he would not read too much into their one-wicket defeat at the hands of BCB XI in their only practice match of the tour. They dropped two catches in total, the costliest being wicketkeeper Mohammad Rizwan's missed chance of Sabbir Rahman in the tenth over.
The Pakistanis also let Sabbir and Imrul Kayes off the hook after they had reduced the home side to 81 for 4 in the 19th over. The fifth-wicket pair added 124 runs in only 19 overs. Even when Wahab Riaz and Junaid Khan broke that partnership and took two more wickets quickly, they could not quite end the game as the BCB XI tailenders survived to win the game with seven balls to spare.
Hafeez said that the nature of the game was to give equal chance to everyone in the squad, as the two teams had decided to use their full squads. But he admitted that it was a wake-up call they needed.
"It is only a warm-up game," Hafeez said. "We tried a couple of things but were not 100% into it. I could easily have scored a century or more than that, the way I was playing at the time. We wanted to give chance to the youngsters so that they can get used to the conditions. In bowling too we tried couple of things. This is where we got a fair chance so we can fix some of the areas for the coming series.
"To be honest both teams played a good game. I think at the end of the day BCB XI team did well. We have to fix couple of areas like our fielding. We have to really work hard on it. Our bowling unit has to fire because we believe 270 on a pitch where the ball was not coming on to the bat, we were a little out of sorts. I think we have to plan well before the first ODI."
Hafeez stressed on the need to improve their fielding, particularly in tight situations. He said that Pakistan can improve from this performance in the ODI series.
"I think we dropped couple of catches," Hafeez said. "Sabbir got a few chances, but this is how it goes. We have to improve and take those chances in a crucial time. When you take that, you always win the game. We really wanted a game like this to fix the areas we wanted to. The team hopefully will be better now."
Hafeez said that getting out in the 28th over for 85 was almost the team's plan as they wanted every batsman to have a feel of the conditions. "I think that was the plan. I was planning to retire," he said. "We wanted to give chance to everyone. I tried a couple of things. I was thinking that I would play one more over and retire from the innings. But I got out in that over.
"The idea wasn't to score a century but to give a chance to everyone to get used to the conditions. I think every batsmen got a fair chance to use the condition. They couldn't score that much but I hope they learn from it. It is a new side. We will fix the areas we wanted to, in a day. You will see better results in the ODI series."

Mohammad Isam is ESPNcricinfo's Bangladesh correspondent. @isam84