Miandad plans to exploit South African chokers

Javed Miandad, the Pakistan coach, said he plans to exploit South Africa's supposed weakness of being chokers, an accusation first levelled at them by Steve Waugh, the Australian captain.

As the South Africans belatedly touched down to play five one-day internationals and two Tests, Miandad welcomed them with the statement: "We have seen their videos and have discussed their weak areas. As Steve Waugh put it, they are chokers in crunch matches. We will try to capitalize on it."

Waugh first tagged them as bottlers when they toured Australia in 1997-98 and when they blew that infamous semi-final in the 1999 World Cup. To give Waugh more ammunition, they recently flopped in the NatWest Series final against England, and then lost the final Test at The Oval to let England steal a 2-2 draw.

"We look forward to an exciting series after the uncertainty over the tour," said Miandad, "We welcome them with open arms and it's a big learning opportunity for our young team."

Miandad believes Pakistan's strength lies in their bowling with Shoaib Akhtar and Mohammad Sami providing the pace and Mushtaq Ahmed and Saqlain Mushtaq the spin. He said, "bowling is our strength but we have to put enough runs on the board so that we could dictate terms."

The five-match ODI series starts with a day-night match at Lahore on October 3.