Pitches poor for practice

Georgetown - Javed Miandad is upset over the practice facilities which his Pakistan team have been given on their West Indies tour.

'Except for maybe one day in Barbados, my boys haven't been able to get in any proper practice,' the team coach, former captain and batting maestro of the 1980s said last week just before the Test started.

Criticising the standard of the pitches and the outfields, he was echoing complaints made earlier by captain Moin Khan and last year by Australian captain Steve Waugh and then West Indies manager Clive Lloyd.

The various boards had arranged practice for both Pakistan and West Indies teams at club grounds since the Test grounds cannot be used from three days prior to the Test.

'We've found pitches that are not well prepared, where the ball leaves a mark,' Miandad said. 'After a while, they start breaking up. Batsmen are being hit on the ankle by spinners and the ball is turning.'

Miandad claimed that some of the outfields at some practice venues were dangerous, noting that Mushtaq Ahmed wrenched his ankle while fielding at the Everest Club ground here last week.

'We were lucky it wasn't serious, but it could have been,' he added.

The West Indies had produced some of the best players in the world and the best teams but they fell well behind on facilities for touring teams, Miandad charged.

'If you're putting on international Test matches, everything should be to the right standard,' he said. 'When teams come to Pakistan, they can be assured that practice is in good order.'

Miandad was also critical of the quality of balls provided for practice.

'We have asked for the same type of balls to be used in the Tests but have got something else instead and they are not up to standard,' he said. 'They are hard like rock. If we knew, we could have brought balls with us from Pakistan.'