Wasim dropped for back trouble

Karachi, Dec 8: Pakistan captain Moin Khan on Friday conceded that Wasim Akram was dropped because he lacked match fitness. Breaking his silence over the ongoing controversy relating to country's premier fast bowler, Moin Khan said Wasim had come to him before the toss and revealed that he was having problem in his back.

"He said he felt uncomfortable. He wasn't sure if he would last five days of the match because there was a possibility that the injury might aggravate.

"Naturally, this being a crunch match and we bidding to win the game to win the series, we decided not to take any chances with him," Moin said.

Moin said in back-to-back Tests, fast bowlers do get minor problems and Wasim's injury was neither unusual nor an attempt to escape the match.

"I think it is a wrong impression to say he is deliberately trying to stay away from the match being played on a docile track. Wasim has played most of his cricket on these wickets and has always given his best.

"The fact that he is out of form is giving credence to all sorts of speculations," the wicketkeeper said.

The skipper blamed lack of application on the part of the batsmen for their failure to carry last evening good job into the second day.

"We batted poorly, it's as simple as that. The unfortunate part is we gifted our wickets. I think it is time that the batsman realize that it's he who has to accomplish the task. We have been shifting the responsibilities to others which is not good at this level of the game," Moin said.

He, nevertheless, hoped that his spinners would perform better on Saturday and try to take wickets. "The spinners will have to work hard because they will not be able to buy English wickets.

"The ball turned sharp in the last half-an-hour or so. I am hoping that the spinners would show their mettle and terminate England's first innings as early as possible."

He said his team would surely attempt to force a follow-on. "If the ploy fails, we would try to take a good first innings lead, bat positively and quickly in the second to set England a stiff target and enough time for our bowlers to take a shot, he said."