LAHORE: South African skipper Faf du Plessis Saturday admitted he was nervous ahead of the World XI tour of Pakistan but praised the hosts for ensuring a safe series which he said would help its revival of international cricket in the country.
Apart from five limited-overs games against minnows Zimbabwe in 2015, Pakistan had not hosted top-level international cricket since militants attacked the bus of the visiting Sri Lankan team in March 2009, killing eight people and wounding seven players and staff.
“When I first thought of coming, obviously there was little bit of nervousness within myself,” said du Plessis, who led the World XI for the Twenty20 three match series.
“Now going through this week with complete different emotions and feelings, I’m very happy with our time here, we’ve really enjoyed it as a team,” he told an end-of-tour press conference.
Pakistan celebrated the return of international cricket with a thumping 33-run win at Lahore’s Qaddafi Stadium on Friday to clinch the series 2-1.
Hosting the short series is a major step toward convincing international teams to return, with Sri Lanka already due to play a Twenty20 match in Lahore on October 29.
Du Plessis said he was deeply impressed by his time in Lahore but was not sure he could convince South Africa to tour just yet.
“I can just relate my experiences over here, but they will have to be a complete different set of things put in place for South Africa to come and tour here,” he said.
“What I can say is the fact that we’ve been in Lahore here now and we did feel safe,” he said.
“If you do out all those things that were in place (for this series) then definitely another step, another step, another step, to hopefully (bring) cricket back into Pakistan.”
World XI coach Andy Flower agreed Pakistan was making progress toward reviving international cricket.
“This is the step taken in the right direction. This is one step forward, it’s been very successful and very well received here in Pakistan, here in Lahore,” said the ex-England coach, who assembled a World XI with players from seven countries.
“The coverage of the three games around the world has gone down very well. The security operations has made players safe and secure, so first step has been taken so there will be more steps along the way,” said Flower.
“I’ve never been part of a game where there’s been so much emotions and appreciativeness from the crowd when they are cheering you as if you are playing at your own home crowd,” he said.
Cricket: Du Plessis hails Pakistan progress for international cricket
Cricket: Du Plessis hails Pakistan progress for international cricket
China beat North Korea 2-1 to take top spot in Group B
- Uzbekistan finished third in the group with a 4-0 win over Bangladesh in Perth, also securing a spot in the knockout stage
SYDNEY: Defending champion China edged North Korea 2-1 in a physical, high-energy game Monday to take top spot in Group B in the Women’s Asian Cup.
The result sent North Korea into a quarterfinal Friday against Australia in Perth, where the hosts and 2023 World Cup semifinalists opened the tournament with a win over Philippines.
China and North Korea were already assured of quarterfinal spots with two wins apiece ahead of their showdown at Western Sydney Stadium. Uzbekistan finished third in the group with a 4-0 win over Bangladesh in Perth, also securing a spot in the knockout stage.
Playing in their first Women’s Asian Cup tournament since losing the 2010 final to Australia, North Korea only needed a draw against China to top the group. And they took the lead when Kim Kyong Yong finished off a counter-attacking goal in the 32nd minute, the first shot on goal in the game.
The lead was shortlived, though, with China equalizing two minutes later with Chen Qiaozhu’s stunning strike through traffic from the edge of the area.
China went ahead in a tense finish to the first half, when Wang Shuang’s goal was awarded after a VAR review deep in stoppage time.
The VAR decision to overturn the assistant referee’s offside call upset the North Korean players and led to coach Ri Song Ho being yellow carded by referee Thi Ly Le as his team protested on the sideline. The North Korean players didn’t return to the pitch before halftime was called.
Both teams had chances in the second half, with North Korea goalkeeper Yu Son Gum making a full-length diving save to Wang’s powerful left-foot shot in the 78th, and then 19-year-old Choe Il Son appearing to equalize two minutes later before being ruled offside after a VAR review.
In Perth, Dildora Nozimova scored twice in six minutes for Uzbekistan, her first just two minutes after entering the game as a substitute on the hour.
State of play
The top two teams in each of the three groups advance to the quarterfinals along with the two best third-place teams.
In Group A, South Korea edged Australia for top spot on goal difference after the 3-3 draw in Sydney on Sunday night. The South Koreans will play the third-place team from either Group B or Group C in the quarterfinals. Philippines still have a narrow chance of advancing after placing third, finishing with a win over Iran. That put Iran women’s team out of contention, and facing the prospect of a return to country at war.
In Group C, two-time champion Japan lead with six points ahead of their last group match against Vietnam, who are tied with Taiwan for second spot on three points. Taiwan finish the group stage against India.
