Pakistan suffered a seven-wicket defeat to the West Indies in their ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup opener in Nottingham on Thursday. Beaten by seven-wickets it was their second-lowest World Cup score in history as they were rattled out for just 105 by a hostile West Indian bowling attack at Trent Bridge. It was their 11th consecutive ODI defeat but may be they can take some inspiration from history. When they last lifted the World Cup in 1992 they lost by ten wickets to the West Indies in their tournament opener, so it could be worse. And they were bowled out for just 74 by England just a few days later. By the end of the tournament, Imran Khan’s side were world champions, famously turning the tables on this year’s hosts in the final at the MCG.
The point is, they remain as predictably unpredictable as ever. “We wanted to bowl first and the start is very crucial for our team,” said skipper Sarfraz Ahmed. “We lost too many wickets early on and that’s why we didn’t come back into the game. We expected a hard game and we knew what was coming to us. It was not a good result for us but we have what it takes to play and win.” All the pre-match talk was about whether the Windies’ powerhouse batsmen could threaten the 500-run mark on a ground made for big scores. Sarfraz countered he believed it would be a game for the bowlers, though it was the men in maroon who rolled back the years with a performance reminiscent of the 1970s, when their pace attack inspired them to two World Cup victories. But it won’t get any easier for the Pakistan captain, with world No.1 side England – pumped up from their opening win over South Africa – their next opponents on the same ground next Monday. “I was happier with how we bowled and the effort we showed, especially as we were defending such a low score,” added Sarfraz. “It was good to see Mohammed Amir back in the form we know he is capable of and it will be good for us in the next matches as well. “We have got to back ourselves and not think too much about what happened in this match. “This game is gone but we have a strong players who will help us bounce back and win the next match. “We know we can beat England, we came close twice in the recent series and we just didn’t finish well.”