Pakistan's Kaneria rues missed World Cup chance

Leg-spinner Danish Kaneria is is still ruing Pakistan's early exit from the World Cup as he would have fancied his chances of frustrating rival teams on the slow Caribbean pitches.

''You look at the matches played so far in this World Cup and the spinners are having a great time,'' Kaneria, who has been cleared by the Pakistan Cricket Board to play for English county team Essex, told Reuters today.

''To sit at home and watch the spinners making life difficult for the batsmen on pitches that generally encourage them is one of the worst periods of my cricket career.'' One of the pre-tournament favourites for the title, Pakistan were beaten by hosts West Indies and were then eliminated from the tournament following a shock defeat by debutants Ireland.

Their coach Bob Woolmer died on March 18 in Kingston, less than 24 hours after the Ireland loss and Jamaican police are investigating his death as a murder.

India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka were expected to do well at the World Cup as the majority of the pitches in the West Indies, once the hunting grounds for express bowlers, have resembled those on the sub-continent.

But former champions India and Pakistan failed to exploit the conditions and fell in the first round, while surprise qualifiers Bangladesh have frustrated numerous opponents -- including a stunning win over South Africa -- with the three left-arm spinners in their team.

The 26-year-old Kaneria, who has taken 198 wickets in 46 tests, said he had wanted to replicate that success in the World Cup.

''But what has happened can't be changed and all our players can't still reconcile to the early Cup exit despite the passage of time.

''We just didn't click in that one crucial game against Ireland and it ended our tournament. It was awful for all us,'' he said.

Kaneria will travel to Essex on Monday and is expected to play against Derbyshire two days later.

''The time with Essex will allow me to get back into a normal mode and look ahead. We have some good contests coming up against South Africa and Australia,'' said Kaneria, who will be spending his third season with Essex.

REUTERS DH RAI2010

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