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Pakistan batting coach Andrew Puttick is optimistic about the country's chances in the ICC Cricket World Cup despite some big losses, while admitting that the team's backs are "against the wall".
Pakistan will take on an in-form South Africa in their ICC Cricket World Cup match on Friday. With four wins in five matches, SA are a team to beat and is at second in the points table. After losses to India, Australia and Afghanistan, Pakistan is sixth with four points they got from two wins. They will have to win all their remaining matches to have any chance at advancing to the semifinals. Talking to Geo News, Puttick said, "Our backs are against the wall, but we still have a chance (of making it to semis), and there's no option now. We have to go and do the business and bring our best. I am pretty confident we can get the ball rolling starting on Friday," he said. Puttick admitted that the boys were "hurting" after their loss to Afghanistan. "Yeah, the boys were hurting a little bit. It has been a tough couple of days, but I think everyone woke up this morning really raring to go and looking forward to getting out in the park again on Friday and putting in a good performance," he said. Puttick said that SA team is in-form, with their batting clicking well and bowlers taking wickets with the new ball. "We are going to have to come up with our plans and ensure we bring our best game. We need to start well and compete with them every ball," he stated. The batting coach was extremely confident of the capabilities of his batters. "Yes, definitely. We have got a quality lineup of batters with their own individual skills and unique ways of playing. On our day, we can compete with any side. So, that is our thinking. We will go with positive intentions on Friday and give it a good go," he said. "We need to be clear on our game plan and have the confidence to execute it on the day. We have got quality batters, and we do well when we get good partnerships going through the middle and finish strongly. We would like to be better in the powerplay, and there were promising signs against Afghanistan," he added. On improvement in first powerplay performances with the bat, Puttick said, "It is about having plans ready and the freedom to execute those plans on the day. Knowing when to target certain bowlers and having the skills to do so is crucial." Puttick also praised middle-order batter Saud Shakeel, calling him a "smart cricketer with a lot of potential". "He is experienced at the domestic level and has had a good start to his international career. I see him getting better and better as he settles into this ODI side. He's betting in a very important position, number five, where you need to be flexible and adaptable, and he certainly is that so I'm expecting great things going forward from Saud," Puttick said. (ANI)
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