KARACHI, Jan 19: After a largely disappointing year in 2007, Pakistan will be keen to launch their first cricketing assignment of 2008 with nothing less than a clean-sweep of the One-day International series against Zimbabwe, which starts with a day/night encounter at the National Stadium here on Monday.

Having not only lost both the one-day and Test series against South Africa and India, Pakistan’s ranking in both forms of the game has also plummeted. A 5-0 triumph over the 11th-ranked one-day side that Zimbabwe are at the moment will definitely lift Pakistan on the ODI points’ table. Moreover, the coming series offers Pakistan some breathing space and a chance to improve in certain areas of their game before the real challenges that lie ahead of them.

With Australia due here in March/April, subject to security clearance by Cricket Australia, the Zimbabwe matches provide Pakistan with the rare opportunity of looking at some of emerging players to form a sort of backup for the tough days ahead.

Of the three newcomers named for the first two one-dayers, left-handed opening batsman Nasir Jamshed and Samiullah Niazi, the left-arm seamer, are in line to earn their first caps on Monday after performing outstandingly for the Patron’s XI this week. The selectors have already indicated that they would be using the Zimbabwe series to give new players a taste of international cricket in a rotation policy they have planned for the occasion.

Pakistan’s recent form in One-day Internationals was not encouraging as they lost two series — against South Africa and India — which otherwise they should have won comfortably. Even now it would be a huge surprise for everyone if Pakistan fail to make light work of the Zimbabweans, who gave the impression of being club cricketers in the four-day fixture against the Patron’s XI.

Now sadly languishing at the tail end of the ICC ODI Championship table, and longer playing Test cricket because of a self-imposed suspension, Zimbabwe’s main area of concern is not where they stand in world cricket, but how much opportunities they get to play at any level, as long as they are allowed to play the game.

More than anything else, they are now anxious to get back into playing Test cricket as soon as possible. Considering they would be taking on Pakistan in only one-dayers on this tour, they specifically requested the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to arrange just a four-day practice match — a game they lost by an innings — before the series.

In that frame of mind, one fears that Zimbabwe’s mind would be totally focussed on the limited-overs version of the game. But they have got the potential to upset the established teams, like they did to Australia in the inaugural World Twenty20 Championship last September in South Africa, and to the West Indies in a one-dayer back home last month.

In the soft-spoken Prosper Utseya, who in fact talks very little judged upon by the two press conferences he has addressed here, Zimbabwe have a young captain with a lot of responsibility. Utseya missed the tour opener, as did Stuart Matsikenyeri, Tawanda Mupariwa and Chamu Chibhabha, because he didn’t want to risk an injury to his ankle suffered in South Africa last month.

Zimbabwe’s other worries are left-handed batsman Sean Williams who sprained his left ankle during the practice match and batted with a runner in Zimbabwe’s second innings. Chibhabha sat out the tour game after he complained of nausea and headaches. Both of them are expected to be available for selection.

Most of the names in the current squad may be unfamiliar to the Pakistani public, but the likes of Tatenda Taibu, the former captain who has happily returned to the fold, Brendan Taylor, Ray Price, Elton Chigumbura and Vusimusi Sibanda are decent cricketers in their own right.

In the overall history, Zimbabwe have managed just two wins against Pakistan in 35 ODIs and three of the four World Cup clashes have ended with Pakistan winning. The one with no result, in Harare in 2003, was possibly the most significant result as it eliminated Pakistan from that tournament in southern Africa.

Zimbabwe held two practice sessions at the National Stadium on Friday and Saturday, but Pakistan have no plan to have nets with majority of the squad scheduled to arrive from Lahore late on Saturday night.

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