Cricket: Moin believes his knee is up to test

By RICHARD BOOCK

Moin Khan is confident he can beat his chronic knee problem and play in the third cricket test at Hamilton.

The Pakistan captain was forced from the field during the final session of the second test at Christchurch and has withdrawn from the side to play Wellington in a three-day tour match, beginning at the Basin Reserve tomorrow.

The knee injury has played havoc with Moin during the past few seasons and forced him out of the one-day tournament in Singapore last year, when he instead sought specialist treatment in London.

"The leg felt a bit sore so it seemed wise to give it a rest," he said yesterday. "But I went off only as a precaution and I should be all right for the test match."

It was unclear who would captain the Pakistan side against Wellington in Moin's absence because vice-captain Inzamam-ul-Haq was also likely to be rested, along with Saqlain Mushtaq, Waqar Younis and Yousuf Youhana.

The remaining player to take a break from the 17-strong touring squad is not expected to be known until after the tourists inspect the pitch, although it seems the decision involves a straight choice between leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed and rising pace star Mohammad Akram.

"If it is a spinning track, then Mushtaq will play with Arshad Khan," Moin said. "But let us see what happens."

Pakistan, beaten 2-3 in the one-day series, lost their opening tour match against a New Zealand A side by more than an innings last month, but bounced back in dramatic fashion to win the first test at Auckland, and had slightly the better of the second.

Coach Javed Miandad was quietly pleased with the strong turnaround, pointing out that his side were playing on surfaces so unusual that neither team had much idea about how they would perform.

New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming made a potentially series-deciding mistake when he sent Pakistan in at Eden Park, and Moin repaid the compliment when he opted to bowl first on a Jade Stadium pitch that might have been prepared by the Friends of the Flat Earth Society.

"I don't know if we misread the track, but the fact is that since portable pitches have been used I don't think anyone really knows how they're going to behave," Miandad said.

"They have remained dry most of the time and have been good for batting. Our bowlers did well to win the first test for us, but only because the strip had worn out by the fifth day."

He suggested there was less mystery about how the Hamilton track would play, but said that even the home side had misread the revolutionary portable pitches.

"I don't know whether these sort of artificially prepared wickets have a future in test matches," Miandad said.

"It is difficult to say now, but perhaps in the course of time, when those preparing them become more confident in their work, one can predict how they will behave."

He said the Wellington match would be valuable for those Pakistan batsmen who did not score heavily in the Christchurch test, and for bowlers such as Mohammad Akram and Fazal-e-Akbar, who were in contention for the third test line-up.

"It's a good opportunity for [Saleem] Elahi, Ijaz [Ahmed], [Imran] Farhat, Faisal [Iqbal], Younis [Khan] and Misbah [ul-Haq] to get among the runs because it is always good to have your back-up players in good form."

Pakistan (likely): Saleem Elahi, Imran Farhat, Faisal Iqbal, Ijaz Ahmed, Misbah-ul-Haq, Younis Khan, Humayun Farhat, Fazal-e-Akbar, Mohammad Akram, Arshad Khan and either Mohammad Sami or Mushtaq Ahmed.

Wellington: Richard Jones (capt), Selwyn Blackmore, Grant Donaldson, Rhys Morgan, Matthew Walker, James Franklin, Chris Nevin, Mark Jefferson, Andrew Penn, Mark Gillespie, Iain O'Brien, Jeetan Patel (one to be omitted).