Pakistan’s next clash in the 2019 ICC World Cup is against a formidable Australia side at Taunton on Wednesday but veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez believes the team have no reason to fear the defending champions.
The Men in Green had a disappointing start to their campaign and were bowled out for just 105 runs against the West Indies before they responded strongly with a win against hosts and favourites England.
Despite their most recent clash against Sri Lanka being washed out due to rain, Hafeez feels Pakistan can take the momentum from their England win to Taunton against Australia.
“I think all 10 teams are beatable,” Hafeez was quoted as saying by AFP.
“If you look at England, they were playing top cricket and people were thinking it would be hard to beat them.
“But all teams are beatable, if you talk of our next opponent (Australia), they are also playing very good cricket but they too can be defeated.”
The Aussies will come into the clash on the back of a loss to India which broke a 10-game winning win for them in ODIs. That run included a 5-0 whitewash of Pakistan in the UAE earlier this year but Hafeez insists that the team will be unfazed by those recent losses against the Aussies.
“Yes, we don’t have a very good record against Australia because they play tough cricket but every day is a new day,” said the all-rounder.
“This is a World Cup and we now have momentum after our win over England.”
Although the recent no-result against Sri Lanka was a missed opportunity for Pakistan who hold a formidable World Cup record over the islanders, Hafeez is not worried about the team losing the momentum ahead of the Australia clash.
“Yes, that was frustrating but you cannot do much about the weather and now we have moved on,” he stated.
“But I am sure when we play again, we will put up the same game that we played against England.”
