Bari wants to leave controversies behind before 2011 WC

Lahore:

A spot-fixing scandal, involving their players has rocked international cricket recently, but the Pakistan Cricket Board's Chief Operating Officer Wasim Bari on Friday predicted a brighter future for the country.

Bari said that after the troubled tours to Australia and England this year, Pakistan cricket was now heading in the right direction and people will see lot of changes and improvement on the cricket scene before the World Cup.

"We are now moving in the right direction and the focus of the players and people should now be on preparing for the 2011 World Cup," Bari said.

He admitted that Pakistan cricket had been hurt by recent controversies but added PCB was now doing everything possible to have a brighter and more positive future for the sport in the country.

He also felt that the forthcoming series against South Africa would serve as ideal preparation for the World Cup.

"The World Cup is now the most important event for not only us but other countries as well in the coming months and I think, all of us should now put everything behind and just focus on cricket and the World Cup," the former captain said.

He said Pakistan had picked a very balanced side for the South Africa series, which was an ideal preparation for the World Cup, to be jointly hosted by India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.

"Let's remain hopeful that the team will deliver against the South Africans and do well. Our supporters need to be given some good performances by the team," he said.

The Pakistan squad is due to leave for Abu Dhabi tomorrow morning to play two Twenty20 matches, five ODIs and two Tests against the Proteas.

The series is being held in United Arab Emirates after the South Africans refused to tour Pakistan because of security concerns.