15 January,2011 06:55 AM IST | | AFP
Pakistan will set aside off-field controversies to chase their first series win for four years when the second Test begins in Wellington on Saturday, as hosts New Zealand struggle for form.
Waqar Younis
Security concerns
Unable to hold international matches at home due to security concerns and beset by corruption allegations, Pakistan have not won a Test series since defeating the West Indies in early 2007.
But after crushing the Black Caps by 10 wickets in the first Test, the tourists are in prime position to go 2-0 up and record a clean sweep in the two-match series.
Coach Waqar Younis paid tribute to his players for maintaining their focus on the pitch as team-mates Salman Butt, Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Aamer faced corruption hearings in Doha.
"It's not that we've been playing bad cricket, it's just that the controversy has just been following us," he said.
"It's very, very hard for the boys to keep going and keep hearing this but I'm very proud of these boys.u00a0
Positive
"They've stuck to the task and every morning they get up and keep positive." Butt, Asif and Aamer are set to learn their fate when an anti-corruption tribunal into spot-fixing allegations resumes hearings on February 5.
The Test series has been reduced to two matches, down from the customary three, to allow for an extended six-match one day series, which will provide a warm-up for next month's World Cup in India.
Meanwhile, New Zealand coach John Wright has labelled as "unacceptable" the Black Caps' performance in his first Test in charge in Hamilton, when the batting line-up was dismissed for a paltry second innings total of 110.
