Pakistan head coach Misbah-ul-Haq said on Monday he believed the venues for two white-ball series in South Africa would suit his team, as they stepped up preparations after arriving in the country.
Misbah, speaking for the first time since Pakistan arrived in South Africa, said he looked forward to three one-day internationals and four Twenty20 internationals, which will be shared between the Wanderers Stadium in Johannesburg and SuperSport Park in Centurion in order to adhere to Covid-19 protocols.
The series starts with a one-day international is in Centurion on Friday.
"If I look back, when we used to come here and play, these two wickets, Centurion and Wanderers, we always enjoyed these pitches,” said Misbah, who captained Pakistan on a 2012/13 tour of South Africa.
"The bounce and pace is very true and as a batsman you enjoy that," he said. "You get full value for your shots. Some of the players in this team have already played here and performed very well.
"Those previous performances and experiences definitely help you. Pakistan always have the luxury of good fast bowlers and I think that is the reason why we do well here."
South Africa played a Test series and a T20 series in Pakistan recently and Misbah said the reciprocal series was important in times made difficult because of the Covid-19 pandemic when the calendar had been impacted by the crisis.
"It is our duty as different nations to keep going, keep helping each other and keep this game alive."
New South African white-ball captain Temba Bavuma confirmed earlier that South Africa would only be able to use their Indian Premier League players for the first two one-day internationals.
Bavuma said he respected the relationship between the South African and Indian boards that enabled star players to fulfil their IPL contracts.
Quinton de Kock, Kagiso Rabada, Lungi Ngidi, David Miller and Anrich Nortje will miss the third one-day international and all four Twenty20 internationals because of their IPL commitments.
"For the first two games we have got all our best players so it is important to get positive results in those first two games," said Bavuma.
"But that is not to say we are conceding the third game. We believe we have the replacements with guys coming in to fill those boots."
Bavuma said that the tour provided an opportunity for players to stake a claim for two World T20 tournaments in the next two years as well as the 2023 Cricket World Cup.
"We’ve got 22 players, which is a big squad," he said. "The message to the players is that 90 percent of the World Cup squads will come from this group. It is important that the guys understand there is an opportunity and also that they know where they stand."
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"I think especially with white-ball cricket, the pitches are very good, they're true pitches, with good bounce and pace and for batters"
"In white-ball cricket, it is easier to adjust to these conditions and you get good value for shots. Obviously Pakistan has also always had the luxury of good fast bowlers. That is the reason Pakistan has done well here."
"In 2013-14, when we were here, we had Junaid [Khan], [Mohammad] Irfan, then we had youngsters like Bilawal Bhatti and a couple of others. That is the reason why Pakistan like playing here. No doubt South Africa are very good, they know their conditions well. But I think these conditions help Pakistan as a whole, the batsmen especially. And obviously, there's something psychological as well, when a team has done well here before, it helps moving forward as well to perform."
'If I look back when I used to play, these two wickets at Centurion and Wanderers, I really enjoyed batting on them, the bounce and the pace is very true,' he said.
"No doubt South Africa are very good, they know their conditions well. But I think these conditions help Pakistan as a whole, the batsmen especially."
"As a batsman you enjoy that, you get full value for your shots. Previously, in this team, some of the players have played here and performed - Imam [ul-Haq], Babar [Azam], Fakhar [Zaman] was here. These players love that pace and bounce, now [Mohammad] Rizwan is in form, a very good backfoot player. Those previous series and experiences definitely count, they play a role in your confidence as a player and team. When I was playing, suddenly, you just went to a ground where you've performed and your confidence level was always different."
Pakistan have already had a couple of days of training, a bonus given how difficult it had been when they toured New Zealand and had to be in strict isolation with no training for 14 days. South Africa had their own issues this season with the mid-tour cancellation of England's series earlier, and then Australia pulling out of a visit because of concerns over the pandemic in the country. Misbah was confident, however, of no mishaps this time.
"Both the boards are working very hard especially to keep this series going"
"Players and all coaching staff are keen to just play and move forward. Obviously some measures been taken keeping in view previous series but we are hopeful that if we just look after protocols, especially the players while practising, and take responsibility, I'm pretty sure series will go on. Already we've been to England and New Zealand, completed series there and obviously we'd like to do the same here. We'll do our best to complete this series."
