Javed Miandad said Monday Pakistan is blessed with the best bowling attack in the world and can beat any team provided the squad overcomes its batting problems. Pakistani players are immersed in a five-day training camp in preparation for next week's Champions Trophy in South Africa with the former legend appointed to help improve their batting prowess. “I think Pakistan has one of the best bowling attacks in the world and if they improve their batting they can win the Champions Trophy,” said Miandad, who has coached Pakistan on three stints in the past. He was made a consultant after the team's batting failure in Sri Lanka last month where it lost the Test series 2-0 and one-day series 3-2. Pakistan faces a stern test at the Champions Trophy from Sept. 21-Oct. 5, where it meets West Indies, Australia and India in Group A. “Australia were seen struggling in the Ashes because their bowling attack is not as strong as it used to be, but their players have basic batting technique which is the difference between them and other teams,” said Miandad. He added that he was doing his best to help batsmen overcome their problems. “Unlike Australian batsmen, our players do not rely on basics,” said Miandad, himself a great batsman with 8824 runs in 124 Tests. “Some of them play strokes while running at the crease and some leave the stumps to hit a ball which are flaws and I am doing my best to tell them the basics.” With the return of frontline paceman Mohammad Asif, Pakistan has Umar Gul, Rana Navedul Hasan, Mohammad Aamir and Rao Iftikhar as fast bowlers with leg-spinner Shahid Afridi and off-spinner Saeed Ajmal to handle the spin. Asif, banned for a year after failing a dope test in the Indian Premier League, will be available to play after his ban expires on Sept. 21. Pakistan flies to South Africa Thursday and plays its first match against the West Indies on Sept. 23 before taking on arch-rival India on Sept. 26 and Australia on Sept. 30. Pak-Kiwis ties in UAE Pakistan will play four One-Day Internationals and two Twenty20 matches against New Zealand in the United Arab Emirates next month, an official of the Pakistan Cricket Board said Monday. It will be Pakistan's second one-day series at a neutral venue this year after earlier hosting Australia in the UAE. “Dubai will host two Twenty20 matches, while all the four ODIs against New Zealand will be staged at Abu Dhabi,” PCB media manager Raza Rashid said.
