Emphasis being laid on improving fitness

Conditioning camps organised for players

Osman Samiuddin

May 29, 2007

After a successful training camp in Lahore, Pakistan emerged victorious over World Cup finalists Sri Lanka in the searing Abu Dhabi conditions © AFP

A series of three two-week long conditioning camps will be held for the Pakistan squad aimed squarely at improving levels of physical fitness among players, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced.

The first camp, from June 10 to June 25 will be held at Abbottabad, a high-altitude city near Islamabad. The second will be held in Quetta in Balochistan, from July 10 to July 24, while the final one will take place in the port city of Karachi, from July 25 to August 15.

The camps are part of a concerted drive by the board to improve fitness levels which the late Bob Woolmer described as the worst he had seen when he arrived in Pakistan in July 2004. "The main focus of these camps will be on improving the physical fitness and conditioning of the players," Nasim Ashraf, chairman of the board, said at a press conference.

"We have made it clear that fitness is an area we will not compromise on at any level. It is the personal responsibility of the players. Our aim is to improve levels at least twofold in the next year," he added.

The drive isn't restricted to the international level either; each region will now have an officially appointed physical trainer and a physiotherapist as the board tries to address an area in which Pakistan has traditionally suffered over the years.

The camps will be overseen by manager Talat Ali, who will be backed up by ex-Test cricketer Haroon Rashid as batting coach and Aaqib Javed as bowling coach. Mohtasim Rashid, on the coaching staff at the National Cricket Academy and widely-praised by players and officials for his methods, will be the fielding coach

Osman Samiuddin is Pakistan editor of Cricinfo

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Players/Umpires

Aaqib Javed

Haroon Rasheed

Talat Ali