Pakistan’s sad and yet deserved early exit from the World Cup 2003 was no surprise for me personally.

Pakistan for the past six months had not put up any credible performance in the international arena. Heavy losses to Australia and South Africa were clear indicators of the impending doom. There have been widespread speculations that poor team spirit and lack of resolve were the main contributors to Pakistan’s loss. My views are listed below:

An unconvincing net session by injured Pakistan opener Saeed Anwar increased speculation he will miss his side’s opening World Cup match against Australia at The Wanderers on Tuesday.

Anwar, who suffered a severely bruised left elbow when he was hit by a delivery from team mate Shoaib Akhtar last week, batted briefly against a bowling machine on Monday.

He was seen flexing his arm afterwards. Earlier he took part in a fielding drill but did not throw the ball over-arm.