Pakistan, Proteas start ODI duel today

BLOEMFONTEIN  – It is three months away but the Champions Trophy will be the main focus for Pakistan and South Africa because this is the last competitive cricket they will play together before the tournament in England. Pakistan's emphasis may not be as great. They have held ICC silverware aloft before and are not obsessed with the same levels of pre-planning as South Africa are.They also seem to approach isolated series as exactly that: contests that should be won not test-tubes that should be toyed with. Accordingly, their concerns are not with combinations or

building but with winning and, if whispers are to be believed, unifying what is becoming a divided unit.Misbah-ul-Haq and M Hafeez are reportedly at loggerheads, although team management denies this. Infighting in the leadership core will not be good for team morale but Pakistan do not appear to be down at all. Instead, the lure of winning another trophy is more than enough motivation, especially with the knowledge that their opposition is vulnerable.Since Gary Kirsten took over as South African coach in June 2011 the country's Test team has risen relentlessly to the top of the International Cricket Council rankings. The performances of the one-day side, though, have been patchy at best.A five-match series against Pakistan, starting at Chevrolet Park here Sunday, marks a change of focus for the Proteas, who have slipped to fourth place in the rankings for the 50-over format. Pakistan are sixth on a tightly-bunched table.Kirsten said South Africa could play as many as 20 one-day internationals before their next Test series, against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in October and November."It's nice to have an extended period of one-day internationals," he said. "This is an important period for the ODI team." Of immediate concern for South Africa is the ICC Champions Trophy in England in June, the team's next major engagement after the Pakistan series. The country's consistent failure to win big tournaments is one of the issues that Kirsten has pledged to address.Although South Africa have a less than stellar one-day record of 10 wins and eight losses under Kirsten, the coach is not over-concerned because the international schedule has dictated an emphasis on five-day cricket. "We have had a lot of Test cricket," he said. SQUADS:PAKISTAN: Misbah-ul-Haq (capt), Mohammad Hafeez, Nasir Jamshed, Asad Shafiq, Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Kamran Akmal (wkt), Umar Akmal, Shahid Afridi, Saeed Ajmal, Mohammad Irfan, Junaid Khan, Wahab Riaz, Umar Gul, Imran Farhat, Abdur RehmanSOUTH AFRICA: AB de Villiers (capt/wkt), Kyle Abbott, Hashim Amla, Farhaan Behardien, Faf du Plessis, Colin Ingram, Rory Kleinveldt, Ryan McLaren, David Miller, Morne Morkel, Robin Peterson, Aaron Phangiso, Graeme Smith, Dale Steyn, Lonwabo Tsotsobe.

-         The nation