• Players are confident and are in high spirits to do well in international cricket, says Dar
• We are confident of bouncing back in next games, says all-rounder
• She says new coach David Hemp is helping them improve their performance

KARACHI: Pakistan women cricket team’s all-rounder Nida Dar feels the “never give up” strategy is behind the squad’s performance — which according to her is getting better with every passing game.

Talking to Geo.tv from Durban, the 34-year-old flamboyant cricketer said that players are confident and are in high spirits to do well in international cricket.

Dar scored an unbeaten 59 in the first ODI against South Africa on Wednesday and added 60 runs for the 9th wicket with Diana Baig. Although the Pakistan team fell three runs short, the resilience showed by the girls received everyone’s praise.

The all-rounder feels that it was because the team never wanted to give up. “We had one thing in mind: Not to lose the match and give our best to stay in-game,” she said.

“We are confident of bouncing back in next games, our confidence level and fighting spirits are high, and we’ll try to win our remaining fixtures,” Dar said.

The all-rounder said that the team was learning ways to improve under the newly appointed head coach David Hemp. According to Dar, Hemp has given each player a game plan and it is helping them improve their game.

“He is a very experienced coach and has worked with female cricketers for long,” she noted about the new coach.

“David Hemp has worked to improve our confidence level and skill work. His game plan is also very brilliant. He has shared his ideas on how to improve our standard of the game, and it is helping us a lot,” Dar said.

Speaking about her half-century in the first ODI, she said that her goal was to win the match. “I don’t go after individual scores, I always plan to contribute to the team’s cause, and that’s more important for me,” she expressed.

“Nevertheless, a fifty is always good. It was important as I wasn’t able to score much in the recent past, so it was good to add runs,” she said.

Replying to a question, the “Lady Boom Boom” said that playing in the Big Bash League has helped her in knowing other players’ weaknesses and strengths.

“All top players are there, and playing along with them not only helped me improve my game, but it also helped me know the weaknesses and strength of other players.”

“Now, I can plan my game more accurately than before,” Dar added.