Afridi wishes more of the same

Swashbuckling all-rounder Shahid Afridi Friday hoped his more responsible approach to batting and effective bowling help Pakistan defend the World Twenty20 title and win the 2011 World Cup.
"I am becoming more and more responsible with my batting," Afridi told AFP. "I want to help my team win the World Twenty20 again next year and then the bigger prize in the World Cup in two years time."
The 29-year-old hit a punishing 51-ball 70 -- his first one-day fifty for 33 one-day matches -- and then took 2-46 to help Pakistan beat New Zealand in the first match at Abu Dhabi on Tuesday.
Often criticised for not turning his explosive potential into performance, Afridi is fast proving that notion wrong with a more responsible approach to the batting.
He hit back-to-back half-centuries in the semifinal and final of the World Twenty20 held in England in June -- one of which helped Pakistan beat Sri Lanka in the final.
Afridi was soon made Pakistan's captain for Twenty20 cricket after Younus Khan decided not to carry on in the shortest form of the game -- a reward for his explosive performance.
And he has already set his target on the defence of World Twenty20 title in the West Indies coming April.
"Being the captain I have to do planning for the World Twenty20 because I want to win it once again, for my team, for my country and for my people who get inspired with our wins.
"See there is no cricket back home so it is important that we keep winning and motivate the youth to take up the game which will keep the interest alive in our country," said Afridi.
Pakistan's chances of staging international cricket were dealt a severe blow when the Sri Lankan team bus was attacked in Lahore in March this year. Seven Sri Lankan players and their assistant coach were injured, besides eight people killed.