LONDON: Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa arrived at the Lord’s cricket ground to watch the Pakistan cricket team playing against South Africa in their key World Cup match.

General Bajwa is accompanied by British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt and Director General Inter Services Public Relations, Major General Asif Ghafoor to the cricket stadium.

The army chief is currently in the United Kingdom on an official visit for meetings with senior British civil-military leadership.

Pakistan captain, Sarfraz Ahmed won the toss and elected to bat first in the do-or-die game against South Africa in the World Cup played at Lord’s.

“Looks like a good batting pitch and some grass cover on it,” said Sarfraz Ahmed. “We are not thinking about the pressure, just focusing on the game, which is very important for us. Haris Sohail and Shaheen in, Shoaib Malik and Hasan Ali out.”

Pakistan have made a couple of changes, resting Hasan Ali and Shoaib Malik, while bringing in Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Sohail in the playing XI.

Pakistan need to win their match against South Africa to stay alive in the tournament and have a chance of making it to the semi-finals stage. —NNI