Abu Dhabi: The Pakistan cricket team will on Wednesday bid to bring some solace to their home country by wrapping up the One Day International (ODI) series against New Zealand at the Shaikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi.

Leading the five-match series 2-1 with two matches to play, Pakistan should be in a positive frame of mind. But there was a subdued atmosphere at the pre-match press conference as news of the deaths of more than 100 schoolchildren in a terrorist attack in Peshawar filtered through.

“It’s sad what’s happened in Peshawar. Our prayers are with the families who lost their kids. I hope the situation will get better in Pakistan,” said stand-in captain Shahid Afridi, while shaking his head in disbelief.

“Anything that happens in our country deeply saddens us, whether we are in Pakistan or away. Ever since we heard this news, we were saying that it should not have happened. We hope the situation gets better but also hope that all those who have the responsibility will improve the situation.”

Afridi, who is leading the team in the absence of the injured Misbah-ul-Haq, was confident Pakistan could carry on the momentum gained following their morale-boosting 147-run triumph in the third ODI in Sharjah.

“I have not done any wonders. I will give the whole credit to the management for the team’s success. They have created a good atmosphere in the dressing room,” he said.

“All those players who used to fear failure, I always say they should play freely without any fear. Now they have no fear of failure as the management has given full confidence. If we keep following this, then players will try to give their best.”

Afridi, who has scored two half-centuries in the three matches so far, may have been guilty in the past of getting carried away and throwing his wicket away cheaply. However, of late, he has found a unique solution — he now uses ear plugs to ensure he can block out distractions when he is at the crease.

“Yes, I have done it as an experiment so that when I cross the rope I forget everything. People have different expectations, it looked good as of now because there is no noise, but runouts and calling is also a problem. However, I have managed to keep more focus as you can’t hear any noise,” said Afridi.

“I always do my best whether I am the captain or not. I always play with responsibility even when I am not the captain. Whatever is the situation, I try to do my best.”

Although the Pakistan team is facing fitness worries, Afridi was confident of a full-strength team at next year’s World Cup.

“Unfortunately, Umar Gul came here fit but got unfit even though he had played in the domestic season at home,” Afridi said. “Bilawal Bhatti was fit but he hurt his hand. He had stitches after being hit by the ball. You will usually never find all fully fit players, they carry one or two niggles. Small injuries are there but they will be healed soon — no injury is so bad that a player can miss the World Cup.”

New Zealand opener Martin Guptill was confident his side would bounce back and could still win the series.

“The spirits are still high. We have got a chance to come back and win 3-2, so there is still a lot of excitement in the camp at the moment,” he said.

“We know we can do it, so it is just about going out there and playing to the best of our abilities. Tomorrow [Wednesday] and Friday are the days we can go out there and showcase our skills.

“We just didn’t get our acts right [in the third match]. We didn’t have a platform to launch from like Pakistan did. That’s the key in chasing big totals. We needed a platform from the top order and we weren’t able to do that.”