NEW DELHI: An animal rights group has called for the ban of leather balls at the 2015 World Cup and urged the head of global cricket to “step up to bat for animals and the environment”. The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) group has written to International Cricket Council president Sharad Pawar asking him to abandon traditional red leather and use balls made out of synthetic materials. “As the so-called “Gentleman's game,” cricket should be gentle on animals and the environment by making the switch to synthetic balls. You are in a unique position to create a change that would alleviate massive suffering and destruction,” PETA official Poorva Joshipura wrote in the letter. PETA said cows underwent unnecessary suffering during the slaughter process and that leather tanning involved large amounts of toxic chemicals that poisoned water. Pakistan relaxed Pakistan remain supremely relaxed about the identity of their World Cup semifinal opponent after making no contest of Wednesday's opening quarterfinal against West Indies. “We had done very well so far in this tournament and I am not really fussed who we play,” coach Waqar Younis told a news conference. “We play well and to do things right is more important to us. Whoever comes we will have a close look tomorrow and make a strategy as we have six to seven days in hand. “The entire country watched the game and they prayed for us. It's a kind of a gift to them as this was Pakistan Day and it was in my mind from last night so I am over the moon at the moment. “The pressure in a way gave us a boost when we walked in. Pressure got the best out of us.” West Indies' coach Ottis Gibson refused to make any excuses for his team's abject performance. “We have scrambled into the quarterfinals, let's be honest about that. We had some good performances against Ireland, Netherlands and Bangladesh but we are still yet to beat one of the big boys,” he said. “The wicket did not get anybody out. It didn't look to be a bad wicket at all. It's a combination of poor batsmanship and perhaps very low confidence...we can do only so much in the nets to build confidence.” Imran wants to see Indo-Pak semifinal Imran Khan will be supporting India against Australia in their World Cup showdown Thursday because he believes a semifinal against Pakistan will capture the sporting world's imagination. The winner of Thursday's quarterfinal will face Pakistan in Mohali on March 30. “I want India and Pakistan to play the semifinal. Because it would be a great advertisement for cricket and I think it will go in our favor,” former Pakistan captain Imran told Geo Super channel Wednesday.
