CT 2017: Defeat against India is a reality check of where we are in ODI cricket, says Mickey Arthur

Team Pakistan suffered an embarrassing defeat at the hands of the Indian team in their opening clash of the ICC Champions Trophy 2017. After having conceded a total of over 300 runs in the first innings, the team bundled out for a paltry 164 to hand India a handsome win on the day. Certainly, Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur is a worried man. He reflected back at the game in the post match press conference.

As per the quotes in ESPNcricinfo, Mickey Arthur noted that they were below par on the day. He rued the fact that the team showed no resilience with the bat or the ball in the match. They lacked precision and power in every single department and aspect of the game. The bowlers tried unnecessary variations and ended up conceding runs heavily in the end.

“We were below par. It’s as simple as that. And it’s a reality check of where we are in our one-day cricket at the moment. The worrying thing for me – and it has been for a period of time – is we just do the basics wrong. We do the simple things wrong. We drop simple catches. We don’t run well enough between wickets. We don’t hit the keeper with our throws and we don’t understand when to bowl our variations. We bowled a really good over and then we bowled a variation with our sixth ball and that’s the ball that ended up going for a boundary. So it’s the simplicity of those things that are worrying me at the moment,” quoted Mickey Arthur.

He further added that the team lacks self-belief. They do not back themselves to go out and do the job in hand. He thinks if the team can work on this aspect, things will align in a better way for them. “My issue is fear. My issue is them getting out there and really looking to take the game on and just believing in themselves and believing that they can take the game on,” noted Arthur.

On fitness concerns

He expressed his disbelief at why the players are getting cramped up despite being fit ahead of the matches. In the match, Wahab Riaz did not come out to bat as he was down with cramps. He noted that Wahab had cleared the fitness test and that is why he was picked up ahead of Fahim Ashraf in the match. The move did not work out well and Mickey Arthur took the blame for it.

“I don’t know why they’re cramping. That’s something that I need to take up with the medical team. Wahab was fully fit. He went through a fitness test. He was declared fully fit. He performed poorly today. But he had a role to play. And I’ll take the blame, me, I’ll take it. I selected him. I selected him because I wanted him to perform a role. He didn’t execute that role, unfortunately,” he quoted.

Defending the poor show

Despite the poor show, Arthur did not shy away from defending his team. He quoted that they had a poor time in the middle but that does not mean they are playing bad. He remarked that the team has significantly improved in the last year or so. They are trying to evolve as a team with each passing day. They need to get their basics right.

“It’s a total insult to say we’re playing even worse. f you have a look at our records over the last year we’ve won two series. We’ve got ourselves from No. 9 to No. 8 in the rankings and our brand of cricket has changed,” said the Pakistan coach.

“We had a poor game today. But we’re obviously trying our best and we’re trying to change it. It’s not going to happen overnight. We’re trying every day. Every time we go down to training, we try and get the basics right. We didn’t do it today. And that’s disappointing,” he added further.

On times ahead

The team is now keen on forgetting about what happened in the game and are looking forward to their next game against South Africa. It will be a must win match for them and Mickey Arthur wants to come up with an improved performance. He believes the team has talent and it will only be a shame if they end up losing games like this.

“We’ll have a good, hard chat tonight. And then when we leave the dressing room it will all be done and we’ll be thinking firmly of coming back and beating South Africa. Because that’s what I think our players can do. So, we’re going to be up for the fight. I’d be really disappointed if we walked away and for the rest of the tournament sort of hit our heads because we’re better than that,” he conceded.