Sarfraz Ahmed tries to explain Pakistan’s poor fielding

Wicketkeeper-batsman says English conditions are tricky because of wind and slopes on field

Wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed has laid the blame of Pakistan’s fielding problems in England on the playing conditions.

Pakistan have dropped catches on important occasions during the first two Tests at Lord’s and Old Trafford. Most prominently Alastair Cook was dropped twice at Lord’s: once put down in slips by Mohammad Hafeez and then by Sarfraz himself off Mohammad Amir. Ultimately, Amir bowled Cook off an inside edge to bag a deserved scalp of the England captain.

“There is always pressure on players when they are fielding in an international game but mistakes can be made by anyone,” said Sarfraz. “No one misfields or drops a catch deliberately. There are some issues such as the slopes in the field which we are not used to and windy conditions that cause deviation in the trajectory of the ball.”

The 29-year-old said players are working on it and improvements will be visible in the next two Test matches at Edgbaston and The Oval. “This is an aspect that we are working on and you will see a better fielding display in the upcoming games,” he said.

The right-hand lower-middle-order batsman also elucidated the mistakes made by Pakistan during the 330-run defeat at Old Trafford against England.

“Although the pitch had some help for our bowlers, we were unable to bowl in the same manner as we did against England at Lord’s,” he said. “Also we have to understand that in English conditions, any team batting first and putting up a reasonable score automatically gets the upper hand in the game. Also, the fact is that we failed to click in both batting and bowling departments. However, we will work on fixing these problems and make a strong comeback in this series to make it 2-1 in our favour.”

Sarfraz also credited the England team for playing better cricket at Old Trafford. “We must give credit to England for playing some excellent cricket which resulted in that victory for them,” he said.

Meanwhile, when asked about the slump in form of veteran batsman Younus Khan, Sarfraz said the 38-year-old will soon make a comeback.

“Younus is one of our main players without a doubt,” said Sarfraz. “Apart from Younus, we have been winning courtesy Misbahul Haq, Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq in the past few years and we cannot write-off any of these players based on a few bad innings.”

He added: “Younis not only works hard on his fitness and in the nets, he is also a great source of inspiration and strength for the team. I am convinced that he will make a comeback.”

Sarfraz Ahmed was interviewed by PakPassion