Playing good cricket more important than results, says Mickey Arthur

Coach Arthur wants consistency as Pakistan take on West Indies in third Test today

SHARJAH: Pakistan are determined to complete a 9-0 rout of the West Indies when the two teams meet in the third and final Test in Sharjah today.

Having blanked their opponents 3-0 in both the T20I and ODI series, Pakistan also claimed the first two Tests — by 56 runs in the day-nighter in Dubai and by 133 runs in the second match in Abu Dhabi.

Pakistan’s strong batting line-up, coupled with the leg-spin of Yasir Shah, proved too good for the inexperienced West Indies who started the tour on a sour note when head coach Phil Simmons was sacked.

They looked rudderless in the limited-overs series and despite fighting gallantly in both Tests by extending the matches to the fifth and final days with stubborn batting, they need a huge lift to avoid another whitewash.



“Yes, we want to be ruthless, definitely,” said Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur. “We set the challenge that we have eight Tests to play [three in the UAE followed by five in New Zealand and Australia]. We have only played two. We are going to judge ourselves on the eight Tests and every Test presents a different challenge.”

Arthur said that besides results, he wants to see consistent improvement from notoriously unpredictable Pakistan.

“I go deeper than getting good results. I want us to play a good brand of cricket, see improvement in the players and the roles players are executing,” he said.



Misbah defends celebratory press-ups

Pakistan team captain Misbah-ul-Haq defended the celebratory press-ups his players do after high-profile successes, despite government criticism back home.

Press-ups (or push-ups) took off as a unique way for Pakistan’s cricket team to celebrate following a Test against England in July when Misbah himself first dropped to the ground to flex his muscles.

But on Wednesday, a national assembly member of the ruling party Pakistan Muslim League, Rana Mohammad Afzal objected to the manner of celebration.



“The push-ups are not related to cricket,” Afzal said during a standing committee meeting in Islamabad. “What message are Misbah and other players giving to the world by doing push-ups?”

Misbah hit back at the criticism and insisted the celebration was merely a “tribute to the Pakistan Army trainers” with whom the squad had attended a fitness camp prior to touring England.

“It should not have happened,” said Misbah when asked about the objection by Afzal. “I think our message was clear that it’s not any disrespect to the opponents or to show anything else. It’s a gesture to people we worked with [Army trainers] and a promise that we will give tribute to them.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 30^th, 2016.

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