Inzi emphasises revamp

LAHORE: Former Pakistan batting legends have been alarmed by the team’s disastrous show in England and have not only urged the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to invest in a batting coach but also emphasised on a revamp of the domestic circuit in order to improve the side’s performance.

Pakistan batsmen have been struggling against the seam and swing and have been unable to cross the 300-mark in the seven Test innings on the tour with record lows, including 80 and 72, against England.

“Our batsmen are struggling because of their reluctance to learn,” said former fast bowler Jalaluddin. “Apart from Mohammad Yousuf, we don’t have a quality player who has a sound technique against swing bowling because our players are not brought up in a proper developmental process. We have flaws in our domestic cricket structure and these things never will change in a day or two. The board should take a serious initiative to produce quality players, who can survive all types of conditions.”

Former captain Inzamamul Haq also believed that the root of the problem existed at domestic level where players fail to find decent competition.

“Our players have never faced such swing bowling in Pakistan,” Inzamam told The Express Tribune. “Pitches on our domestic circuit are batting tracks and even if someone performs on those pitches, it’s not a guarantee that the will survive bouncing and seaming tracks.”

Published in The Express Tribune, August 8^th, 2010.