‘South Africa tour a disappointment’

Pakistan captain Misbah underlines need for improvement in all areas.

KARACHI:

Pakistan captain Misbahul Haq termed the results of the marathon tour of South Africa disappointing, saying his team struggled throughout the two-month sojourn. 

The national team lost all the matches in the Test series before going down in the five-match One-Day International (ODI) series by 3-2. The team only won the two-match Twenty20 (T20) series after the first game was washed out.

“It was a disappointing tour,” Misbah told reporters on the team’s return at the Allama Iqbal Airport in Lahore. “We completely failed in the Tests.

“Although our performance in the ODIs was comparatively better, it’s still an alarming situation for us and we require improvements in many areas,” he said before expressing dejection over the batting performance.

“Our batting struggled throughout the tour. The pitches were difficult where even a batsman like Hashim Amla had a tough time. But such excuses are useless; our batsmen played irresponsible shots that proved costly.”

Misbah decided against giving remarks on individuals.

“The performance of all the players was witnessed by all. The board and the selection committee will definitely assess their performance and take decisions accordingly.”

The captain also denied the existence of any differences with his deputy Mohammad Hafeez.

“I’ve already rubbished the baseless report. There was no rift, so there is no question of its impact on the team.”

He praised South Africa’s show in the series.

“We have to accept that South Africa was the better team and they played well.”

Team gets cold shoulder on return

Meanwhile, the team’s return to the country contrasted sharply with their homecoming from India after their ODI series triumph with fans expressing their dissatisfaction at the players’ performance.

Enthusiasts who were present at the airport shouted slogans against most of the players. However, fast-bowler Mohammad Irfan was an exception, receiving considerable cheers from the fans.

Selectors need to take bold decisions: Qadir

As the selectors gear up to finalise the team’s line-up for the Champions Trophy, former chief selector Abdul Qadir urged the selection committee to take bold decisions.

“The chairman of the selection committee Iqbal Qasim and other selectors should stand for what they feel is right,” said the former Test cricketer. “They must convince the board about their decisions.”

On the other hand, another former chief selector Mohammad Illyas felt fielding was a major concern for the present team.

“Our fielding is poor and we must improve in this department. As the saying goes, catches win matches. It is very important for us to lift our fielding in the ODIs and T20s as it can save some valuable 20 to 40 runs.”

Misbahul Haq



“Our batting struggled throughout the tour. The pitches were difficult where even batsmen like Hashim Amla had a tough time. But such excuses are useless; our batsmen played irresponsible shots that proved costly.” 

Mohammad Ilyas



“Our fielding is poor and we must improve in this department. As the saying goes, catches win matches. It is very important for us to lift our fielding standard in the future One-Days and Twenty20s.”

Published in The Express Tribune, March 27^th, 2013.