Woeful stuff from Pakistan. A day that started with such promise, with three top order wickets in the sheds after one session and two out of form batsmen at the crease forced to grind runs out, has ended in a damp squib with both those out of form batsmen back in the groove. Every team has those moments where they basically just throw their hands up and wait for the other team to make a mistake, but it very rarely happens when you have just been in the ascendancy and it's only Day 1.
It's been a very, very long time since I've seen a team so bad at catching and fielding than Pakistan. It's not just missing tough catches, it's the body language and the effort. It looks shambolic at times.
Fielding is often the sign of the work ethic of a side, and to me Pakistan's fielding is representative of an aversion to hard yakka (work) and a desire to take shortcuts. It extends to the batting as well, where players would rather plant their front foot forward at the crease and score in fours and sixes rather than to establish themselves at the crease and rotate the strike by running hard between the wickets.
A good fielding side is a side that is energetic and pumped, and usually you will see a lot of movement in the field between overs and a lot of chatter. Occasionally we see that from Pakistan, esp. when a wicket has just fallen, but when things aren't going their way they tend to become very lethargic and look like they are either waiting for one moment of brilliance from someone or a mistake from the opposition. Waiting for things to happen, rather than making things happen. Dropped catches tend to do that to a side's morale - because in this game of cricket chances don't come by too often and you have to take advantage of them when they do present themselves.
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on top of the pile in negativity department.
