Abdullah719
T20I Captain
- Joined
- Apr 16, 2013
- Runs
- 44,825
"For the moment, the best batsmen in Pakistan are sitting in the dressing room" : Mickey Arthur
Mickey Arthur at a press conference:
"For the moment, the best batsmen in Pakistan are sitting in the dressing room"
"A lot of positives, I thought Babar Azam was outstanding, he's taken his cricket to another level. There's question marks around Babar and I think they'll disappear now, I thought the way he played this series was amazing, he'll just go from strength to strength"
"I thought Shan Masood played exceptionally well at the top of the order, he did a hell of a good job for us"
"Asad Shafiq played two innings that were significant, everyone else sort of chipped in along the way but we didn't get enough runs"
"I thought the 430 at Newlands was too much (to concede) from a very good bowling unit, we have some work to do particularly in these conditions"
"I think everybody goes into ODI mode now, we have a far better white ball team right now than in Tests but we'll get there, we've realised the brand we want to play. We've had a look at personnel, we'll have a look at who fits in going forward. I'm pretty clear on the way we're going certainly come September which is the start of the Test championship, we've got to have a team which can play in all conditions"
"I've always been a massive advocate for five bowlers but the key is the all-rounder at 7, Shadab was unfit for the 1st Test, he was physically fit for the 2nd but probably short of cricket but he showed in this Test match that he gives us some good flexibility. We've gotta play to our strengths and five bowlers is our strength"
"We've had our moments and we didn't take it but I thought SA were outstanding particularly their bowling which kept coming at us. Our young batting group was going to be tested, a couple have come through nicely and a couple maybe not. That was always going to be the focus, if we were getting 270s and 280s, we were in the game"
"Azhar Ali is a quality player, he'll go through these form lapses. Technically on wickets that have bounce, I think we need to do a bit of work. There was a trend, he was out four times the same way and he admits that first up, we talked about it yesterday. He felt the line of Olivier coming up into him and kept his gloves up when he should've got them down. He plays for Somerset now so he'll have some time off away from us and we'll reassess in September"
"Regarding the pitches, I'm all for home ground advantage but all you want is consistent bounce. You can have as much grass you want on it, but consistent bounce is the key. Certainly at Centurion and Cape Town, there was inconsistent bounce on Day 1. I don't mind inconsistent bounce on Day 4, that's what happens to a normal Test wicket, but it shouldn't be happening on Day 1"
"The boys have worked incredibly hard on all their skills and that's a squad that has put in all the effort, the guys have been fantastic and they've tried hard throughout this Test series and I'm proud of them in that sense. The other standard which we can't accept however, is losing a Test series"
"Grant Flower puts in a lot of work with the batsmen. In terms of techniques, of course we have to analyse. There's a reason why no subcontinent teams have won in South Africa. Asian guys stay legside of the ball, in these conditions you need to stay off side of the ball. You're going to get out on the short ball if you're leg side of the ball consistently. We're going to try to try to develop a game plan regarding the batsmen's techniques, to a point where at least we score. We have a lot of work to do. Outside our own conditions, we have to find players with the skill set to manage the bounce going forward. We play Sri Lanka in UAE in September then we play Australia in Australia after that, so we have to have our skill sets perfect to manage the bouncing ball by that time"
"Before Australia, we need to get our Test batsmen into Australia, 3-4 weeks early. I sit and plan months ahead, but who knows, I might not be around in September! (laughing) I'm pretty realistic as to where we sit in terms of being coaches... But you've gotta look forward and plan, we want to get our batters into Australia and get them early into camps, that's the only way we can do it. Both batting lineups have struggled this series, the difference has been de Kock at 7, he played match changing innings and that's been the difference between the batting units"
"I've always said Sarfaraz goes from strength to strength, he wants to lead from the front. I thought his wicket-keeping has been outstanding in this series. What we need is to get a good core of leaders around him and if we can do that, he'll go from strength to strength"
Mickey Arthur at a press conference:
"For the moment, the best batsmen in Pakistan are sitting in the dressing room"
"A lot of positives, I thought Babar Azam was outstanding, he's taken his cricket to another level. There's question marks around Babar and I think they'll disappear now, I thought the way he played this series was amazing, he'll just go from strength to strength"
"I thought Shan Masood played exceptionally well at the top of the order, he did a hell of a good job for us"
"Asad Shafiq played two innings that were significant, everyone else sort of chipped in along the way but we didn't get enough runs"
"I thought the 430 at Newlands was too much (to concede) from a very good bowling unit, we have some work to do particularly in these conditions"
"I think everybody goes into ODI mode now, we have a far better white ball team right now than in Tests but we'll get there, we've realised the brand we want to play. We've had a look at personnel, we'll have a look at who fits in going forward. I'm pretty clear on the way we're going certainly come September which is the start of the Test championship, we've got to have a team which can play in all conditions"
"I've always been a massive advocate for five bowlers but the key is the all-rounder at 7, Shadab was unfit for the 1st Test, he was physically fit for the 2nd but probably short of cricket but he showed in this Test match that he gives us some good flexibility. We've gotta play to our strengths and five bowlers is our strength"
"We've had our moments and we didn't take it but I thought SA were outstanding particularly their bowling which kept coming at us. Our young batting group was going to be tested, a couple have come through nicely and a couple maybe not. That was always going to be the focus, if we were getting 270s and 280s, we were in the game"
"Azhar Ali is a quality player, he'll go through these form lapses. Technically on wickets that have bounce, I think we need to do a bit of work. There was a trend, he was out four times the same way and he admits that first up, we talked about it yesterday. He felt the line of Olivier coming up into him and kept his gloves up when he should've got them down. He plays for Somerset now so he'll have some time off away from us and we'll reassess in September"
"Regarding the pitches, I'm all for home ground advantage but all you want is consistent bounce. You can have as much grass you want on it, but consistent bounce is the key. Certainly at Centurion and Cape Town, there was inconsistent bounce on Day 1. I don't mind inconsistent bounce on Day 4, that's what happens to a normal Test wicket, but it shouldn't be happening on Day 1"
"The boys have worked incredibly hard on all their skills and that's a squad that has put in all the effort, the guys have been fantastic and they've tried hard throughout this Test series and I'm proud of them in that sense. The other standard which we can't accept however, is losing a Test series"
"Grant Flower puts in a lot of work with the batsmen. In terms of techniques, of course we have to analyse. There's a reason why no subcontinent teams have won in South Africa. Asian guys stay legside of the ball, in these conditions you need to stay off side of the ball. You're going to get out on the short ball if you're leg side of the ball consistently. We're going to try to try to develop a game plan regarding the batsmen's techniques, to a point where at least we score. We have a lot of work to do. Outside our own conditions, we have to find players with the skill set to manage the bounce going forward. We play Sri Lanka in UAE in September then we play Australia in Australia after that, so we have to have our skill sets perfect to manage the bouncing ball by that time"
"Before Australia, we need to get our Test batsmen into Australia, 3-4 weeks early. I sit and plan months ahead, but who knows, I might not be around in September! (laughing) I'm pretty realistic as to where we sit in terms of being coaches... But you've gotta look forward and plan, we want to get our batters into Australia and get them early into camps, that's the only way we can do it. Both batting lineups have struggled this series, the difference has been de Kock at 7, he played match changing innings and that's been the difference between the batting units"
"I've always said Sarfaraz goes from strength to strength, he wants to lead from the front. I thought his wicket-keeping has been outstanding in this series. What we need is to get a good core of leaders around him and if we can do that, he'll go from strength to strength"
