"Our only chance of really exerting pressure was to take early wickets" : Mickey Arthur

[jeetu]

http://wwos.nine.com.au/2017/01/19/05/02/rested-aussies-ready-to-fire-at-the-waca

Debutant Peter Handscomb was gifted two lucky breaks and Steve Smith cracked a fighting century to help power Australia to a seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in Thursday's one-day clash at the WACA Ground.

Chasing 264 for victory, Australia reached 3-265 with five overs to spare, with Smith (108no off 104 balls) and Handscomb (82 off 84) combining for a match-winning 183-run partnership.

The triumph gave Australia a 2-1 lead in the five-match series ahead of Sunday's clash at the SCG.

But Thursday's result could have been vastly different if it wasn't for an untimely Junaid Khan no-ball in the 11th over.

Handscomb thought he was out for a duck when he was caught at slip with Australia struggling at 2-46.

As Handscomb trudged off the field, replays showed Junaid's delivery was a front-foot no-ball.

Handscomb was unaware of the no-ball until reserve umpire Paul Wilson charged down the tunnel to tell the batsmen to turn back.

If Handscomb had gone another 10m to walk off the field, he wouldn't have been able to return.

Handscomb's luck didn't stop there.

He was given another life on 10 when he was dropped at point.

Handscomb made the most of the double reprieve to guide Australia out of their early trouble.

Smith led the way with his eighth ODI century, while Handscomb proved to be a handy ally in front of 15,383 fans.

Earlier, Australian wicketkeeper Matthew Wade missed the easiest of stumpings as Pakistan posted 7-263 after losing the toss.

Babar Azam scored 84 off 100 balls to equal the record as the fastest batsman to reach 1000 ODI runs, achieving the feat in just 21 innings.

Sharjeel Khan (50 off 47), Umar Akmal (39) and Shoaib Malik (39) chipped in with handy scores to lift Pakistan to a competitive total.

Paceman Josh Hazlewood led the bowling superbly in the absence of rested star Mitchell Starc, returning 3-32 from 10 overs.

Part-time spinner Travis Head collected 2-65 in a mixed outing, while paceman Billy Stanlake (1-55 off 10 overs) overcame some early nerves to put in a solid display.

Stanlake conceded 20 runs off his second over after Sharjeel cracked him for four consecutive boundaries.

The 22-year-old speedster had figures of 0-27 by that stage.

But he conceded just 28 runs from his next eight overs, snaring the wicket of Shoaib in the process.

Wade was left red faced when he missed the chance to stump Umar on one.

Umar was caught in no-man's land after charging several paces down the pitch and missing an attempted slog of spinner Head.

But Wade failed to glove the ball, allowing Umar to scamper back into his crease.

He added another 38 runs before falling to Hazlewood.

Wade's superior batting has allowed him to overtake fellow wicketkeeper Peter Nevill in the Test pecking order.

But Wade's latest mistake with the gloves could send some concerns into the Australian camp ahead of the four-Test tour of India, where the dustbowl pitches will prove to be an even bigger challenge for wicketkeeping.

"I think I'm going to buy a lottery ticket tonight," Handscomb said of the no-ball incident.

"As I was walking off, I started to hear the crowd going nuts, and couldn't quite work out what was going on.

"So I looked up on the big screen and saw the no-ball. Lucky I did, because it was about three more steps before I was off the field.

"So I managed to turn around just in time."

Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur said the two missed chances to get Handscomb out cheaply cost his team dearly.

"Our only chance of really exerting pressure was to take early wickets, and we nearly had that right," Arthur said.

"They would have been three down for 40-odd.

"And where we're at as a team, we just can't afford those little lapses, so very disappointing."

 

[Arham_PakFan]

No balls are still a pretty big issue.Bowlers should sort that out pronto.

 

[Varun]

Why is he coming out to speak after every game?

The ones baying for blood will get him sooner rather than later.

 

[jeetu]

http://www.cricket.com.au/news/pete...debut-odi-australia-pakistan-perth/2017-01-20

Peter Handscomb reckons he needs to buy himself a lottery ticket after his contribution to Australia's victory in Perth on Thursday night.

And after the dream summer he's had, you wouldn't be surprised if he won the jackpot.

The Victorian has made his own luck in the early stages of his international career, which has so far yielded two Test hundreds, two fifties and an average just shy of 100.

But there was no doubt the cricket gods were on his side against Pakistan at the WACA Ground, where he was dismissed off a no-ball from the third ball he faced and then dropped at backward point when on 10 from a delivery that replays showed should have also been called a no-ball.

"Yeah 100 per cent, I think I need to buy a lottery ticket tonight," Handscomb said when asked if his ODI debut innings of 82 was one of the luckiest knocks of his career.

"I guess, I've been working really hard to get everything going to this point so that when I do get the opportunity I try to grab it with both hands.

"Obviously today was very lucky, initially getting caught off a no-ball and then dropped at backward point. Although I think it shows on the replay that that was a no-ball as well so I actually missed out on a free hit there, which was a bit disappointing.

"Then from there I was able to play my own game and go about it the way I normally do."

Good fortune aside, Handscomb was able to carry his supreme Test form into his first taste of ODI cricket, his score of 82 the third-highest by an Australian on debut.

He also became the first Australian since Shaun Marsh in 2011 to post a score of fifty or more in his maiden innings in both Test and one-day cricket.

Incredibly for a player of his talent, it was also his highest score in 47 one-day innings at either domestic or international level, the absence of a 50-over century at List A level pointed out this week by former national selector and Tasmania batsman Jamie Cox.

While admitting his 50-over domestic record that includes an average of just 31 "isn't great", Handscomb said his Test form this summer gave him confidence that he could handle the jump in class.


But he concedes he remains a work in progress in white-ball cricket.

"I felt good throughout the entire summer and I knew if I came out today and just tried to play the way the team wanted me to play then that's all I could do," he said.

"I wasn't too worried about what had happened in previous years.

"I understand my one-day record in domestic cricket isn't great but to come out here and do what the team needs, that was my only job today and it was great to be able to do it.

"I need to find a way to score off more balls. In the longer format you can let a lot go, you can really wait until the ball's in your zone to hit. Whereas here you need to start fabricating a few shots and making a few things up, which I'm working on and obviously trying to score quicker.

"But I've got to let my own game develop in the way that will let that happen."

Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur lamented the opportunities his side missed in the field, but denied that paceman Junaid Khan - the bowler who overstepped on both occasions - was a serial offender.

"Junaid was battling into the Fremantle Doctor a little bit so that caused him to over-stride, but it's still no excuse," Arthur said.

"We've got to be keeping our foot behind the line.

"Every little opportunity ... we have to take to be competing with Australia in these conditions.

"Where we're at as a team, we just can't afford those little lapses. So that was particularly disappointing."

 

[MenInG]

http://www.cricbuzz.com/cricket-new...cbuzzFeed+(Cricbuzz:+Cricket+Scores+and+News)

Mickey Arthur, Pakistan's coach, is adamant his side can still win the series despite a demoralising seven-wicket thrashing to Australia at the WACA on Thursday (January 19). In game three, Pakistan showcased moments of brilliance but were eventually overwhelmed by the hosts, who now have a decisive 2-1 lead in the five-match series.

With Australia wobbling at 46/2 chasing 264, the match was delicately poised but a groundswell of momentum appeared to be shifting towards the visitors when Australian batsman Peter Handscomb was caught at slip for a third-ball duck. However, the debutant was called back when replays showed paceman Junaid Khan had overstepped.

It was a costly moment as Handscomb (82 from 84 balls) combined with captain Steve Smith (unbeaten 108 off 104) in a match-winning third-wicket partnership of 183, as Australia easily chased down the total with five overs to spare.

Arthur said Junaid's gaffe was the pivotal moment of the match and one Pakistan could not recover from. "We would have had them under pressure...our only chance was by taking early wickets and to have had them 3 for 40 odd (meant) we were right in the game," he told reporters after the match.

"Where we are at a team we can't afford those little lapses. Every little opportunity we have to be taking against Australia in these conditions, so that is really disappointing. "

Pakistan also made a hash of their batting after being in strong positions to post a total of over 300 but fell well short to eventually muster a middling 263 for 7, which proved not nearly enough. Arthur believed Pakistan were unable to bat with the consistency and application as showcased by Smith, who was imperious throughout his eighth One-Day International century.

"I hope our batsmen watched (Smith) to see what it takes to bat the middle overs and make a match-winning contribution because he was superb again," he said. "We batted in fits and starts, which was disappointing. The one thing we've worked really hard on is our dot ball percentage.

Today we had 152, which was more than 50 per cent...it isn't good enough. We have to rotate the strike better."

There was much talk in the pre-match about whether Pakistan's batting could handle the WACA's pitch, which still has an air of mystique about it due to the bounce conjured from it. Bounce was evident although it was not as nearly menacing like the WACA's halcyon days, however, Arthur believed the conditions still played a factor in the result.

"It does (make a difference), that's why I was insistent that our batsmen come to the nets (and train) for two days here," he said. "It would have been easy to give an optional training session and train one day.

"But the key to the WACA is to get in the nets and train because the bounce is so different," he added. "They learned a great lesson of batting, particularly a guy like Babar (Azam) who has a massive future. Babar will play here again at some stage."

Pakistan now needs to win in Sydney on Sunday (January 22) to keep the series alive but Arthur believed his team would welcome returning to more familiar conditions and revealed captain Azhar Ali should return after missing the past two matches with a hamstring injury.

"We go to two grounds (Sydney and Adelaide) that suit our attack, the one ground that didn't was the WACA," he said. "We certainly would have been done well with Mohammad Irfan running in and really attacking Australia with our quicks. We had to make do with pace off the ball particularly in the middle overs.

"We are confident we will get Azhar on Sunday. It's a massive boost, a little more solidarity in our top order and we are looking forward to having him back," he added.

 

[786warrior]

Geez - so that's why he gets paid the big bucks?????!!!!!!!!

I heard that if you score more runs than the opposition it also helps your cause to win????!!!!

Same guy told me that also told me that if you want to know the secret to winning a football game then you need to score more goals than the opposition - keep that to yourself

 

[Syed1]

Why is he coming out to speak after every game?

The ones baying for blood will get him sooner rather than later.

If you do a statistical analysis of Mickey's performance as coach you would find the numbers to not be a pretty read.

The noises are only going to get louder. Mickey may soon be approaching the end of his honeymoon period.

 

[Mamoon]

Mickey is a good talker.

 

[sa]

If you do a statistical analysis of Mickey's performance as coach you would find the numbers to not be a pretty read.

The noises are only going to get louder. Mickey may soon be approaching the end of his honeymoon period.

We have blamed the coach, captain, management , players? anyone else to left to blame?

If you give a coach get players like Sharjeel and Hafeez who avg. 20 ish and 30 ish in comparison to Aussie openers who average 40 +. How do you expect to win?

 

[786warrior]

We have blamed the coach, captain, management , players? anyone else to left to blame?

If you give a coach get players like Sharjeel and Hafeez who avg. 20 ish and 30 ish in comparison to Aussie openers who average 40 +. How do you expect to win?

We could blame the fans?????????

I take full responsibility for the abject and gutless batting performances by the batsmen!

I take full responsibility for the pathetic bowling by some of our bowlers!

I take full responsibility for the moronic fielding display!

I take full responsibility for the incomprehensible strategic decision making!

As you point out - we're just not good enough….

 

[Abdullah]

i like mickey and at least he knows what is needed and where we lack.
whereas even in the commentary box waqar was banging on about playing low riskncricket and keeping wickets in hand

 

[Markhor]

If you do a statistical analysis of Mickey's performance as coach you would find the numbers to not be a pretty read.

The noises are only going to get louder. Mickey may soon be approaching the end of his honeymoon period.

Unlike certain other coaches, Mickey hasn't had chance pad his stats in UAE. Three out of his first four assignments have been tough overseas trips.

Our ODI problems have been occurring under multiple coaches over 7-8 years, but he has identified the problems in the setup. Let's give him time to build a squad.

 

[MenInG]

Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur insists Junaid Khan isn't a serial no-ball offender, despite the paceman's costly blunder in Thursday's ODI loss to Australia. Australia should have been in all sorts of trouble at 3-46 after debutant batsman Peter Handscomb was caught at slip in the 11th over. But Handscomb, who was yet to score at the time, earned a reprieve when replays showed Khan had overstepped the mark.

Four overs later, Khan no-balled again in a delivery that saw Handscomb dropped at point. Handscomb ended up making 82 as Australia cruised to their victory target of 264 with seven wickets and 30 balls to spare. Arthur said his team can't afford to commit such simple errors if they are to have a legitimate chance of winning the series. But he was careful not to come down too heavily on Khan.

"He's not such much of a serial offender," Arthur said.

"Junaid was battling into the Fremantle Doctor (breeze) a little bit, so that caused him to over stride.

"But it's still no excuse. We've got to be keeping our foot behind the line."

Pakistan trail 2-1 in the series and must win Sunday's fourth one-dayer at the SCG to keep the five-match series alive.

In a massive boost for the visitors, captain Azhar Ali is set to return after missing two games with a hamstring injury.

"He had a good hit (on Thursday), and ran between wickets with the pads on," Arthur said. "He had a good field too. We're confident we'll get Azhar back for Sunday. "It's a massive boost. It gives more solidarity to our top order. I'm looking forward to having him back."

Arthur was confident his team can turn around their deficit, especially if their spinners can weave their magic. "We go to two grounds now where that suits our attack," Arthur said.

"Sydney has turned all year, and Adelaide is slower too.

"So they are two grounds where our attack definitely comes into play."

http://www.cricket.com.au/news/paki...scomb-australia-waca-mickey-arthur/2017-01-20

 

[JaDed]

Why is he coming out to speak after every game?

The ones baying for blood will get him sooner rather than later.

Was wondering the same wth is he doing?

 

[Brilliance]

Who dropped Handscomb at Point ??? I didn't watch that part.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

Mickey is a good talker.

It's a start. Being able to identify the problems is the first step. I tend to agree with a lot more of his analysis than I did Waqar Younis'.

There's no magic wand to fix things overnight though. Apart from unprofessional bowling and fielding yesterday, there was also feeble batting in the final 10 overs, so there's too much wrong to put right in a short period of time.

 

[JibranAnsari]

Lets see when he gives up on pakistanis team , in the next year or so he probably will have to keep playing Hafeez , misbah and younis and hafeez probably will make it back to the test team as well.

 

[Abdullah719]

Why is he coming out to speak after every game?

The ones baying for blood will get him sooner rather than later.

Someone has to attend the press conference.

Who dropped Handscomb at Point ??? I didn't watch that part.

Nawaz. Good thinking from him, if it was caught, they would have checked replays are realised that Junaid had over-stepped.... one extra run + a free hit saved.

 

[Sadevdesai]

Sooooo .... was any player against taking early wickets ???? Hmmmm ..... !!!