"We were a little bit timid tonight with our overall performance": Mickey Arthur

[MenInG]

14 October - Ahmedabad - Pakistan Coach Mickey Arthur post-match press conference
Mickey-Arthur-14-10-23

[Reporter:]

What went wrong? I mean, at the point when Babar and Rizzi were playing, it looked like we are going to post something around 300. But then suddenly, traditional collapse? What went wrong?

[Mickey Arthur:]

Yeah, I just think we were a little bit timid tonight with our overall performance. I would have liked us to really take the game on just a little bit more. It's a massive occasion, as we know, but I think we just went into our shells just a little bit. And to go from 155 for two, if it was, to 190-odd all out is just not on. Yeah, credit to India, I thought they bowled really well, but I just thought our performance was just a little bit timid.


[Reporter:]

Just wanted to know that the way the landscape of ODI scoring pattern has changed over the years. Do you think the way Babar and Rizwan approached till they were at the crease for 83 run partnership, would you think that they could have shown a bit more intent? Probably take the Indian spinners on a bit more?

[Mickey Arthur:]

Look, they're classy performers and they've done it day in and day out for Pakistan over an extended period of time. So, I'm not going to sit here and castigate them for that.

As I said, I thought we were a little bit timid. I did think we could probably have taken on the Indian spinners just a little bit more. It was a wicket that didn't turn massively, and I thought we needed to put some pressure back. But again, they were building and building nicely. I think we've got to realize that there are two ways to always skin a cat. And we've had success by taking it deep and then cashing in at the back end. That's been our style, that's been our brand, but we didn't play the Pakistan Way tonight, and that was the disappointing aspect of it for me.


[Reporter:]

I know that you were not at the helm of affairs before, but for 31 long years, India been just beating Pakistan, and Today it's 8-0, it stands at 8-0. As a coach, as a director, how do you explain this?

[Mickey Arthur:]

Yeah, look, I can only explain 2019 and this one, because I was at the helm for it. And I think we were well beaten in both games. But I can take you back to 2017 Champions Trophy where I thought we played particularly well. Every day we're striving to get better. Every day we're putting goals in front of them. I can’t fault the attitude or can’t fault the effort. We were just off the pace tonight and that's the disappointing aspect of it.


[Reporter:]

I just know it sounds cliched and repetitive but you know did the team talk about 7-0 or 8-0 in the World Cup? Is that just something which is the elephant in the room and nobody seems to…

[Mickey Arthur:]

No, look, that's just spoken about by you guys. The media just talk about that. We approach every game thinking we're going to win it. We approach every game dotting the Is, crossing the Ts, making sure our game is in place.

Tonight, we were off our performance and as I've said before, that was the disappointing aspect for me. We were off it but the record doesn't come into the equation.


[Reporter:]

Still early days in the tournament, just one third of the game is done, but in the back room as head of the coaching staff, what would your message be to the side now having been lost to India and in such fashion? So, is it like just lost to India or - the way you guys lost today? How much of an impact is it going to have to your World Cup campaign?

[Mickey Arthur:]

No, look, it's a long World Cup campaign. There's nine games. We've played three. We're two from three now. We've played well in patches in this tournament. I don't think we've hit our straps yet. And that's the exciting thing for me. But we're two from three. As I say, the key is remaining calm, staying focused, concentrating on what our next opposition is, getting the strategies right for that, getting the team balance right, and then the next focus is the next game for us.


[Reporter:]

During the Asia Cup, Rohit, and Gil counter-attacked in the power play and India won in Colombo. After that, was there any kind of plan formulated as to how to counter that, should they do it again in Ahmedabad? Like, they did it today and what were the conversations you were having during the mid-innings break?

[Mickey Arthur:]

Yeah, well, we had clear strategies. I mean, we had clear plans. And I think India showed us how to bowl on this wicket. They definitely did. And I just don't think we executed it just well enough for long periods. When we got it right, we caused some issues, but we didn't get it right enough for long periods and I thought India executed it really well.

And again, India know these conditions unbelievably well and I'm not using this as an excuse at all but it's our boys first opportunity here. They're getting used to the red soil and the black soil and the conditions that come with it. So yeah, we'll get used to that quickly and move on.


[Reporter:]

You said that batsmen were timid in their approach. So, what was the message before the match?

[Mickey Arthur:]

Oh, look, we set ourselves up as a 330 team. That's our message, that's where we set ourselves up. Now I've said there's two ways to skin a cat - teams come out firing up front and take it on and they have the personnel to do that. We've got the personnel to build and build and build and make sure that we keep that momentum going through the innings so that we can cash in at the back end. That's been our method.

But we've certainly tried to instil in our team that we're a 330 team, because we think if we get that, we defend that more often than not with our bowling attack.


[Reporter:]

After a defeat like this, I know it's too soon, but will you look at change in personnel also? Certain players were perhaps not performing the way you expect them to and given somebody -

[Mickey Arthur:]

Look, it's too soon and as I said, we're two from three, So there's certainly no panic yet. We'll go back and we'll analyse this game to the nth degree. We'll talk to our players. We'll have conversations about how we want to go forward. Australia's our next game. We'll have conversations about them. We'll look at conditions, and then we'll make a selection decision based on our strategy and conditions for the next game.


[Reporter:]

What factor, how much of a factor do you think such a big crowd and such a partisan crowd against you, like 130,000 people all against you, do you think that had any impact in the things you've mentioned, being timid, etc.?

[Mickey Arthur:]

Look, I'd be lying if I said it did. It didn't seem like an ICC event to be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series; it seemed like a BCCI event. I didn't hear Dil Dil Pakistan coming through the microphones too often tonight.

So yes, that does play a role, but I'm not going to use that as an excuse because for us it was about living the moment, it was about the next ball and it was about how we were going to combat the Indian, the Indian players tonight.

[Reporter:]

Is that right for a World Cup? Should that be allowed to happen?

[Mickey Arthur:]

Look I don't think I can't comment on that just yet. I don't want to get fined.

[Reporter:]

You've played three teams and you've seen 10 teams, followed 12 games. As an experienced cricketing mind, do you have an opinion on this Indian team?

[Mickey Arthur:]

Yeah, I do. This Indian team is a very, very good cricket team. I think they're very well led by Rahul and Rohit. I think they look good. I think they've got all bases covered and I'm looking forward to meeting them in the final again.

[Reporter:]

Mickey, Shaheen, and Shadab, two players who seem to be struggling, what have you identified as the reasons for their struggles?

[Mickey Arthur:]

Look, we've been doing a little bit of work behind the scenes. Look, it'd be remiss of me to discuss it out here, but we've been doing some work with them. For me, it's just about confidence. The key for us now is getting our players to remain calm. It's getting our players to focus on the next game, and it's to build them up and make sure that they go into that next game thinking they can run through a brick wall.

Yes, there are technical aspects and those are things that we look at every day with our players.

 

[Ali Active]

Pak is mentally very very weak

 

[Major]

As usual. Lose a game and send the coach in.

The captain himself should be coming out and answering the press

 

[Bhaijaan]

Embarrassing for the national coach to admit this and use such words to describe his teams performance in a World Cup. But that’s what it was tonight

 

[stani_pak]

Honestly the match was done when babar got out granted it was a timid approach, but i understand why they have no faith in the middle order and rightly so. The middle order had a chance to rebuild the innings and still put preassure but they crumbled

Credit to Kuldeep he was the difference and Rohit for his captainc

 

[Syed1]

Babar should have faced the media too


Put a minnow level WI or Zimbabwe in front of him and this kitten will turn into a lion.

 

[chinaman00]

Mickey Arthur is delusional and he feeds the delusion that is Pakistan cricket. These cliched “Pakistan way” nonsense is the reason there’s no accountability. Truth is he’s been at the helm of this team for both 2019 & 2023 world cups & on both occasions, the team capitulated in a massive way. They just couldn’t handle the pressure and crumbled like a house of cards.

Mickey Arthur has to explain why this is so instead of his worn out cliches.

 

[Markhor]

The first step towards rectifying a mistake is admitting it. So thank you for that Mickey as last year when our T20 side was playing timid cricket - Saqlain was giving nonsensical justifications about qudrat ka nizam.

Now the question is what action will you take ? Why have we abandoned the brand of cricket we saw in the SL Tests or even in the last match against SL ? Obviously their bowlers weren't the calibre of India's, and we likely still would've lost today, but that approach could've worked better than the old tired "keep wickets in hand and accelerate later" script.

 

[vprasanna83]

“ The Pakistan way “ ……
What on earth is that?

 

[Bhaijaan]

[Mickey Arthur:]

Look, I'd be lying if I said it did. It didn't seem like an ICC event to be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series; it seemed like a BCCI event. I didn't hear Dil Dil Pakistan coming through the microphones too often tonight.

So yes, that does play a role, but I'm not going to use that as an excuse because for us it was about living the moment, it was about the next ball and it was about how we were going to combat the Indian, the Indian players tonight.





The usual Rona Dhona.

I think the BCCI might have just found what triggers them and how to keep annoying them the rest of the tournament.

 

[SportsWarrior]

This guy is a scam artist. I don't understand Pakistanis fascination for his coaching. He is throughly average, talks a lot and delivers a lot less, comes up with absolute clichés, doesn't seem to have a good eye for talent, I could go on. Get some down to earth guy with some coaching pedigree

 

[Major]

The first step towards rectifying a mistake is admitting it. So thank you for that Mickey as last year when our T20 side was playing timid cricket - Saqlain was giving nonsensical justifications about qudrat ka nizam.

Now the question is what action will you take ? Why have we abandoned the brand of cricket we saw in the SL Tests or even in the last match against SL ? Obviously their bowlers weren't the calibre of India's, and we likely still would've lost today, but that approach could've worked better than the old tired "keep wickets in hand and accelerate later" script.

i don't get it.

the brand of cricket we played was not wrong. Batting at 5 rr was not bad, throwing our wickets was the issue.

 

[jnaveen1980]

I don't think they were timid. This is how they bat. This is probably the least intimidating batting unit i have seen from Pakistan. My worry was mostly about Shaheen. Hashmatulla and azmatulla from Afghanistan were far more aggressive. But current pakistan is not known for taking the game away brutally on a good batting surface like some of the pak players from the 2000s.

 

[Sunzi]

This guy is a scam artist. I don't understand Pakistanis fascination for his coaching. He is throughly average, talks a lot and delivers a lot less, comes up with absolute clichés, doesn't seem to have a good eye for talent, I could go on. Get some down to earth guy with some coaching pedigree

I disagree.

Unlike football where the manager coach is influential in the execution of a tactic / playstyle - Mickey can tell these guys to play like India. The problem is the team.

Mickey overseeing India tonight and Dravid overseeing Pak for a year would have still garnered a similar result today.

 

[Ali Active]

rizwan and babar should have attacked kuldeep and jadeja They lệt themselves just play dots and dotss

 

[shaaik]

“ The Pakistan way “ ……
What on earth is that?

Last game you chase the highest total in World Cup and this game you collapse at 36-8 in 13 overs .. that’s the Pakistani way we all are familiar with.. when Babar got out you knew the collapse was loading ..

 

[shaaik]

rizwan and babar should have attacked kuldeep and jadeja They lệt themselves just play dots and dotss

They were going just okay.. had they stayed for another 8-10 overs.. it wd have been a different story.. Babar’s wicket was the turning point, the reason they were not going hard coz they knew the middle order just can’t be trusted and rightly so..

 

[Sunzi]

rizwan and babar should have attacked kuldeep and jadeja They lệt themselves just play dots and dotss

Do you not think they would have, if they could?

I suspect they were torn between scoring and preserving their wickets... because... well.... when they go... we saw what happened.

Either that, or they're incapable of attacking spin; I'm certain that they are a) not as good as Indians at attacking spin and b) restrained/shackled because their wickets are the majority of our batting force.

 

[shokz1408]

Disappointing performance, but It doesn’t hurt, team was expected to lose to the hosts. The concern is apart from the batting, the bowlers are really struggling on these pitches.

With 6 games to go, hopefully we will qualify for the semis. I just don’t know how to beat this Indian team though if we do meet again in semis or final. Can’t set a score and will panic chasing a big score.

 

[Cryin Out Loud]

[Reporter:]

What went wrong? I mean, at the point when Babar and Rizzi were playing, it looked like we are going to post something around 300. But then suddenly, traditional collapse? What went wrong?

I disagree with significant portions of this interview but will highlight a few, starting with the question itself. I don’t think Pakistan were ever in a position to get to 300, not with those scoring rates, not with the way the batsmen were playing, not with the way the Indians were bowling. I never once felt Pakistan was going to make 300.


As for the below, I think it will be hard to consistently pull off this take it deep style. Pakistan doesn’t have the personnel to pull it off, IMO, against the top 4 teams.

The solutions are elsewhere.

[Mickey Arthur:]
I think we've got to realize that there are two ways to always skin a cat. And we've had success by taking it deep and then cashing in at the back end. That's been our style, that's been our brand, but we didn't play the Pakistan Way tonight, and that was the disappointing aspect of it for me.

 

[Markhor]

i don get it.

the brand of cricket we played was not wrong. Batting at 5 rr was not bad, throwing our wickets was the issue.

Again I restate the point - if you want to keep wickets in hand and bat at a steady 5 RPO for the first 30-40 overs, fine.

Now how are we going to score 100 from the last 10 with the best death overs bowler Jasprit Bumrah ? Will he give us throwdowns so Pakistan can stick to their 80s-era batting script ?

The optimal time for batters to attack is PP 1 and 2 as that's when the bowlers have the least protection from the field. Infact not just the top teams but Sri Lanka now are treating the first 20 overs like a T20 !

But what's our approach ? We just followed the same formula that's given us 0-8 record vs India at ODI World Cups (bar 96 when we started well and flopped in the middle). We still haven't hit a single six in the PP this year. We played a maiden in the PP and then Babar-Rizwan go into shells vs spin.

Look we're losing to India more often than not so what's the harm in trying a new approach ? Imagine if we went hard at India in the first 15-20 overs when the pitch did nothing, really took it to them and silenced the crowd - then Rohit would've been forced to change their plans. Instead we predictably played into their hands.

 

[Sachin136]

Look, I'd be lying if I said it did. It didn't seem like an ICC event to be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series; it seemed like a BCCI event. I didn't hear Dil Dil Pakistan coming through the microphones too often tonight.

So yes, that does play a role, but I'm not going to use that as an excuse because for us it was about living the moment, it was about the next ball and it was about how we were going to combat the Indian, the Indian players tonight.

[Reporter:]

Is that right for a World Cup? Should that be allowed to happen?

[Mickey Arthur:]

Look I don't think I can't comment on that just yet. I don't want to get fined.

Good to see that that the Microsoft Teams coach has figured out the reason behind the loss. Pakistan would've scored 350 if they had heard some more encouraging messages coming out of the speakers.

 

[shokz1408]

Not from a point of excuses, as that’s irrelevant, we lacked the skills. But I was wondering why there wasn’t music playing in a World Cup event when Pakistan were hitting boundaries. Purely from a viewership perspective it would have been nice, other than listening to silence for the first 30 overs of Pakistan's innings.

 

[cricketjoshila]

Pakistanis need to get rid pf this man if they want to do well.

He is a sweet talker and plays to the gallery.

 

[Major]

Again I restate the point - if you want to keep wickets in hand and bat at a steady 5 RPO for the first 30-40 overs, fine.

Now how are we going to score 100 from the last 10 with the best death overs bowler Jasprit Bumrah ? Will he give us throwdowns so Pakistan can stick to their 80s-era batting script ?

The optimal time for batters to attack is PP 1 and 2 as that's when the bowlers have the least protection from the field. Infact not just the top teams but Sri Lanka now are treating the first 20 overs like a T20 !

But what's our approach ? We just followed the same formula that's given us 0-8 record vs India at ODI World Cups (bar 96 when we started well and flopped in the middle). We still haven't hit a single six in the PP this year. We played a maiden in the PP and then Babar-Rizwan go into shells vs spin.

Look we're losing to India more often than not so what's the harm in trying a new approach ? Imagine if we went hard at India in the first 15-20 overs when the pitch did nothing, really took it to them and silenced the crowd - then Rohit would've been forced to change their plans. Instead we predictably played into their hands.

Bro had we got 200-220 by the 40th we would had been good to go to attack in the last 10 overs.

We have our limitations and cant bat 7 an over form the start, thus we employ a different strategy.

We are not losing to India due to our appoach since 2011, we are losing because we are not handling the pressure well. The 2011 mohali game was lost cause of this, that was an easy win, 2015 and 2019 our batting again failed to do anything.

Even today, our batters took pressure and gave wicekts away, only rizwan wicket was off good bowling,rest were just given away

 

[gazza619]

Pakistanis need to get rid pf this man if they want to do well.

He is a sweet talker and plays to the gallery.

We also need to pick a better team

Usama & Abrar are much better spinners than Shadab & Nawaz, Zaman is better than Hasan Ali but Babar is all about friendships

 

[Devadwal]

No Mickey you were lost becouse" Dil Dil Pakistan not played in stadium "

 

[cricketjoshila]

We also need to pick a better team

Usama & Abrar are much better spinners than Shadab & Nawaz

Shadab
Nawaz
Iftikhar

They should not be even in Pakistan B team.

I hope they give more chances to Saud Shakeel.

Imam has to go too.

How can Pakistan come to a WC in SC without a proper spinner is beyond me?

 

[Visaal-E-Yaar]

Ok, as we have no other choice right now but it's just 3rd game we have won 2 already. This is the time to back the boys and teams and boys should learn from mistake, no full stop after this game. Should start thinking about aus game.

 

[Rana]

Rizwan is a joke of a batsman but he did develop a good shot against left arm spin…the inside out lofted cover drive

He didn’t play it once today! Does he only use it for spinners that are below the age of 23?

 

[Varun]

I had a feeling he would mention the 2017 CT in this press conference. Wasnt disappointed.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Pakistan got hammered by their arch nemesis in a World Cup.

All that the Pakistan coach has to say is the Bharatiyas didn’t play Dil Dil Pakistan

 

[IndoorCricket]

in powerplay 2 Pakistan batters tried to accelerate but luck didn’t favour them

 

[Itachi]

Mickey knows his audience.

For any failure, there's 2017 CT.

He will milk it years after years after years because he can deflect opinion of Pakistani people THAT easily.

 

[Mamoon]

Waiting for him bring his classic “we are a proud team and we hate losing”.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

i don't get it.

the brand of cricket we played was not wrong. Batting at 5 rr was not bad, throwing our wickets was the issue.

The problem with that approach is you won't be able to up the rate in the death overs when the likes of Bumrah comes back.

Whether Arthur is a good coach or not I can't really judge, but what he's said is evidently true. Pakistani batsmen keep waiting for a bad ball, sometimes you have to be inventive and put pressure on the bowler instead of letting them bowl line and length.

 

[Major]

The problem with that approach is you won't be able to up the rate in the death overs when the likes of Bumrah comes back.

Whether Arthur is a good coach or not I can't really judge, but what he's said is evidently true. Pakistani batsmen keep waiting for a bad ball, sometimes you have to be inventive and put pressure on the bowler instead of letting them bowl line and length.

bro, tell me one thing, were the death overs even bowled today? People are whining and discussing something that never even happened.

Our approach was correct today and was also correct against Sri Lanka aswell where we chased 340+.

We were 155/2 by the 29th over at a rr of 5, not bad.

Now if the rest of the 8 guys threw their wickets for 40ish runs how is it the fault of Babar and Rizwan. There was no scoring pressure, everything was going good.

It was jus that Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar, Nawaz and Shadab threw their wickets away.

 

[Major]

Shadab
Nawaz
Iftikhar

They should not be even in Pakistan B team.

I hope they give more chances to Saud Shakeel.

Imam has to go too.

How can Pakistan come to a WC in SC without a proper spinner is beyond me?

iftikhar is a good batter.

 

[Saj]

I've written this many times before.

The approach in ODIs is rigid and lacks a plan B.

Against poor bowling attacks you can be 180 for 3 after 40 overs and then score 100 in the last 10.

Against good bowling attacks like India's you will get skittled out and look like fools with this approach.

 

[Major]

We also need to pick a better team

Usama & Abrar are much better spinners than Shadab & Nawaz, Zaman is better than Hasan Ali but Babar is all about friendships

Ok lets be honest here. We always belief the bench is better tthan the ones playing,

Abrar is slow. Zaman is a t20 bowler not one day, and hasan ali is the leading wicket taker for Pakistan

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

bro, tell me one thing, were the death overs even bowled today? People are whining and discussing something that never even happened.

Our approach was correct today and was also correct against Sri Lanka aswell where we chased 340+.

We were 155/2 by the 29th over at a rr of 5, not bad.

Now if the rest of the 8 guys threw their wickets for 40ish runs how is it the fault of Babar and Rizwan. There was no scoring pressure, everything was going good.

It was jus that Saud Shakeel, Iftikhar, Nawaz and Shadab threw their wickets away.

Well there's the problem right there. Only two of those are batsmen, and one is a 40 yr old veteran, the other a fairly new guy who's pedigree is questionable. You can be aggressive without trying to hoik the ball against the line for six. You need at least 5 proper batsmen in a 50 over game.

 

[Major]

Well there's the problem right there. Only two of those are batsmen, and one is a 40 yr old veteran, the other a fairly new guy who's pedigree is questionable. You can be aggressive without trying to hoik the ball against the line for six. You need at least 5 proper batsmen in a 50 over game.

bro, when Hafeez left the Cricket committee, many people celebrated it. But Hafeez left because of this very point.

Abdullah Shafiq is a talent but due to his lack of games he should not had been selected. His below the knee lbw happened due to his inexperience. Babar got deliveries such low but didnt get out. Hafeez dint want him in the team.

Iftikhar got unlucky with the way the ball hit his glove into the wicket. Shadab and Nawaz just went in there as if they are just having fun.

Babar and Rizwan batted well and were quite mature. Anyways, the mental pressure got to us. We lost, big deal, we are not out of the world cup. We lost to these guys in 1992 so not a big deal. As long as we learn from our mistakes we can win the world cup.

Right now Pakistan needs to boot Shadab and Nawaz, get Iftikhar and Agha to bowl 10 overs between them. ANd also add Ussama mir. I am actually hoping that an injury forces them to bring in ABrar.

 

[Cpt. Rishwat]

bro, when Hafeez left the Cricket committee, many people celebrated it. But Hafeez left because of this very point.

Abdullah Shafiq is a talent but due to his lack of games he should not had been selected. His below the knee lbw happened due to his inexperience. Babar got deliveries such low but didnt get out. Hafeez dint want him in the team.

Iftikhar got unlucky with the way the ball hit his glove into the wicket. Shadab and Nawaz just went in there as if they are just having fun.

Babar and Rizwan batted well and were quite mature. Anyways, the mental pressure got to us. We lost, big deal, we are not out of the world cup. We lost to these guys in 1992 so not a big deal. As long as we learn from our mistakes we can win the world cup.

Right now Pakistan needs to boot Shadab and Nawaz, get Iftikhar and Agha to bowl 10 overs between them. ANd also add Ussama mir. I am actually hoping that an injury forces them to bring in ABrar.

Agree with you about Nawaz and Shadab, I've said for years now that their little bit of limited batting ability is blinding selectors to their bowling which is absolute rubbish. They might get wickets against Zimbabwe or Holland, they will get creamed against top class batting.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Coach, captain and player all have the same safety 1st cowardly mindset.

The PP with our openers are a waste of time as it's played with risk free cricket.

Every ball in ODIs needs to be looked to be scored off.

Instead we see the dot ball eating approach waiting for a bad ball.

The batting is reactive rather then proactive, no innovation, no skill.

I don't even think any of our batsmen actually work on their white ball batting.

 

[hur rizvi]

bro, when Hafeez left the Cricket committee, many people celebrated it. But Hafeez left because of this very point.

Abdullah Shafiq is a talent but due to his lack of games he should not had been selected. His below the knee lbw happened due to his inexperience. Babar got deliveries such low but didnt get out. Hafeez dint want him in the team.

Iftikhar got unlucky with the way the ball hit his glove into the wicket. Shadab and Nawaz just went in there as if they are just having fun.

Babar and Rizwan batted well and were quite mature. Anyways, the mental pressure got to us. We lost, big deal, we are not out of the world cup. We lost to these guys in 1992 so not a big deal. As long as we learn from our mistakes we can win the world cup.

Right now Pakistan needs to boot Shadab and Nawaz, get Iftikhar and Agha to bowl 10 overs between them. ANd also add Ussama mir. I am actually hoping that an injury forces them to bring in ABrar.

Agree with your take on the combination:

Nawaz out Agha in
Shadab out Usama in

Whatever level nawaz is bowling can be accomplished by Agha and Iftikhar

I would want Fakhar to be drafted in for imam but I know that won't happen

 

[hur rizvi]

I think we're overplaying the defensive mindset. If not for Babar's freak dismissal 155/2 off 29 was perfectly OK. Ideally Saud and Babar should have tried to take PAksitan to 220/3 or max 220/4

There onwards we could have targeted Pandya and Siraj and could have ended with 280-290 quite easily and 300 with a little bit of luck

Main issue was the capitulation of the middle order under pressure

 

[Savak]

This is primarily Babars team. Mickey Arthur is not going to be able to make drastic changes in just a couple of months.

 

[Technics 1210]

i don't get it.

the brand of cricket we played was not wrong. Batting at 5 rr was not bad, throwing our wickets was the issue.

India caught Pakistan on an off day.

 

[Major]

India caught Pakistan on an off day.

we take mental pressure when it comes to India. Its that issue.

Pakistan only looks to compete against India when we bowl well get 3 wickets upfront and have momentum with us. Against India we take mental pressure.

The same team did well against Sri Lanka in that record chase

 

[JAV12341]

I've written this many times before.

The approach in ODIs is rigid and lacks a plan B.

Against poor bowling attacks you can be 180 for 3 after 40 overs and then score 100 in the last 10.

Against good bowling attacks like India's you will get skittled out and look like fools with this approach.

Spot on saj. We are a bang average team and need to lower our expectations.

Until we take risks and blood in youngsters who are willing to take the game on like saim ayub Mohammed haris and hasan Nawaz we will never compete against the big teams

We need to implement the modern way of playing simple

 

[ArabKnight]

As usual. Lose a game and send the coach in.

The captain himself should be coming out and answering the press

Sarfraz was the captain who wasn’t afraid of facing the media. He always saw him on screen post-match win or loose, but usually win because he won most of his matches.

 

[Amjid Javed]

14 October - Ahmedabad - Pakistan Coach Mickey Arthur post-match press conference
Mickey-Arthur-14-10-23

[Reporter:]

What went wrong? I mean, at the point when Babar and Rizzi were playing, it looked like we are going to post something around 300. But then suddenly, traditional collapse? What went wrong?

[Mickey Arthur:]

Yeah, I just think we were a little bit timid tonight with our overall performance. I would have liked us to really take the game on just a little bit more. It's a massive occasion, as we know, but I think we just went into our shells just a little bit. And to go from 155 for two, if it was, to 190-odd all out is just not on. Yeah, credit to India, I thought they bowled really well, but I just thought our performance was just a little bit timid.


[Reporter:]

Just wanted to know that the way the landscape of ODI scoring pattern has changed over the years. Do you think the way Babar and Rizwan approached till they were at the crease for 83 run partnership, would you think that they could have shown a bit more intent? Probably take the Indian spinners on a bit more?

[Mickey Arthur:]

Look, they're classy performers and they've done it day in and day out for Pakistan over an extended period of time. So, I'm not going to sit here and castigate them for that.

As I said, I thought we were a little bit timid. I did think we could probably have taken on the Indian spinners just a little bit more. It was a wicket that didn't turn massively, and I thought we needed to put some pressure back. But again, they were building and building nicely. I think we've got to realize that there are two ways to always skin a cat. And we've had success by taking it deep and then cashing in at the back end. That's been our style, that's been our brand, but we didn't play the Pakistan Way tonight, and that was the disappointing aspect of it for me.


[Reporter:]

I know that you were not at the helm of affairs before, but for 31 long years, India been just beating Pakistan, and Today it's 8-0, it stands at 8-0. As a coach, as a director, how do you explain this?

[Mickey Arthur:]

Yeah, look, I can only explain 2019 and this one, because I was at the helm for it. And I think we were well beaten in both games. But I can take you back to 2017 Champions Trophy where I thought we played particularly well. Every day we're striving to get better. Every day we're putting goals in front of them. I can’t fault the attitude or can’t fault the effort. We were just off the pace tonight and that's the disappointing aspect of it.


[Reporter:]

I just know it sounds cliched and repetitive but you know did the team talk about 7-0 or 8-0 in the World Cup? Is that just something which is the elephant in the room and nobody seems to…

[Mickey Arthur:]

No, look, that's just spoken about by you guys. The media just talk about that. We approach every game thinking we're going to win it. We approach every game dotting the Is, crossing the Ts, making sure our game is in place.

Tonight, we were off our performance and as I've said before, that was the disappointing aspect for me. We were off it but the record doesn't come into the equation.


[Reporter:]

Still early days in the tournament, just one third of the game is done, but in the back room as head of the coaching staff, what would your message be to the side now having been lost to India and in such fashion? So, is it like just lost to India or - the way you guys lost today? How much of an impact is it going to have to your World Cup campaign?

[Mickey Arthur:]

No, look, it's a long World Cup campaign. There's nine games. We've played three. We're two from three now. We've played well in patches in this tournament. I don't think we've hit our straps yet. And that's the exciting thing for me. But we're two from three. As I say, the key is remaining calm, staying focused, concentrating on what our next opposition is, getting the strategies right for that, getting the team balance right, and then the next focus is the next game for us.


[Reporter:]

During the Asia Cup, Rohit, and Gil counter-attacked in the power play and India won in Colombo. After that, was there any kind of plan formulated as to how to counter that, should they do it again in Ahmedabad? Like, they did it today and what were the conversations you were having during the mid-innings break?

[Mickey Arthur:]

Yeah, well, we had clear strategies. I mean, we had clear plans. And I think India showed us how to bowl on this wicket. They definitely did. And I just don't think we executed it just well enough for long periods. When we got it right, we caused some issues, but we didn't get it right enough for long periods and I thought India executed it really well.

And again, India know these conditions unbelievably well and I'm not using this as an excuse at all but it's our boys first opportunity here. They're getting used to the red soil and the black soil and the conditions that come with it. So yeah, we'll get used to that quickly and move on.


[Reporter:]

You said that batsmen were timid in their approach. So, what was the message before the match?

[Mickey Arthur:]

Oh, look, we set ourselves up as a 330 team. That's our message, that's where we set ourselves up. Now I've said there's two ways to skin a cat - teams come out firing up front and take it on and they have the personnel to do that. We've got the personnel to build and build and build and make sure that we keep that momentum going through the innings so that we can cash in at the back end. That's been our method.

But we've certainly tried to instil in our team that we're a 330 team, because we think if we get that, we defend that more often than not with our bowling attack.


[Reporter:]

After a defeat like this, I know it's too soon, but will you look at change in personnel also? Certain players were perhaps not performing the way you expect them to and given somebody -

[Mickey Arthur:]

Look, it's too soon and as I said, we're two from three, So there's certainly no panic yet. We'll go back and we'll analyse this game to the nth degree. We'll talk to our players. We'll have conversations about how we want to go forward. Australia's our next game. We'll have conversations about them. We'll look at conditions, and then we'll make a selection decision based on our strategy and conditions for the next game.


[Reporter:]

What factor, how much of a factor do you think such a big crowd and such a partisan crowd against you, like 130,000 people all against you, do you think that had any impact in the things you've mentioned, being timid, etc.?

[Mickey Arthur:]

Look, I'd be lying if I said it did. It didn't seem like an ICC event to be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series; it seemed like a BCCI event. I didn't hear Dil Dil Pakistan coming through the microphones too often tonight.

So yes, that does play a role, but I'm not going to use that as an excuse because for us it was about living the moment, it was about the next ball and it was about how we were going to combat the Indian, the Indian players tonight.

[Reporter:]

Is that right for a World Cup? Should that be allowed to happen?

[Mickey Arthur:]

Look I don't think I can't comment on that just yet. I don't want to get fined.

[Reporter:]

You've played three teams and you've seen 10 teams, followed 12 games. As an experienced cricketing mind, do you have an opinion on this Indian team?

[Mickey Arthur:]

Yeah, I do. This Indian team is a very, very good cricket team. I think they're very well led by Rahul and Rohit. I think they look good. I think they've got all bases covered and I'm looking forward to meeting them in the final again.

[Reporter:]

Mickey, Shaheen, and Shadab, two players who seem to be struggling, what have you identified as the reasons for their struggles?

[Mickey Arthur:]

Look, we've been doing a little bit of work behind the scenes. Look, it'd be remiss of me to discuss it out here, but we've been doing some work with them. For me, it's just about confidence. The key for us now is getting our players to remain calm. It's getting our players to focus on the next game, and it's to build them up and make sure that they go into that next game thinking they can run through a brick wall.

Yes, there are technical aspects and those are things that we look at every day with our players.

Someone should have asked the coach why Pakistan have shown zero improvement in PP, why top 3 continue to just eat up dot balls, also why pretty much zero risk cricket is being played.

Mickey can ramble on about 330 all he wants if your showing zero intent at start of inns that sets the precedent for entire inns

Babar needs to be sacked from all formats and parchis like imam who suck the life out of inns need to go as well

 

[Major]

Sarfraz was the captain who wasn’t afraid of facing the media. He always saw him on screen post-match win or loose, but usually win because he won most of his matches.

jeejee, sarfraz is not coming in limited overs. calm down. we are in 2023 not 2017

 

[Kianig89]

Work at grassroot requited and people are advocating it since late 2000s Eng Ind SA all have evolved their batting gone are the days of Daryl Cullinan Nick Knight and Rahul Dravid, infact players like Rohit Sharma Hardik Pandya are more remiscent to WI cricketers of the past like Richards Haynes etc unlike Ganguly or Graham Thorpe but Pakistan stuck on glorifying Younis Khan type ODI players a paradigm shift is imminent

 

[Grunge101]

Spot on saj. We are a bang average team and need to lower our expectations.

Until we take risks and blood in youngsters who are willing to take the game on like saim ayub Mohammed haris and hasan Nawaz we will never compete against the big teams

We need to implement the modern way of playing simple

We might be an average team but we're also being majorly hampered by a tema leader who is timid, clueless and is hell bent on making the team work around his style of play and not what's actually required of them in modern day cricket

 

[Mamoon]

India caught Pakistan on an off day.

That is every day for Pakistan against India in World Cups.

 

[JAV12341]

We might be an average team but we're also being majorly hampered by a tema leader who is timid, clueless and is hell bent on making the team work around his style of play and not what's actually required of them in modern day cricket

Exactly hit the nail on the head there. If your captain is taking the timid approach and safety first zone the rest will follow suit

Take rohit sharma for example he’s the captain and still dominating at the age of 36 when he should be past his best at that age but is absolutely bossing this World Cup. This instils confidence in the rest of the team to play the same way.

 

[JAV12341]

That is every day for Pakistan against India in World Cups.

Lol true 8-0 at the moment unfortunately that will continue for decades to come

 

[nuttyprof]

Mickey Arthur’s only real talent is talk. Very easily visible through his stints with Aus, SA and current stint with Pak. Not sure why Pak administration is enamored with him.

 

[ask_analyse_act]

Give them 40 years they still lose to India in WC unless they can make Rahul, Rohit, Kohli and Gill.

Game has evolved as a batting centric game but Pak still says pace is pace yaar and roam around the world. They can’t adapt to the fact the game has evolved and changed but they keep singing the same old song

Under pressure they all look like bunch of rabbits caught on headlight.

 

[Visaal-E-Yaar]

Lol true 8-0 at the moment unfortunately that will continue for decades to come

Why we don't see the brighter side?
Ind vs pak semi or final can still happen and it's bound to happen.

 

[SpiritOf1903]

Who's job is it to instill mentality?!

Washed coach here for a payday

 

[ask_analyse_act]

That is every day for Pakistan against India in World Cups.

Exactly same stuff rinse and repeat for India. Clinical finishes in every single WC , can’t remember where both teams fought till the last ball in a WC rivalry match.

Bunch of dummy bits and pieces formed a team , beat C and D teams to reach no.1 and boast their chests in pride.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Good to see that that the Microsoft Teams coach has figured out the reason behind the loss. Pakistan would've scored 350 if they had heard some more encouraging messages coming out of the speakers.

I agree. MS Teams can be a bit confusing for the boys to use. They should use Zoom which can also help reinforce historic all-weather China-Pakistan ties. Also, it's a simpler app and won't confuse the boys and they'll actually get what Mickey is trying to teach them.

 

[JaDed]

“I didn't hear Dil Dil Pakistan coming through the microphones too often tonight.”

no way he said that

 

[PakHammer]

Misbah was seething on the Pakistan cricket show. Mickey knows his time is up after this world cup and when Misbah presses send to his report to Zaka Ashraf so that's why he came out with that ridiculous comment that not playing Dil Dil Pakistan has an effect on this timid team.

 

[praveen]

Pakistan must petition icc to allow their players to carry a small speaker in their trousers playing dil dil Pakistan. Or Atleast have bluetooth earphones to hear the song being played from dugout. Had that happened , we would not have seen the chase end in 30 overs today.

I also want to hear from Mickey what the excuse was for the 240 runs loss in Asia cup. I’m just not sure if Mickey was coaching the team through zoom that time so fair play if he can’t answer.

 

[rpant_gabba]

 

[PakFan2010]

Sad to see so many people criticise Mickey Arthur.

Has everyone forgotten about the 2017 Champions Trophy Final?

 

[Kriketer]

“I didn't hear Dil Dil Pakistan coming through the microphones too often tonight.”

no way he said that

Quite an unprofessional statement. Other countries don't have their songs playing in games either. He probably said this out of frustration of his teams terrible performance.

This interview should have been done by Babar

 

[daytrader]

"This Indian team is a very, very good cricket team. I think they're very well led by Rahul and Rohit. I think they look good. I think they've got all bases covered and I'm looking forward to meeting them in the final again."

That's the spirit Mickey! Let's make that final and have a repeat of CT 2017

 

[Itachi]

"This Indian team is a very, very good cricket team. I think they're very well led by Rahul and Rohit. I think they look good. I think they've got all bases covered and I'm looking forward to meeting them in the final again."

That's the spirit Mickey! Let's make that final and have a repeat of CT 2017

Time and time again, I've said this.

CT 2017 has done more harm to pakistan than good.

The WC 1992 brought the concept of "cornered tiger", "unpredictable pakistan" and CT 2017 reinforced the same idea.

People forgot what happened in the middle years.

The whole system took solace via CT 2017 and it will go on for another decades with bad performance after bad performance.

Everything will be forgotten under the glamour of CT.

Rinse and repeat the process.

 

[Cryin Out Loud]

Those who think they 155/2 in 29 overs was ok, I couldn’t disagree more. 155/2 in 29 was behind the curve, it should have been closer to 180.

Saying 155/2 was ok fails to recognise that Pakistan is a team a decade behind in strategy, and a few years behind in skills management to the top 4 teams.

Yes they hit fours but clearly Pakistan wasn’t forcing the pace. Did you see how conservatively (for that passage of play) even your top bats played Kuldip or Jadeja?

Pakistan was playing a game and game plan that’s from a decade ago. Simple as that. 9 out of 10 time you won’t win against the top 4 teams (when they also send their best players to play, which may not happen in a bilateral).

 

[Adiram]

bro, when Hafeez left the Cricket committee, many people celebrated it. But Hafeez left because of this very point.

Abdullah Shafiq is a talent but due to his lack of games he should not had been selected. His below the knee lbw happened due to his inexperience. Babar got deliveries such low but didnt get out. Hafeez dint want him in the team.

Iftikhar got unlucky with the way the ball hit his glove into the wicket. Shadab and Nawaz just went in there as if they are just having fun.

Babar and Rizwan batted well and were quite mature. Anyways, the mental pressure got to us. We lost, big deal, we are not out of the world cup. We lost to these guys in 1992 so not a big deal. As long as we learn from our mistakes we can win the world cup.

Right now Pakistan needs to boot Shadab and Nawaz, get Iftikhar and Agha to bowl 10 overs between them. ANd also add Ussama mir. I am actually hoping that an injury forces them to bring in ABrar.

Pakistan was very strong team in 90's... like Australia they have dominated for quite some time. The problem with the current Pakistan team is, you don't have the reliable middle order like the long tail in India. India is also facing the same middle order problem, but surprisingly the same was fixed just before Asia cup. On Saturday's match, in fact Babar and Rizwan played very well. At that point, it was the time for the middle order to up the tempo but they crumbled under pressure. But after seeing the the performances of England and Australia, I feel Pakistan is having much better chances for Semi Final. The only thing is the middle order should have the confidence and mental strength and should believe in themselves. Probably we can meet again somewhere down the line and may be the score can be settled.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Gautam Gambhir speaking on TV about Babar Azam said:

“It was an extremely bad shot. You don't expect such a shot from a world-class batter. You had scored 50 runs and played nearly 60 balls, you knew there wasn't much bounce and it was not the length where you could have played the late cut. You could have punched it,”

“Babar Azam has been extremely timid. Two batters cannot bat the same way in a partnership, one of them has to take chances. If you are playing for a fifty or your runs, you will get such results,”

“Babar Azam has scored a lot of runs for himself but it's been Pakistan's history that they have liked to bat aggressively at the start, whether it was Shahid Afridi, Imran Nazir or Taufeeq Umar, and they consolidate in the middle. However, here in the top three, there isn't a single batter who can take on the opposition attack,”​

 

[BouncerGuy]

Sourav Ganguly on Pakistan vs India encounter:

“Pakistan Can't Handle Pressure, Tough To Bounce Back In World Cup After Loss To India”

"During our time Pakistan was a different team, this is not the type of Pakistan team we used to play. This team can’t handle the pressure during the batting,"

"It will be hard for Pakistan to come back in this World Cup with this batting," .

"Rohit played superbly against Pakistan. India’s every department is doing well. Batting, bowling and fielding is firing together and at the right time,"

TN sports​

 

[Saj]

Lot of people describing the Pakistan batting as timid.

Surely they all can't be wrong.

Outdated approach that could backfire.

 

[Bhaijaan]

Lot of people describing the Pakistan batting as timid.

Surely they all can't be wrong.

Outdated approach that could backfire.

The middle order batters have to step up.

Bring Abdullah back in middle order

 

[FearlessRoar]

This guy Mickey Aurther is the biggest reason of collapse of cricket in Pakistan. He is an advocate of favoritism and nepotism.

 

[Cryin Out Loud]

Sreesanth Sreesanthing. Nothing much to see here.

I do not accept that m trope that an India B (forget C) team can easily beat Pakistan.

However I do believe that our B team can be up there in terms of being competitive on a world stage, which is more than can be said for other teams.