• Home
• /
• Cricket

Middle-order, lower middle-order didn’t click at all, says Waqar

ABU DHABI — Pakistan coach Waqar Younis rued another batting failure after his team collapsed from a comfortable 140-1 for to 203 all out in the first One-Day International of the Bank Al Falah presents Cool & Cool Cup at the Shaikh Zayed International Cricket Stadium on Friday night.

The batting order fared slightly better than the Twenty20 games, in that, they got the start, but the middle order and the lower middle order failed to capitalise on it. Pakistan were rocked by a four-wicket haul by Lonwabo Tsotobe before losing by eight wickets.

“It is probably what happened in the Twenty20. We were struggling with the middle order and lower middle order not getting runs. It is vital and which we bank the most. They did not really click at all. If we really look properly, after Misbah’s wicket, nobody got any partnership going, nobody got any runs. I think that’s where the whole problem started and we could not really manage to get a decent total. At one time, it looked like we might get a total of around 260, 270 or 280,” Waqar said.

Waqar said that the absence of four key players have hit the side hard. “That’s the way the game is and I must say that Pakistan cricket is going through a tough time and we lost a few players after the England tour. It has been a little tough at the moment and I think that is one big reason that we are struggling at the moment,” he said and added: “But hopefully in the next coming games we are going to put ourselves together again and make sure that we deliver the goods.”

Waqar said that the return of Younis Khan to the international fold was a positive and also praised openers Asad Shafiq and Mohammed Hafeez.

“The positive I would say is that Younis Khan has come back and he scored runs. It would have been tough for him to come back and not scored runs. It is good that he got the runs. Even Azad played decently and then Hafeez played a top innings. But unfortunately, we could not get a decent total on the board,” Waqar said.

Waqar admitted that with four players—Salman Butt, Kamran Akmal, Mohammed Amir and Mohammed Asif—missing, it was not ideal preparations with the World Cup right round the corner.

“Well, if you ask me, of course it is not ideal preparations with the World Cup four months away. Losing your four key players from the XI suddenly is never easy. As I said, it is difficult times not only for the team but for the cricket board too,” he said.

Captain Shahid Afridi has failed to fire but Waqar said that things go wrong when you make mistakes.

“That’s what happens when things are going wrong. You make mistakes. That’s what we have been doing. Even Razzaq, Afridi, Misbah and all of them are not really clicking. We got a decent partnership up the order and we did not really capitalise on that. Maybe, we could have scored at least 260, considering the start we had,” Waqar said.

Afridi won all three tosses and chose to bat but Pakistan couldn’t put a decent score on the board. But Waqar said it was a good wicket to bat on first up and he would still opt to bat if they a fourth toss.

“I think it’s a decent pitch to bat on. And if I win the fourth toss, I will still bat because runs on the board is always the key. We have done in the past and it is not that we haven’t done it. It is just that we are passing through difficult times. It is not a wrong decision from Afridi. It is just that we are not getting the runs. Winning the toss is a good thing on this sort of a pitch. Even if South Africa won the toss, probably they would also bat first since this is such a good wicket to bat first. But, when things are going wrong, this is what happens,” he said.

james@khaleejtimes.com