Mickey Arthur: “I’m incredibly disappointed with what we dished up”
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Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur has admitted that he was less than impressed with his side’s performance in the second Test against England at Headingley, where they lost by an innings and 55 runs.
Pakistan’s loss at Headingley saw the series end 1-1 as a draw and extinguished their hopes of securing their first Test series win in England since 1996.
Arthur admitted that he was extremely disappointed with the fact that Pakistan were made to look lacklustre after they dominated England in the first Test at Lord’s, where they triumphed by nine wickets.
“I’m incredibly disappointed with what we dished up,” Arthur told Sky Sports. “It was a poor display from us coming off such a high at Lord’s as we are all about getting our consistency right and trying to play in the right style.
“We’ll talk about it, we’ll have a hard discussion – we need to dish out a couple of hidings! But they are gutted and if they learn from this, hopefully they can grow and grow quicker.”
However, Arthur admitted that he was impressed with the hunger and passion his side showed. He also attributed Pakistan’s inconsistent performance to the fact that the team selected mostly consisted of young and inexperienced players.
“The talent we have is phenomenal. It’s a young dressing room, guys are feeling what it’s like to play tough Test cricket over a long period. A lot of our guys haven’t – only four have been to England,” he said. “We have done a hell of a lot of things right but our expectations are still more. These guys will take it on the chin and learn.
“Inconsistency is one of the things that comes with a young team, however hard that is for us to take at the moment.
“I can’t fault their effort – they are hungry, determined and want to do well for Pakistan. Most have advanced their cause. It confirms to us we are on the right track.”
When asked his side’s batting in the two Tests, Arthur said: “At Lord’s they were patient, committed to their defence, committed in attack and showed really good intent.
“We got the balance wrong here, we weren’t as disciplined in our first innings after winning a fairly good toss.
“A number of our batsmen got starts but we didn’t get a hundred. For us to grow as a team we need someone in our top six getting hundreds consistently.”