Mickey Arthur: “The failure of the spin attack is disappointing; spinners play a crucial role in our brand of cricket”
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Recently removed Pakistan team director Mickey Arthur admitted that the failure of spinners Shadab Khan, Mohammad Nawaz and Usama Mir in the 2023 ICC Cricket World Cup was very disappointing.
He noted that they had a “crucial role” to play, but fell well short of expectations as they couldn’t take wickets in the middle overs and conceded too many runs.
Shadab took two wickets in six matches at an average of 118.50 and an economy rate of 6.23, while Nawaz claimed two wickets in five games at an average of 111.50 and an economy rate of 5.89.
As for Mir, he finished with four wickets in four matches at an average of 62 and an economy rate of 7.08.
“The failure of the spin attack is disappointing; spinners play a crucial role in our brand of cricket,” Arthur was quoted as saying by Cricket Pakistan.
Pakistan began the World Cup with back-to-back wins over the Netherlands and Sri Lanka before stumbling against India, Australia, Afghanistan and South Africa.
Despite ending their four-game skid with consecutive victories over Bangladesh and New Zealand, it was not enough to earn them a spot in the semi-finals.
To add insult to injury, the men in green lost their final group stage match against England by 93 runs.
Pakistan are now playing a three-match Test series against Australia, but Shadab, Nawaz and Mir were not included in the 18-man squad announced for the tour.
Instead, all three of them played in the National T20 Cup, with Shadab finishing as the highest wicket-taker in the tournament with 25 wickets in 10 wickets for Rawalpindi Region at an average of 11.64 and an economy rate of 8.64.
Nawaz also played for Rawalpindi Region and claimed five wickets in eight games at an average of 47.40 and an economy rate of 7.90.
As for Mir, he finished with two wickets in the one match he played for Sialkot Region.
The 27-year-old is now in action in the Big Bash League (BBL), where he is representing the Melbourne Stars.
The first Test between Pakistan and Australia began on December 14 in Perth.
Pakistan Squad for Australia Test Series: Shan Masood (captain), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi