Mickey Arthur wants Pakistan to respond immediately after losing second Test
Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur wants his team to bounce back strongly from the humiliating defeat in the 2nd Test against England at Old Trafford. He ordered his “warriors” of Lord’s to show some character and respond in an emphatic fashion. Pakistan surrendered meekly to England and lost by 330 runs in the 2nd Test, thus allowing them to level the series 1-1.
Arthur said that his team was steamrolled by England in the 2nd Test but predicts they will come back strongly in Birmingham.
“We're going to have to raise our game considerably from Old Trafford, without a doubt," said Arthur. "I was really disappointed with our performance at Old Trafford - really disappointed with the way we lost there.
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"There are credible losses, and there are losses when you lie down and are steamrollered - Old Trafford was clearly that," Arthur said. From a historic victory at Lord’s they faced a humiliating defeat at Old Trafford and the jarring disparity between the two performances was a bitter pill to swallow for Arthur.
"I told the guys I thought we were warriors at Lord's," he added. "We were completely the opposite at Old Trafford. We're doing everything we can to get us back on the right track, and I'm 100 per cent sure we will be, come the first ball on Wednesday.”
"We had some good, hard conversations around our performance. We were outstanding at Lord's, and very poor at Manchester. That's clearly not what we want. We want to get the gap between good and bad a little bit closer.
"So we've dissected Manchester, the guys are in good spirits and we're ready to play again. The overriding feeling is still one of confidence. The guys have been excellent."
Arthur felt that they could expose England’s batting line up if they got Cook and Root early as players like Gary Ballance and James Vince haven’t performed to their potential. He also added that the extra pressure on players to keep their places in the playing XI might turn out to be a blessing in disguise for Pakistan.
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"They are all quality players but at this level, confidence is such an important thing," he added. "They clearly know when they walk out to bat that they are playing for their Test places. So that provides another level of pressure. It's not just the opposition running in and bowling a cricket ball at you. Suddenly that pressure is intensified because they're playing for their places as well.” The South African continued, "We feel if we can get into them with the new ball, we've got a real good chance. Clearly Cook and Root are the beacon of England batting at the moment."
Arthur refused to reveal whether Shan Masood will get one more chance but admitted it was a concern for them, "We've had discussions. We've given that position some serious thought," he said. "We're very clear on what we're going to do this Test, but it's not for public consumption."
Arthur said their main concern was the way their batsmen got out and they needed to seriously lift their game
"It has been a worry," added Arthur. "The thing I've said to our batsman is about the trend of dismissal. Batsmen are going to get out - but when there is a trend that develops,that's when it is concerning for us as support staff. Clearly, a trend has developed."