SK play of the day: Mohammad Irfan's fitness issues against England
If the Test series was a major boost for the Pakistan cricket team, the ongoing One-Day International series has been nothing short of a nightmare for the Azhar Ali-led side. The visitors have been hammered by the English side, and it is hard to imagine the future of the Pakistan ODI team. They have tried all their tricks but nothing has gone according to plan.
In one such move, Mohammad Irfan the tall fast bowler was roped into the team for the fourth ODI at Headingley. As has been the story in the series so far, Irfan started with a bang as he snared the wickets of Jason Roy and Alex Hales, and pushed England on the backfoot. However, this positive was short lived as Irfan was warned for running on the pitch. This had an effect on the tall bowler as he switched sides and started bowling from around the wicket. The change in angles worked for him as he kept posing questions at the England batting. And then everything went downhill!
After his first spell, Irfan trudged back into the dressing room. He made an appearance in the 42nd over and was ready to resume his spell. However, he ran up and bowled a wide delivery, and then limped out of the field once again. The cameras quickly moved to Mickey Arthur who was standing on the balcony and was visibly disappointed with the unfolding events.
After the match, Arthur bared his intentions without mincing any words and came down hard on Irfan. The 7 foot 1-inch bowler had bowled just four competitive overs before he was drafted into the squad. According to Arthur, he also took part in two 50-over games when he was training with the National Cricket Academy.
"It's very frustrating. There were checks and balances in place. He was put on standby when we selected our one-day squad, he went to the NCA and did his training. He played two 50-over games and 20-over game and was resident at the NCA for a period of a week and a half", Arthur said.
However, the South African was quick to point out that he was still finding his way with the ODI squad, and that he has to try out different things with the team before a potent combination is formed.
"I want to give guys opportunities and then we'll know by the end of the tour who we can and can't take forward. Irfan was a player of interest and I wanted to have a look at him go. Inzi (Inzamam-ul-Haq) and myself have developed a really good relationship. We speak a hell of a lot. I spent probably 40 minutes on the phone with him yesterday just discussing where we were and possible names who could come in positions I've identified. What I am finding out is who can do a job and who can't", Arthur added.