Mickey Arthur admits concern over Pakistan's lack of power-hitters in ODI format

Waseem Ahmed 09:25 03/04/2019
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  • Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur.

    Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur has admitted concern over the team’s lack of power-hitters following their comprehensive ODI series loss at the hands of Australia in the UAE.

    Pakistan were swept aside by the Aussies in the five-match series as they succumbed to a 5-0 ODI whitewash for only the fourth time in their history. While several senior players were handed a rest, Pakistan’s inability to force the scoring rate was evident across the series with the team struggling to breach the 300-run mark.

    “That’s (lack of big hitters) one of our areas of concern,” Arthur was quoted as saying by Cricbuzz upon the team’s return to Lahore.

    “We have to make sure that we get our guys to bat in those positions as best as they can. That’s the reason we used Faheem Ashraf in two games. He has done hell of a work in that regard and we wanted to give him more batting time.

    “We have worked really hard with Imad Wasim in that role. Hasan (Ali) can hit the ball long distances. Shadab (Khan) has worked extremely hard on that aspect of his game. Shoaib Malik and Mohammad Hafeez have worked consistently on their power-hitting. But, it is an area that is a worry and we have to work extremely hard to rectify it.”

    Pakistan were second best in all aspects against the Aussies.

    Pakistan were second best in all aspects against the Aussies.

    One of the men Pakistan were looking to solve their power-hitting woes was Umar Akmal with the right-handed batsman handed a recall to the ODI squad after more than two years.

    However, Akmal faded away after a promising 48 in the first ODI and was in the news for the wrong reasons after being officially reprimanded for a late night out ahead of the final clash at Dubai.

    “Umar Akmal’s attitude through the tour was very good. He worked exceptionally hard, trained hard, and tried very hard to impress in all areas. He’ll be disappointed that he didn’t get a big innings,” explained Arthur.

    Pakistan’s 2019 ICC World Cup sojourn will begin on April 23 when they depart for England. The Men in Green are slated to take on hosts England in a five-match ODI series along with a solitary T20 clash before heading into the World Cup warm-up matches.

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