Pakistan confront their mental demons
Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur is working on the mental demons dogging his side after New Zealand’s remarkable comeback win in the Abu Dhabi test.
The Black Caps won by four runs as Pakistan collapsed chasing just 176 for victory. They went from 147-4 to being dismissed for 171.
It’s a recurring nightmare for Pakistan, the third time in 18 months they have choked when chasing wins that should have been formalities after similar disappointments against the West Indies and Sri Lanka.
Arthur revealed to ESPNcricinfo that he had spoken to the Pakistan Cricket Board about getting professional psychological help for his players.
‘‘This is something we need to overcome as a team. Hopefully the next time we’re in a position to do it, we’ll win it comfortably. I continually discuss with the PCB [the possibility of getting a sports psychologist involved]. We have had discussions around it,’’ he said.
Arthur has delayed his own
‘‘We needed to sit down and have a good discussion about what happened and for that to happen you need guys with clear minds.’’
Mickey Arthur, Pakistan coach, left
inquest into the latest capitulation, mindful of the fresh scars.
Pakistan lost 7-41 as New Zealand’s debut spinner Ajaz Patel and left-arm fast bowler Neil Wagner ripped through them.
But the astute coach knows there needs to be some soul searching ahead of the second test against the Black Caps starting in Dubai tomorrow.
‘‘Our choice of shots under pressure and the decisions we made were disappointing. We couldn’t get over the line . . . it was incredibly disappointing,’’ Arthur told ESPNcricinfo.
‘‘I wanted to have one or two individual chats but last night wasn’t the right time. The boys were hurting too much. Normally, I like to get it sorted out straight after the game but it wasn’t the right time.
‘‘We needed to sit down and have a good discussion about what happened and for that to happen you need guys with clear minds. It wouldn’t have had any impact last night. So, apart from a couple of individual conversations in the dressing room, I left it today.’’
Arthur planned a ‘‘clear the air’’ team meeting ahead of travelling to Dubai for the rematch.
‘‘Once we move out of the Abu Dhabi hotel, we will have drawn a line in the sand underneath it and we will be very clear about what we need to do to go on and win the second test match.’’
Arthur backed his team to respond. ‘‘The one thing I know about Pakistan cricket is we have the ability to move on very quickly.
‘‘I’m comfortable we have the ability to move on, I’m comfortable we have the talent and I believe in these boys, I believe in this team and the players and I’m pretty sure we can bounce back nice and quickly,’’ he said.