Criticism of Pakistan’s effort in NZ fair, says coach
Coach Misbah-ul-Haq admits Pakistan deserve to be criticised after losing the test series to New Zealand 2-0.
‘‘The criticism is valid,’’ Misbah told the Pakistan Cricket Board podcast on Thursday, a day after losing the second test by an innings and 176 runs inside four days at Christchurch.
‘‘The people who criticise are those who believe in this team’s capabilities and the potential of this team.’’
Pakistan suffered a major blow at the start of the tour when captain Babar Azam broke his right thumb and couldn’t play a single match.
But without Babar, Pakistan showed lot of fight in the first test before getting bowled out late on the fifth day to lose by 101 runs. Lefthander
Fawad Alam scored a fighting century while stand-in captain Mohammad Rizwan also made a gallant half-century before New Zealand dismissed the tourists with only 27 balls left in the game. ‘‘We showed potential in phases, like in the first test when we were down and out in both innings but fought and brought it to a stage where we were five overs from a draw, from nowhere,’’ Misbah said. ‘‘You see that and of course fans then have expectations, and then from there when your performance goes down, then the criticism is justified.’’
The heavy defeat this week left fans fuming, especially after Pakistan dropped more than half a dozen catches and fast bowlers claimed wickets off no-balls before New Zealand posted a daunting total of 659-6 declared.
‘‘The biggest thing in front of us, that we have seen in the past with
Pakistan cricket as well, is our dropped chances,’’ Misbah said. ‘‘That has really affected our chances in this series. We missed a lot in both tests, in which if we had grabbed them, we could have taken the test further, but we missed them. We need to work on that.’’
Misbah said Pakistan played below to their potential in all three departments, and hoped the lessons in New Zealand will help them to play much better against South Africa in the home series starting this month.
New Zealand officials are keeping a close eye on developments in Japan, in the wake of a surge of Covid-19 infections which threaten to wipe out last year’s already postponed Olympic Games.
A fresh state of emergency has been declared in Tokyo, where 2447 new cases were reported on Thursday. This is a jump of 850 cases – just over 50 per cent – from the day before. The capital was reporting just a few hundred new cases a few months ago.
The Olympics are set to open on July 23, with the Paralympics to begin on August 24, and the New Zealand Olympic Committee says it is staying in constant contact with its athletes as they navigate the uncertain path ahead.
‘‘We are continuing to work with our athletes to help prepare them for Games time in the Covid environment,’’ the organisation said in a statement to Stuff.
Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga insists the Olympics will go ahead in a ‘‘safe and secure’’ manner, despite the surge.
In responding to questions over whether the emergency could affect the Olympics, Suga said the organisers and the International Olympic Committee would ‘‘continue to work’’ together to organise the event faultlessly and on schedule.
The Olympics were postponed nine months ago because of the pandemic. A poll last month by Japanese broadcaster NHK showed 63 per cent of 1200 Japanese surveyed think the Games should be postponed again – or cancelled.
Japan has attributed about 3500 deaths to Covid-19, a moderate success rate in controlling the virus for a country of 125 million.
The Switzerland-based IOC and local organisers have said the Games will not be postponed again and will be cancelled if they cannot be held this time.
Japan has invested at least NZ$34 billion in preparing the Olympics, and the IOC depends on selling broadcast rights for almost three-quarters of its income.
The Olympics and Paralympics could involve more than 15,000 athletes entering Japan from 205 nations and territories, plus tens of thousands of officials, judges, administrators, VIPS, sponsors, media and broadcasters.