Great, now they just how good
MA:
Babar is a very good player. I can understand the trials of any young guy coming into the game. He will get a few short balls and if he plays one or two poorly then suddenly everyone claims that he can’t play them. Babar is good enough to deal with that and we will be continually working with him to resolve that problem. He will find his way around that and he is good enough to do that. I am not worried about that at all. Every young player coming into the game gets an examination by the short ball at some stage. Let me say again that Babar is good enough to come through that and I have no concerns about him at all. Misbah-ul-Haq and Younis Khan are heading towards the end of their international careers, are you worried about suitable replacements for them?
In terms of our planning, Babar is a big part of that. But there are also the
MA:
likes of Mohammad Rizwan, Umar Akmal, Shan Masood, Mohammad Hafeez and even Sharjeel Khan who I feel has a technique which is good enough for Tests. Of course, we hope that Misbah and Younis will be around for a little while yet but we as support staff and in my role as head coach, will be grooming the next guys so that the transition will be seamless whenever they leave. Hopefully, they will leave at different times. That has not been spoken about and been left to the future. How important is the presence of these two senior batsmen for the younger batsmen?
The younger batsmen do learn a lot from Misbah and Younis. Not only are they the most experienced and our best batsmen, they are the two fittest guys in the squad by a long way. They lead the charts in terms of fitness. It’s not only what they do with the bat for us but it’s the way they train and prepare and the way they go about their business which makes them wonderful role models. For our younger players like the Babar Azams, the Sami Aslams as well as Mohammad Nawazs, to be sitting and watching how these guys go about their business is simply great.
Do you have any plans to talk or work with Pakistani domestic coaches in order to help them better prepare future players for the senior team?
Without a doubt, although the fact is that we have such a busy schedule until the Champions Trophy next year. But there will come a time when this will happen. I have always said that I am thoroughly enjoying this role and hopefully I will be around for some time yet. I will always like people to think of me in terms of my legacy where I came in and set up proper standards and structures, gave back something to the local coaches and left Pakistan cricket in a far better state. What are the biggest challenges for you in terms of improving the fortunes of our one-day side?
To continually keep improving and building confidence in our game plans and the brand we want to play.You can only do that when you get a little bit of success because success breeds confidence and that in turn gives you further good results. The whole pecking order must be in the right way, I guess, and it is; I feel it is developing in that way and in quick time as well. But what we cannot do is to rest on our laurels and we need to keep solidifying what needs to be done. You will be heading to Australia soon and should Pakistan do well there, will there be an element of a “gloat factor” given your past experience there?
No, I don’t think so. To be honest this is the first time I have been asked this question and I have been thinking how I will answer this question when it does come up. That trip is certainly not about me but it’s about Pakistan’s tour of Australia. I will be doing what I can to prepare the Pakistan team as well as I can to get good results there. I certainly won’t be gloating if we do well; I will be going about my business as normal.
MA: MA: MA: MA:
I hate it when people park over the lines or don’t park straight. It drives me mad, especially when you have a child and you park inside the child parking spaces. They are slightly larger so you can get child seats in and out and people park so closely that you can’t open any of the doors! TCP verdict:We’ll give you a wide berth if we ever see you behind the wheel, Riki – we’ll park this in Room 101.
It annoys me when you have to stop for a minute to run into a shop and buy something but you have to pay for a whole hour’s worth of parking at a machine. It’s absolutely bizarre, why can’t there be leeway for stuff like that?
TCP verdict: Luckily for you, Riki, it costs nothing to dump this into Room 101. You know when you put coins into machines and they fall all the way to the bottom? It really frustrates me.You have to pay £7, which is annoying to begin with, because you’ve only been there for a few minutes and every time you put a coin it, its spits it out.You put a note in and it spits that out too, saying it’s not the right way. I just want a machine that will accept my money! And don’t get me started on the new £5 notes. None of the machines accept those yet. TCP verdict: Definitely sensing a theme here. Sounds like we caught you after a particularly bad morning, Riki! We’ll slot this one in too to cheer you up.
Payment systems for parking Machines that don’t accept coins