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Pakistan's coach Mickey Arthur pinpointed his team's inability to deliver a 'flawless game' as the primary reason for their challenges in the ongoing World Cup. He also appealed to the PCB to avoid undue criticism and 'witch-hunts' after their heart-wrenching defeat to South Africa by just one wicket.
The partnership between Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi led to Pakistan's fourth consecutive loss, marking their poorest performance streak in World Cup history. Nevertheless, this game showcased more determination from Pakistan compared to their previous matches against Afghanistan and India.
Following their defeat to Afghanistan, the PCB released a statement addressing the media's criticism of captain Babar Azam and the team's management. The board emphasised that decisions would be made in the best interest of Pakistan cricket, considering the team's World Cup performance.
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However, responding to the recent loss against South Africa, Arthur commented, "They're going to be blaming everybody, don't worry. It's just the way of the world.It's really unfair to start a witch-hunt, certainly on Babar Azam, on Inzi [chief selector, Inzamam-ul-Haq], on our coaches, on the management team," he said.
"What I do know is the boys have tried and the effort of the coaching staff, the effort of the players has been first-class. If they would see that the amount of effort that the players and staff put in, they would be
The team's commitment was evident during the final moments of the match against South Africa, which was undeniably the most thrilling climax of this World Cup. After setting a decent yet not outstanding target of 271, Pakistan managed to take five wickets within 12.3 overs, leaving South Africa at a precarious 260 for 9. However, South Africa managed to achieve the target with 16 balls remaining.
Arthur praised the team, saying, "Tonight, I thought was our best bowling performance of the competition," Arthur said. "I thought we bowled really well, but I still thought we were under-par in terms of the runs that we had. We haven't put the perfect game together yet. It hasn't been for lack of effort, hasn't been for lack of trying, but we just haven't got enough players in form at the minute, particularly with the bat."
Currently, Pakistan have four points from six matches, thanks to their initial wins against the Netherlands and Sri Lanka. Despite the challenges faced by other teams vying for the top four, including Australia, Pakistan remain in the sixth position, just two points away from the semi-final spots.
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