Cricket standards

The Pakistan cricket team and the PCB should be lauded for the resounding victory over Australia in the second test match in the UAE. While it was a treat to watch the Pakistani team performing exceptionally well, there are a few issues that should be looked into. The fielding of our team doesn’t meet the international standard. For teams around the world, catches win matches. But in our case, dropped catches help our opponents seal the victory. It is also observed that our players lack patience and concentration.

The batsmen become either too nervous if they have a shaky start and lose wicket or too careless and overconfident and start playing risky shots which result in the fall of wicket. They need to learn that it is important to stay on the wicket and keep the scoreboard moving. The lack of understanding between batsmen while running between the wickets is another problematic area. This lack of coordination and understanding often results in absurd run outs such as that of Azhar Ali in the second test. Our players need to work hard on the issues highlighted for better and consistent results.

Raja Shafaatullah ( Islamabad )