Dissecting Pak batting
From Pragya Tiwari Dhaka: March 5, 2016, DHNS
The struggles of Pakistan batsmen in the ongoing Asia Cup made for an ungainly sight and batting coach Grant Flower, for one, is not ducking the reality.
The former Zimbabwean traces the ills afflicting the Pakistan batting to its domestic structure and the tendency of the national players to crumble under pressure. While the Pakistani pacers have done well, their batsmen floundered on the seaming conditions that hastened their exit from the tournament. Their shock defeat at the hands of Bangladesh would hurt them for long. Flower, who was known for his batting skills and left-arm spin, also feels that Pakistani batsmen can learn a lot from Virat Kohli.
“In things we are lacking, dealing with the pressure is probably one of the biggest factors. I try and work on that, I try to speak with the guys. But once you are on the ground, it’s your own skill factor and whether you could negate the skills of the bowler,” Flower told Deccan Herald.
“In this tournament our top order has failed quite repeatedly but quite a few of the top orders have also struggled in these pitches. We have also been struggling to find all-rounders for a while now.”
During his tenure, Flower, 45, has found the pitches and balls used in the Pakistan domestic circuit as “second grade".
“Batting is quite technical. Here the pitches they play on and the balls they used are second grade and not proper kookaburra balls. The type of cricket balls that are used in Pakistan domestic cricket is not nearly good enough for first class cricket which I don’t think lead to good technique and preparing the players,” revealed Flower, who is based in Lahore.
“If the ball is keeping low or bouncing unusually high and if you are playing on substandard pitches then I don’t think that is going to help. From what I gathered speaking to players and domestic coaches is that these things don’t get addressed.”
Pakistan will be returning home Saturday morning and after a three-day break would be reaching India for the World T20. How does he plan to motivate the side? Flower states the example of Kohli.
“I personally believe that it comes down to your preparations, practice and lifestyle. If you look at Virat Kohli, you will see how professional he is and how driven he is towards his fitness etc.. Everyone follow these things but Virat is the best player in world because he has taken everything he does to a new level. So he is a great example to follow,” he said.
“So it is up to our players to find their own motivations and ways to deal with their own pressures. If they get their preparations right, keeping in mind the above factors, then they have got a chance.”
He, however, vouches for quality in the side but feels the selection has been hampered due to politics in the system. “They are exciting players. We have Mohammad Hafeez who is hugely talented. Umar Akmal is very dangerous, he had a brilliant PSL and he was playing among a group of very talented players. Opener Sharjeel Khan is also good. However, due to politics and selection policies, a lot of players don’t know where they are. It is very up and down. But I am not a selector, so I can’t comment,” he said.
“But it is a very inconsistent selection. I don’t think our selectors see eye to eye, I think there is a lot of politics involved, but I suppose that happens in a lot of countries.”
The former Zimbabwean traces the ills afflicting the Pakistan batting to its domestic structure and the tendency of the national players to crumble under pressure. While the Pakistani pacers have done well, their batsmen floundered on the seaming conditions that hastened their exit from the tournament. Their shock defeat at the hands of Bangladesh would hurt them for long. Flower, who was known for his batting skills and left-arm spin, also feels that Pakistani batsmen can learn a lot from Virat Kohli.
“In things we are lacking, dealing with the pressure is probably one of the biggest factors. I try and work on that, I try to speak with the guys. But once you are on the ground, it’s your own skill factor and whether you could negate the skills of the bowler,” Flower told Deccan Herald.
“In this tournament our top order has failed quite repeatedly but quite a few of the top orders have also struggled in these pitches. We have also been struggling to find all-rounders for a while now.”
During his tenure, Flower, 45, has found the pitches and balls used in the Pakistan domestic circuit as “second grade".
“Batting is quite technical. Here the pitches they play on and the balls they used are second grade and not proper kookaburra balls. The type of cricket balls that are used in Pakistan domestic cricket is not nearly good enough for first class cricket which I don’t think lead to good technique and preparing the players,” revealed Flower, who is based in Lahore.
“If the ball is keeping low or bouncing unusually high and if you are playing on substandard pitches then I don’t think that is going to help. From what I gathered speaking to players and domestic coaches is that these things don’t get addressed.”
Pakistan will be returning home Saturday morning and after a three-day break would be reaching India for the World T20. How does he plan to motivate the side? Flower states the example of Kohli.
“I personally believe that it comes down to your preparations, practice and lifestyle. If you look at Virat Kohli, you will see how professional he is and how driven he is towards his fitness etc.. Everyone follow these things but Virat is the best player in world because he has taken everything he does to a new level. So he is a great example to follow,” he said.
“So it is up to our players to find their own motivations and ways to deal with their own pressures. If they get their preparations right, keeping in mind the above factors, then they have got a chance.”
He, however, vouches for quality in the side but feels the selection has been hampered due to politics in the system. “They are exciting players. We have Mohammad Hafeez who is hugely talented. Umar Akmal is very dangerous, he had a brilliant PSL and he was playing among a group of very talented players. Opener Sharjeel Khan is also good. However, due to politics and selection policies, a lot of players don’t know where they are. It is very up and down. But I am not a selector, so I can’t comment,” he said.
“But it is a very inconsistent selection. I don’t think our selectors see eye to eye, I think there is a lot of politics involved, but I suppose that happens in a lot of countries.”
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