ISLAMABAD: Pakistan cricket team’s head coach Mike Hesson has expressed satisfaction over the team’s overall performance in the first Test match against Sri Lanka.
He said Pakistan maintained superiority over the opposition in most parts of the match. He praised debutant Saqib Khan, who took seven wickets, along with other young players.
Speaking at a press conference at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Hesson said that after losing the toss, it was not easy to bat in overcast conditions and bad light, however, Pakistani players performed well even in difficult conditions.
He said that Tayyab Arif batted well in the first innings, while Mohammad Taha faced pressure in the best manner in both innings. Arafat Minhas’s half-century and Saqib Khan’s seven wickets are also praiseworthy.
Praising wicketkeeper-batter Ghazi Ghouri, he said that besides taking six catches, he did world-class wicketkeeping behind the stumps and also scored runs with the bat.
To a question about Saud Shakeel repeatedly falling in the nervous nineties, Hesson said he is satisfied with his performance, reaching 90 runs is also a good performance and he does not consider it a problem. Sometimes the pitch and playing conditions also affect batting.
He said that Babar Azam has been outstanding in Test cricket this year with an average of over 50, and among players who have played more than 10 innings, he has the highest average, so it is not correct to call his performance a problem.
On a question about Pakistan’s batting speed and match strategy, Hesson said that Pakistan scored at a rate of 3.6 runs per over, however, batting was difficult due to bad light, overcast conditions and the ball swinging. The decision to declare the first innings shows that the team was keen to win the match and take all 20 wickets of Sri Lanka.
Hesson said that the use of the pink ball could be considered for holding Test matches in Pakistan in the future, however, it would require prior preparation by the teams and proper availability of the balls, so it is not possible to suddenly change the ball during the ongoing series.