Shan Masood urges Pakistan bowlers to learn from England
What's the story
Pakistan's Test captain, Shan Masood, has asked his team's bowlers to take a leaf out of their England counterparts' book after suffering a shocking defeat in the first Multan Test. Although four out of the five English bowlers had never played First-Class games in Pakistan, they pulled off a remarkable victory on the final day. And that too on an unresponsive, flat pitch.
Historic defeat
England's victory sets new record in cricket history
The magnitude of England's victory was such that it set a new record in cricket history. Pakistan became the first team to suffer an innings defeat after scoring over 500 runs in their first innings. This is a record that is unlikely to be broken soon. Despite their frontline bowlers, Shaheen Afridi, Naseem Shah, Aamir Jamal, and Abrar Ahmed on the field, Pakistan could only dismiss seven English batters for a whopping 823 runs.
Captain's insight
Masood reflects on team's performance and future strategy
After Pakistan's sixth consecutive defeat under him, Masood pondered over the team's performance. He stressed his bowlers need to learn from England if they want to turn their fortunes around. "Harsh reality is that England found a way after being under sun for two days and being 556 runs behind and we did not," he said after the loss. "They picked 10 wickets to give themselves a chance to bat and bat big."
Mental strength
Masood dismisses psychological block theory
When asked if a psychological block is stopping Pakistani batters from doing well in the second innings, Masood rejected the idea. He rather asked his bowlers to raise their game. "I wouldn't say my team is weak mentally," he said, adding the third innings can be termed as a collapse but it doesn't mean everything has gone wrong.
Committee reshuffle
PCB announces changes in selection committee post-defeat
In the wake of an innings and 47 runs defeat, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced a "recomposition" of the selection committee. The newly formed committee includes former international elite umpire Aleem Dar, Aaqib Javed, and Azhar Ali joining Asad Shafiq, Hasan Cheema, along with the coach and captain. Their first task is to select the squad for the remaining matches of this series as Pakistan had only named a squad for the first Multan Test.