Arthur ‘incredibly disappointed’ after Headingley defeat

Cricket365
June 4, 2018

Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur says he was “incredibly disappointed” with the way his team folded against England in the second Test at Headingley.

The tourists lost the game by an innings and 55 runs inside three days as they could not back up their performance from the first Test at Lord’s.

It was really the batsmen that let Pakistan down at Headingley with totals of 174 and 134 as England bounced back to draw the two-match series.

Arthur told Sky Sports after the game: “I am incredibly disappointed to be brutally honest. It was a poor display from us, coming off the back of such a high at Lord’s.

“It’s all about trying to get this consistency right and trying to get us playing in the right style and manner, so I’m incredibly disappointed with what we’ve dished up here.

“We’ll talk about it and have a hard discussion right now but as long as that dressing room has learned from it, it’s a young team and we can grow, and grow quicker.”

The former Proteas mentor came to England with a very inexperienced squad, especially in the batting department, with only four players still remaining from the last time they toured the UK in 2016.

However, Arthur says his side can take valuable lesson from the big defeat and learn from it moving forward.

Arthur continued: “The guys are feeling what it’s like to play tough Test cricket over an extended period, a lot of guys haven’t done that before.

“But our expectation is more, it’s better than that. They will take it on the chin tonight, and they will hopefully grow and learn from it.

“Inconsistency is something that comes with a young team, however hard that is to take at the moment for all of us,” he said. “[At Lord’s] they were patient, they committed to defence, committed to attack and showed good intent.

“We got the balance wrong here. We weren’t as disciplined, we weren’t as patient in this first innings especially.”