Arthur left frustrated by batsmen again

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Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur would be pulling his hair out if he had any left after Pakistan’s disappointing start to the T20I series against New Zealand.

Arthur along with skipper Sarfaraz Ahmed laid into the batsmen after they suffered an ODI series whitewash and looked on as Pakistan slumped to 105 all out in Wellington.

The drop-in pitch was not the best surface in the world but reckless batting from the top order that left the tourists 38 for 6 would be a source of huge frustration for Arthur.

After a week of shaking things up in training Arthur had expected to see an improvement from his charges but was disappointed.

Speaking after the defeat at Wellington’s Westpac Stadium Arthur said:  “We tried to shake things up and trained in different ways to try and get the best out of our top order but again it didn’t happen. Incredibly frustrating.”

“We just didn’t play well enough. The cross batted shots weren’t the option and we need to assess the conditions better. We went out looking to get 180 when 140 was probably going to be enough. That’s inexperience and it showed.”

The Westpac Stadium is usually used for rugby and as such uses a drop-in pitch with the Basin Reserve in Wellington unable to house the numbers that New Zealand Cricket want to see at T20 Internationals.

Arthur said of the pitch: “I’m not sure it was a great wicket…. but it wasn’t a 105 all out wicket.”

Pakistan now face a must-win match against the Black Caps in Auckland on Thursday.

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