Misbah: Performances like that can dent you

2015 World Cup

Cricket365
February 22, 2015

Pakistan captain Misbah-ul-Haq has not spared anybody in his side from criticism, blaming the batting, bowling, and fielding, after they convincingly lost to the West Indies on Saturday to record their second defeat in as many matches at the World Cup.

After winning the toss at the Hagley Oval in Christchurch, Misbah bowled first in the hope that his bowlers would exploit the early morning seam conditions.

The move seemed to pay dividends when the Caribbean Islanders were reduced to 28 for two, but then dropped catches and poor bowling allowed the West Indies to rack up an impressive total of 310 for six in their 50 overs.

Pakistan then got off to a shocking start in their run-chase, at one stage they had only one run on the board with four wickets down, then were five wickets down for 25.

They could never recover from that poor start and succumbed to a 150-run defeat, leaving them with much to ponder after also going down to rivals India in their opening match last Sunday.

When asked what went wrong, Misbah said after the match: "Everything, I think, in all three departments. We couldn't bowl well, a lot of dropped catches.

"At the end of the day as a batsman, a bowler and a fielder you have to perform. As a team, as players we need to pick ourselves up and we need to perform.

"Performances like that can dent you, damage you. We need to really recover mentally and think about our game. This is how World Cups are. You have to pick yourself up, think about your strategies, think about where you can improve."