Table of Contents
Pakistan cricket is in the news again for the wrong reasons. Instead of providing the team with a stable environment, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) turned the situation chaotic for them by snubbing seven cricketers from the Test team, along with the head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and fast bowler Umar Gul.
Former Australia National Cricket Team opener Matthew Hayden, who worked for the Pakistan National Cricket Team before as their batting coach and mentor, is well aware of the working culture inside the Pakistan cricket team. Hayden said in a podcast recently that nothing has changed much in the Pakistan cricket team from his time with the team to now.
Matthew Hayden was the batting coach and mentor of the Pakistan cricket team
With Matthew Hayden on staff, the Men in Green enjoyed some promising times across formats, especially in white-ball cricket. The former Aussie batter was appointed as the team's batting coach ahead of the 2021 ICC T20 World Cup.
With him as the batting coach, the Babar Azam-led team reached the semi-finals. In the following year, PCB appointed Hayden as the mentor, and the team reached the finals.
In a recent discussion, Matthew Hayden compared the environment inside the Pakistan cricket team to a pressure cooker, as the players seem to be under immense pressure all the time.
"I really enjoy and enjoyed my time working with Pakistan. Nothing’s changed, though. You know, that is always the trouble. That’s not an environment, you know; a pressure cooker is an environment for the middle, not for all the other peripheral things that happen outside. And it’s just too difficult an environment to be consistent because this is the formula,” Hayden said on the Wisden Cricket podcast.
It’s always in chaos: Matthew Hayden says on Pakistan cricket
The former cricketer noted that there is no lack of talent in Pakistan, but the lack of focus never allows the team to move forward. Whether it was 2021 or 2026, things on and off the field for the Pakistan cricket team seem to be unmoved from the problems they should get rid of, as Matthew Hayden believed.
"Pakistan are always dark horses, because their natural talent is phenomenal. I mean, anyone who can see athletic ability can see that Pakistan has an abundance of it. The trouble is, it never gets focussed because it’s never allowed to get focussed. It’s always in chaos," Hayden added.
"They’re always standing on one toe, let alone two feet. So there’s no grounding. And that’s, you know, something that I did enjoy doing in the short time that I was with Pakistan. It’s just getting things back on an even keel and not so frantic. So it’s very difficult for them."
Pakistan to play another match vs England
Currently, the Pakistan cricket team is in England for the third match of the three-match Test series against the home side. After removing players like Salman Ali Agha, Mohammad Rizwan, and Imam-ul-Haq, the touring team will have to make changes in their playing eleven for the Test match in Birmingham.
After two matches, the England cricket team is leading the series by 2-0, with the opportunity to whitewash Pakistan. In the final match of the series, the Babar Azam-led team needs to bounce back to justify their legacy.
