Pakistan’s 0-3 ODI Series Loss To 2nd String England Side A Very Worrying Sign For Me: Misbah-Ul-Haq

Pakistan head coach Misbah-Ul-Haq called the team’s recent whitewash in the three-one-day international match series against second string England team, a worrying sign for him. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had to conjure up a new team after the first-choice squad had to isolate following several COVID positive cases.

This led to the ECB calling Ben Stokes to captain the new-look England squad for the three ODIs against Pakistan which had 9 uncapped players. Many thought it would be a cakewalk for Babar Azam’s men and predicted 3-0 whitewash as well. However, what happened was just humiliation for the visitors.

Pakistan was routed for 141 runs in the 1^st ODI and lost the match by 9 wickets. In the second match, they restricted England to 248 runs but fell 56 runs short of the target while chasing. In the third ODI, Babar Azam’s career-best 158 and half-centuries from Imam-Ul-Haq and Mohammad Rizwan took them to 331/9 batting first.

However, the bowlers performed poorly as James Vince’s maiden ODI century and a half-century from Lewis Gregory took England to a brilliant 3-wicket win.

I Don’t Know Why The Team Was Totally Off-Color In This Series And Lost Its Momentum: Misbah-Ul-Haq

Misbah, who has been under fire for the team’s performances of late against the top tier teams, said that he had no idea why the Pakistan team lost momentum and was totally off-color in the ODI series against England, but it was a sign of worry for him as a head coach.

“We were satisfied that we were on the right track after doing well in the recent series but this series has unsettled us. It looks like we are standing from where we started but we have to find a way to move forward. I don’t know why the team was totally off-color in this series and lost its momentum but it is a very worrying sign for me as head coach. How can one defend such a performance? No one can defend our performance and I think as a team we are all responsible be it the players, coaches or support staff,” Misbah told a virtual press conference.

“I don’t understand but we just lost our momentum coming into this series. But I believe we can definitely compete against the top four teams and we have done well in the past against South Africa at home and away,” he added.

England Has A Great Back Up And The Luxury Of A Strong Pool Of Players: Misbah-Ul-Haq Praises The Opponents

The former Pakistan captain was all praises for the opponents England who came on top despite not having any of their top choice players for the series and had Ben Stokes coming early from his injury layoff to captain the side.

“First of all England has a great back up and the luxury of a strong pool of players we don’t have. England had choices for this series and we have limitations at certain positions especially in the middle order spaces where no one has settled down for a while,” he said.

Pakistan will now face a full-fledged England team for the three-match T20I series which begins from July 16 onwards in Nottingham.

Also Read: Babar Azam Responds To Shoaib Akhtar’s Statement That Pakistan Team Have No Star Players