Mohammad Yousuf under fire after Pakistan’s embarrassing defeat

By Rahul Bajaj
for Cricketain.com

Published: January 7, 2010

commentComment     Email This Post Email This Post     Printable version

Mohammad Yousuf under fire after Pakistan’s embarrassing defeat thumbnail

Karachi: Former Pakistan cricketers have launched a scathing attack on Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf after his team slumped to an embarrassing 36-run loss against Australia in the second test at Sydney.

Pakistan set a target of 176 runs to win as they allowed Australia to make a comeback into the game with a 123-runs ninth wicket stand between Michael Hussey and Peter Siddle, and were then bundled out for just 139 runs.

Pakistan’s disastrous performance on the fourth day of the match surprised everyone, with even the Australian commentators, including Riche Benaud, Ian Chappell, Mark Taylor, Shane Warne, Michael Slater and Tony Greig, expressing shock at the defensive approach adopted by Yousuf right from the beginning on the fourth day even though Australia were 8 wickets down and just 80 runs ahead.

“It is beyond comprehension what he was trying to do by sending around seven to eight fielders to the boundary ropes early on in the day at a time when he should have attacked both batsmen with the second new ball,” former Test captain and ex-chief selector Aamir Sohail said.

Sohail pointed out that by displaying such a negative mindset, Yousuf allowed Australia to get back into the Test and sent out a clear message that he neither had a confidence in his bowlers to take wickets nor in his batsmen to chase a big total.

Another former captain Moin Khan said that it was surprising to see Pakistan’s tactics when they had their noses in front at the beginning of the day.

“I don’t know what happened but I think even if Yousuf was not thinking right and his strategy was wrong after the first half an hour, the support staff, including coach Intikhab Alam, should have sent out a message to him to change his strategy,” Moin noted.

Former captain and commentator Rameez Raja said that Pakistan had lost its best opportunity in many years to beat Australia in their own backyard. “We should have been more attacking this morning. It was unacceptable that the ninth wicket pair batted through the extended pre-lunch session without being separated. It reflected poorly on the bowling although the field settings were strange,” he said.

Former batsman Basit Ali remarked that the defeat in Sydney has now opened the doors for an Australian clean sweep. “It is rare for a team to lose after bowling out the opposition for just 127 runs on the first day. I think it just shows that Yousuf still has a long way to go to learn the finer art of captaincy and there is no doubt Pakistan is missing the stable batting of Younis Khan and his positive thinking as a captain,” he said.

Tagged with: , , , , ,


WPSN comments




Related News Headlines

Cricketain Latest