ICC World Cup | To be brutally honest, Pakistan haven't played to potential, says Mickey Arthur
The Hindu
Pakistan must win both games and rely on other results to reach semis; Mickey Arthur says team hasn't played to full potential; need to strike balance between batting, bowling, fielding; Arthur not buying parallel with 1992 World Cup; players remain calm despite stressful situation; must respect NZ, factor in NRR; Arthur won't give players all info until right time.
Pakistan's chances of entering the World Cup semifinals hangs by a slim thread, and Director of Cricket Mickey Arthur on November 3 made a blunt assessment of his side's performance terming it well below par.
The former champions are in a must-win situation against New Zealand on November 4 and against England at Eden Gardens on November 11, and they also need some other results to go their way to reach the last four stage.
"I'll be brutally honest. I don't think we've played to our full potential in this tournament. I thought the Bangladesh game (on October 31 at Kolkata) is the first game where we actually put a complete game together. I just hope that's not too late for us," remarked Arthur during the pre-match press conference.
Arthur said not being able to strike a balance between the three faculties of the game — batting, bowling and fielding — has been the bane of Pakistan in this tournament.
"We batted beautifully, bowled beautifully, and fielded beautifully (against Bangladesh), which in all the other games, we've done one or two disciplines OK, but our other disciplines let us down.
"So, I'd like to think we're peaking, but the preparation and attitude of the guys will get better every day, that has been exceptional. I can't fault anybody in terms of that," he said.
From the outside, a lot of people have been trying to find a parallel between Pakistan's run in this World Cup and the one they had under Imran Khan in 1992, where they survived heart-stopping moments to emerge champions.
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