Mickey Arthur defends Babar Azam, Inzamam after backlash

Mickey Arthur, the director of the Pakistan cricket team, came forward Friday to defend his players and management against the criticism terming it “unfair”.

In a post-match press conference, Arthur expressed his disappointment over the blame game that has started back home after the Men in Green's poor run in the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup 2023.

With four consecutive losses out of six matches played in the 10-team tournament, the team has created a new record of losing four matches in a row in the World Cup's history, leaving fans and experts puzzled, as the team was once considered world-class just a few months ago.

Amid the criticism of the team, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) had also distanced itself from the selection matters, saying “Captain Babar Azam and chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq were given freedom and support in forming the squad for the ICC World Cup 2023.”

Replying to a question about the backlash, Arthur defended the players and the management staff.

"It's really unfair to start a witch hunt, certainly on Babar Azam, on Inzi, on our coaches, on the management team. What I do know is that the boys have tried, and the effort of the coaching staff, the effort of the players has been first-class."

Arthur, however, conceded that the players didn’t perform the way they should have.

"Yeah, look to be brutally honest, we haven't put together the perfect game yet. I don't think we've batted well enough yet as a unit."

"I think that pitch, certainly par on that pitch, is 300 at least," he said admitting that Pakistan's batting couldn't put enough runs on board against South Africa.

"We haven't put together enough runs. And then we haven't put together a bowling performance that goes with it. So tonight, I thought it was our best bowling performance in the competition. Thought we bowled really well, but I still thought we were under par in terms of the runs that we had," Arthur lamented.

Reflecting on the team's performance and their gradual decline from the top ranking, Arthur acknowledged the need for improvement.

"Yeah, look, I think at a World Cup, you've got to be playing your best game at the right time. Our form had sort of drifted off a little bit. And there are various reasons. We talk about it every day as to what it could have been. But our form kind of drifted off."

However, despite the loss against South Africa, Arthur expressed his pride in the team's effort.

"It's a really disappointed dressing room, and our players, I know, can be proud of tonight because they've given it their best shot. And that's all you can ask."

When questioned about the team's prospects for reaching the semi-finals, Arthur remained cautiously optimistic.

"You never know. What I do know is that we need to go and assess combinations again. We need to have a look at the holes we have within our team. We need to start improving in many areas, and we've got to go home and finish this tournament with three victories."

Arthur also addressed the batting concerns, emphasising the importance of converting good starts into substantial scores.

"We've had players get in. We've had players get started. We haven't had players go through it. And I thought, I don't think we managed the last five overs particularly well tonight."