Fifth bowler option let us down: Yousuf

ISLAMABAD: The fifth bowler option and fall of a cluster of wickets from a relatively strong position resulted in Pakistan’s downfall in the opening one-dayer against New Zealand in Napier, said batting coach Mohammad Yousuf in a post-match media talk.

He said that conceding 118 runs in 10 overs for the fifth bowler option was too many. “That helped the New Zealand team to post such a huge total. Otherwise, I think we could have restricted them to less than 300 which was easily chaseable.”

Yousuf also blamed a cluster of wickets falling at a crucial time as the deciding factor in the match. “We were heading for victory when Babar and Salman Ali Agha were playing. Salman’s arrival picked up the run-scoring momentum and we were well on our way to achieve even this target. Then we started losing wickets one after another which hampered our progress. We lost too many wickets from a relatively strong position to hand over the initiative back to the home team.”

Yousuf also blamed bowlers for conceding too many extras. “Conceding over 40 extras is something that we have to avoid in future,” he said. Yousuf said that the management would have to consider the fifth bowler option to keep up the pressure on the opposition.