We have to raise our game: under-fire Pakistan captain

NOTTINGHAM, England: Azhar Ali announced on Tuesday night that he wasn’t disheartened despite a back-breaking 169-run defeat against England that ended Pakistan’s hopes of bouncing back in the five-match series.

The Pakistan captain said that his team will try to quickly regroup in a bid to “play for respect” in the last two One-day Internationals in Leeds and Cardiff.

“The disappointment is there but I am not disheartened,” said Azhar whose bowlers were massacred by England as the hosts amassed a world 444-3 before cruising to a series-winning triumph at Trent Bridge on Tuesday.

“It’s always disappointing to lose like this,” said Azhar, whose own position both as captain and opener in the ODI side is under the microscope after Pakistan’s dismal run in the ODI series.

“We are not disheartened. Unfortunately we have not been able to produce the sort of game we needed to beat England.

“But we will have to somehow raise our game. We have to play for respect and with the awareness that every international match is important regardless of the outcome of the series.”

Pakistan were facing a must-win situation when they took the field at Trent Bridge after conceding a 0-2 lead but failed to put their best foot forward.

Azhar admitted that Pakistan were awful in the field after England opted to bat first on a batting paradise.

“We didn’t start well in the field. Once you have three or four fielding lapses straight away it doesn’t send a good message,” he said. “We didn’t set a good tone to start with. There’s no excuse for that.

“It’s basic stuff. You expect to field well in every game. We need to raise in all aspects of the game; batting, bowling and fielding. There were lapses everywhere.

“The wicket was really good and there were lots of runs in it, but 444 is a bit too much. A few no-balls and fielding lapses really cost us. Once the batsmen start going, it is hard to stop them. In the key times we missed chances, especially the wicket of Hales on 70.”

Pakistan are languishing at number nine in the ODI rankings though the team’s players and officials argue that they are much better than the rating suggests. However, the way they have performed in the ongoing series so far proves that the ranking isn’t really off the mark.

However, Azhar stressed that Pakistan are a better side than what their performance graph suggests.

“I still believe that we are not that bad but we need to learn quickly otherwise we’ll prove ourselves wrong. We have to raise our game,” he said.