ISLAMABAD: Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur says it’s time to move on from captain Sarfraz Ahmed’s four-match ban for a racial taunt and concentrate on finalizing the team for the Cricket World Cup.
Sarfraz was reaffirmed on Tuesday as captain to the end of the World Cup in July, despite the Pakistan Cricket Board saying its policy was to name the captain on a series-to-series basis.
Pakistan media have questioned the Sarfraz decision, including whether it was a political riposte at the ICC for banning Sarfraz. Private broadcaster Geo News wondered whether the PCB did a U-turn or succumbed to pressure from unnamed quarters.
On the national team’s return on Friday from the tour of South Africa, Arthur said PCB chairman Ehsan Mani talked with him and chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq before reappointing Sarfraz as captain.
“We’ve made that decision because we are very comfortable with Sarfraz leading this team forward,” Arthur said in Lahore. “There’s clarity, there’s no more speculation.”
Sarfraz was banned for racially taunting South Africa all rounder Andile Phehlukwayo in an ODI last month in Durban. He returned home and missed the last two one-day internationals and the entire three-match Twenty20 series.
“What he did was wrong and it was worked through,” Arthur said. “Saffy took it on the chin, he apologized, he moved forward, everything was handled properly.”
Arthur believed Sarfraz’s main job is wicketkeeping, and he was not worried about his captain’s dip in batting form.
“He (Sarfraz) has dropped eight balls in four and a half months, so he is not out of form in his core job,” Arthur said. “I’m not, and I want to reiterate, not worried about Sarfraz Ahmed’s (batting) form.”
Pakistan lost the test, ODI, and T20 series in South Africa.
While Arthur acknowledged Pakistan needed to improve a lot in test matches, he was disappointed to lose the ODIs 3-2 and the T20s 2-1.
“We thought we were as good as South Africa in those conditions,” he said.
Arthur criticized the test pitches as none of the games went to the fifth day. But Arthur said Pakistan was not the only team which has struggled in South Africa.
“I don’t think there’s any coincidence that no Asian team has won a test series in South Africa,” he said. “So we know we’ve got a lot of work to do with our test side.”
He picked out Babar Azam for praise, for becoming the batting mainstay in white-ball cricket.
“South Africa is the toughest place to bat ... to see Babar Azam’s development across all formats on this tour was simply amazing and I think was something to be proud,” he said.
The South African-born Arthur said he had a pool of about 20 players from which the final 15 will be picked for the Cricket World Cup in England and Wales.
“We’re probably ahead of lot of other teams ... we have condensed our pool and now have to finalize it after the Australia tour (in March), so we are pretty much on track.”
Coach backs Sarfraz to lead Pakistan at Cricket World Cup
Coach backs Sarfraz to lead Pakistan at Cricket World Cup
- Arthur said that PCB chairman had discussed reappointment with him prior to taking the decision
- Pakistan's media questions whether move was a political riposte at the ICC
Rodrygo’s winner lifts Real Madrid past Alaves to end losing streak
- The victory keeps Real second in the standings on 39 points, four adrift of Barcelona, while Alaves are 12th on 18 points
VITORIA-GASTEIZ, Spain: Rodrygo secured Real Madrid a crucial 2-1 victory over Deportivo Alaves on Sunday in LaLiga, ending a dismal run of form and keeping them within four points of leaders Barcelona.
Real, under pressure after two straight losses in all competitions, broke the deadlock through Kylian Mbappe’s stunning first-half strike.
However, a resilient Alaves levelled in the 68th minute through Carlos Vicente. The visitors restored their lead eight minutes later, courtesy of a counter-attack led by Vinicius Jr, whose assist was converted by Rodrygo.
The victory keeps Real second in the standings on 39 points, four adrift of Barcelona, while Alaves are 12th on 18 points.
The narrow triumph in the Basque Country provided manager Xabi Alonso with much-needed breathing space after a run of two wins from their previous eight matches across all competitions.
Sunday’s victory demonstrated Real’s resilience and ongoing weaknesses. Despite taking a 24th-minute lead through Mbappe’s spectacular strike, they found themselves outplayed by an Alaves side roared on by a sold-out Mendizorrotza stadium.
Mbappe had opened the scoring in trademark fashion after Jude Bellingham threaded a long pass to the French forward, who ran down the left channel before cutting inside and unleashing a bullet strike into the top corner from the edge of the box.
Despite Real’s early lead, Alaves grew dominant as the first half progressed. The hosts pressured Real’s makeshift defense, which featured 19-year-old academy graduate Victor Valdepenas in his senior debut at left back.
Alaves’ pressure was eventually rewarded in the 68th minute when substitute Vicente, introduced moments earlier, latched onto Antonio Blanco’s long ball and surged past Real’s high defensive line to finish into the top corner.
Initially flagged offside, Vicente’s goal was awarded after a VAR review confirmed the forward had timed his run perfectly.
Real’s winner came as Vinicius wrestled past a defender on the left flank before driving into the penalty area and delivering a low cross, finding Rodrygo, who slid in to steer the ball home from close range.
“It was a tough, very competitive match,” Alonso told a press conference.
“We started well and took the lead, but then we lost control and, as a result, we didn’t finish well. We had chances in the second half, but we conceded from the only mistake Valdepenas made and Carlos Vicente took advantage of that, after a great pass.
“But the team continued to fight hard, battling it out in a difficult stadium against a very intense opponent. That second goal gave us the three points and we’re leaving here very happy.”
