CHENNAI: Pakistan team director Mickey Arthur warned against a “witch-hunt” after their World Cup dream suffered a likely fatal blow on Friday.
Pakistan slipped to a one-wicket loss at the hands of South Africa, their fourth defeat in six games in India.
They will have to win their remaining three matches and hope other results go their way if they are to sneak into the semifinals.
“They’re going to be blaming everybody, don’t worry. It’s just the way of the world,” said Arthur.
“It’s really unfair to start a witch-hunt, certainly on (captain) Babar Azam, on ‘Inzi’ (chief selector Inzamam-ul-Haq), on our coaches, on the management team.
“What I do know is the boys have tried and the effort of the coaching staff, the effort of the players has been first-class. If they would see the amount of effort that the players and staff put in, they would be amazed.”
Pakistan, who were ranked as the world’s top ODI team last month, won their first two games of the tournament.
However, they then slumped to defeats against arch-rivals India, Australia and Afghanistan before going down to the Proteas on Friday.
They made 270 with Saud Shakeel (52) and Babar Azam (50) in the runs before reducing South Africa from 206-4 to 250-8.
However, tailenders Keshav Maharaj and Tabraiz Shamsi, who had earlier taken 4-60, saw the Proteas home and to the top of the 10-nation table.
Aiden Markram had set the platform for victory with a fighting 91.
Before Friday’s match the Pakistan Cricket Board had released a statement stressing it had allowed Azam and Inzamam all powers to select the World Cup squad.
Arthur admitted Pakistan were below par in the tournament.
“Look I think at a World Cup you’ve got to be playing your best game at the right time,” said Arthur who took over earlier this year.
“Our form had sort of drifted off a little bit. And there’s various reasons. We talk about it every day as to what it could have been. But our form kind of drifted off. And again, we haven’t put the perfect games together.
“We’ve batted well, we haven’t bowled well. I do think our fielding standards have been average. So, there’s a lot of work that we need to put in and get to the standards required to win a World Cup.”
Arthur admitted Pakistan were short of a challenging total on Friday.
“I thought 300 was the par score but our bowlers had given us a real chance there and they’ve given it everything. It’s a really disappointed dressing room and our players, I know, we can be proud of tonight.”
Arthur said Pakistan showed off a fighting spirit against South Africa that was lacking in their shock eight-wicket defeat to Afghanistan last Monday.
“Tonight was a totally different feeling in that dressing room to the Afghanistan game,” said Arthur.
“In the Afghanistan game, we were average in all departments. Tonight, we were okay with the bat, I thought we were very good with the ball.
“And tonight, I’m really proud of those players because they fought right to the bitter end.”
Arthur warns against Pakistan ‘witch-hunt’ after World Cup flop
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Arthur warns against Pakistan ‘witch-hunt’ after World Cup flop
- Pakistan slipped to a one-wicket loss at the hands of South Africa, their fourth defeat in six games in India
- They will have to win remaining three matches, hope other results go their way if they are to go to semifinals
NEOM concede at the death for the second week in a row as Al-Taawoun salvage late draw
- NEOM narrowly lost to Al-Nassr 1-0 last weekend after Mohamed Simakan scored an injury-time winner
- Al-Taawoun followed up with a late equalizer by Mohammed Al-Kuwaykibi to deny them three points
RIYADH: The Saudi Pro League returned for Matchday 26, with the table beginning to take its final shape as the season enters its final quarter. The title contenders kick off on Friday and Saturday, but Thursday’s action focused on a clash between upper mid-table sides NEOM and Al-Taawoun, alongside three relegation-battlers — Al-Najma, Damac and Al-Kholood — attempting to improve their standings.
In Tabuk, NEOM played out a 2-2 draw with Al-Taawoun, this season’s surprise package under the returning Pericles Chamusca. After a brilliant start to the campaign that saw them spend much of the season in the top four, a poor run of just one win in their last eight games has followed.
Al-Taawoun’s late equaliser was vital in their bid to maintain a spot in the top five. With Al-Ittihad lurking just three points behind and yet to play this weekend, every point matters for the Wolves of Qassim. Regardless, it has become a painful second half of the season for Chamusca’s side, as they now sit 12 points behind the top four.
After a heroic performance from Luis Maximiano against Al-Nassr last weekend, NEOM were unfortunate to leave Riyadh empty-handed after conceding at the death. There were still plenty of positives from the defeat, as Christophe Galtier’s squad appear to have finally hit second gear this season.
Calm and collected against Al-Nassr, they repeated the same approach against Al-Taawoun. Knowing their opponents thrive on space in the transition, NEOM prevented them from accessing wingers Marin Petkov and Biel, leaving star striker Roger Martinez isolated for most of the match.
Amadou Koné and Abdoulaye Doucouré did their part to disrupt the centre of Al-Taawoun’s block, with the former driving forward and the latter drifting in between the lines to create the opener. In the 23rd minute, Al-Taawoun’s defence were pulled apart as Luciano Rodríguez met Doucouré’s precise through ball to slot home.
NEOM maintained their composure throughout the match, but it took a wonder strike from Martinez to bring the visitors level in the 70th minute, the Colombian producing a superb strike from distance.
It only took six minutes for NEOM to respond. Saïd Benrahma broke down the Al-Taawoun defence once again, releasing Alexandre Lacazette for a powerful finish to restore the hosts’ lead.
Despite the strong performance from NEOM, they ultimately fell victim to another late setback. Substitute Mohammed Al-Kuwaykibi surged down the flank in stoppage time before cutting inside and curling a precise finesse shot beyond Maximiano to salvage a point.
Elsewhere, Damac continued their resurgence under Fabio Carrille with a 3-1 victory over Al-Najma, who remain rooted to the bottom of the table. The win moves Damac six points clear of Al-Riyadh in the relegation zone, while Al-Najma sit 14 points from safety with eight matches remaining.
Meanwhile, Al-Hazem secured a late victory after Abdulaziz Al-Dwehe netted an 86th-minute winner in a 2-1 triumph over Al-Kholood. It was a frustrating night for the Saudi Pro League’s all-time leading scorer Omar Al-Somah, who missed a penalty for the winners in the 60th minute.
Saudi Pro League action resumes on Friday, with Al-Fayha hosting Al-Ettifaq and Al-Riyadh welcoming Al-Ittihad at 10:00pm. The headline fixture of the evening — kicking off at the same time — sees second-placed Al-Ahli travel to face fourth-placed Al-Qadsiah. Victory for Al-Ahli against tough opposition would strengthen their title push, while defeat for Al-Qadsiah could effectively end their unlikely championship hopes.
