ICC World Cup 2019 | It’s been a campaign of if’s and but’s, says Mickey Arthur
Mickey Arthur revealed that Pakistan’s ICC World Cup 2019 campaign was divided into two halves and didn’t end in a manner that they would have liked it to end. Pakistan just managed one win from their first five games but won the remaining four matches on the trot as they finished fifth.
The Pakistan cricket team were knocked out of the ongoing ICC World Cup 2019 on Friday despite winning their last group stage encounter against Mashrafe Mortaza-led Bangladesh. The 1992 winners needed victory by a record margin of at least 308 runs to finish fourth on a better net run-rate. An Imam ul-Haq century and 96 from Babar Azam saw Pakistan post a total of 315/9 before they dismissed Bangladesh for 221.
Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur had mixed feelings after his side’s topsy-turvy World Cup campaign ended on Friday.
"It hasn't ended as we would have liked to have ended it. It's been a campaign of ifs and buts. If we have a look through our first five games and we have a look through our last five, it's a campaign of two halves, which has been disappointing.
"I'd be lying if I said it wasn't a discussion. We won the toss, which was a good start. Getting 400 is a platform. The message we got from Fakhar (Zaman) when he came back in the change room was it was slow and tough to score," Arthur was quoted as saying by AFP sources.
Arthur admitted a seven-wicket defeat against the West Indies in the first game hurt his team badly but gave the team credit for defeating hosts England and 2015 World Cup runner-ups New Zealand.
"If we go back, the West Indies game, the first game of the tournament, when you lose like we lost, it's almost impossible to get back on net run rate, that was disappointing. It's nice to sit here and know we've beaten two of those top four teams during our campaign, which shows we are not a mile off in terms of where we are as a cricket team," he said.
The former South Africa cricketer heaped praise on Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed who did enough to keep the morale high in the Pakistan dressing room after the embarrassing loss to arch-rivals India.
"I must say that I'd just like to credit the captain, Sarfaraz. What he was exposed to after the Indian game was atrocious as a Pakistan cricket captain, as any captain of any cricket team.
"The way he held his composure, the way he led from the front, the way his work ethic never, ever changed. I think he's been an inspiration to that dressing room, and I think Sarfaraz deserves a lot of credit for this," Arthur added.
