Playing more Test cricket will help improve batting – Inzamam

Playing less Test cricket has been a reason behind Pakistan cricket team’s unimpressive show over the past one year, believes the newly appointed national batting consultant Inzamam-ul-Haq.


Pakistan team endured an unimpressive run in 2012. The Misbah-ul-Haq led contingent has so far played 16 completed One Day Internationals this year, losing six out of eight while defending their total while failed to chase down a set target on four instances out of eight. While batting first, the Pakistan batsmen managed to cross the 200-run mark seven times, winning on two occasions. On the other hand, when chasing a target of 200 plus, they managed to win only once out of five.

Haq, one of the Pakistan’s most successful batsmen of all time, agreed that Pakistan batsmen lacked in temperament over the last 12 months, especially while chasing. However, he blamed the proliferation of T20 matches and lack of Test cricket for Pakistan batsmen’s inability to stay longer at the wicket.

"For the last two years we’ve not played a lot of cricket and the batsmen are lacking in temperament due to T20 cricket,” Inzamam, a veteran of 120 Tests and 378 One Day Internationals, said of Pakistan’s batting issues.

"Flaws in our players are down to us not playing on a regular basis. If we start playing 10-12 Test matches every year, you will obviously see an improvement in our batting. As more we play cricket, the more players will learn from it," added the former skipper.

The former Multan veteran also cited the lack of quality cricket in Pakistan for the team’s poor show of late. Pakistan has been a no go zone for major international cricket teams over the past four years, since the militant attacks on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore in March 2009.

Inzamam, 42, was appointed as the national batting consultant on Thursday. The upcoming tour of India will be his first assignment in the new role. The veteran top-order batsman said that the team that would handle the pressure well in the high-voltage Indo-Pak series would emerge the winner.

The Men in Green are scheduled to play two T20 Internationals and three ODIs against their archrivals between December 25 and January 6, 2013. Inzamam also tipped bowling as Pakistan’s strength going into the India series.