Mickey Arthur issues stern warning to Pakistan's ODI team

Pakistan head coach Mickey Arthur has asked the underperforming stars in the ODI squad to raise their game or face the threat of being axed from the side. The Australian's stern warning comes in the wake of Pakistan’s defeat at the hands of England in the rain-affected first ODI with the hosts winning comfortably under the D/L method.

Speaking ahead of the second match of the five-match series which will be played at Lord’s on Saturday, Arthur said that he had conveyed to the 15-man squad currently playing in England that he would not hesitate to blood in youngsters from Pakistan’s domestic circuit should the team’s undesirable run of form in the 50-over format continue. His words seemed to be aimed particularly at senior batsman Mohammad Hafeez though he didn’t specifically name the 35-year-old and instead focussed his words on the older players in general.

"I said to the players this morning that nobody's safe. And if you're over 30 you've got to be coming to the table more often than not, otherwise it's an opportunity to blood some younger players. I'm telling no secrets, nobody is 100% safe in the ODI side and the guys know that. Everybody knows they're on notice,” Arthur said.

"I've actually started, the other night, going through potential players in Pakistan who can fulfil roles we think we're going to need to evolve. In the meantime, the 15 players we've got here, we've got to back, [and] give them the opportunity to stake their claim to be part of the Pakistan ODI squad going forward. We're going to build a team we think can compete in a year or two's time. The invitation is there to every player: step up or we'll find somebody else who can step up, it's as simple as that,” the former coach of the South African and Australian national team added.

Pakistan’s incredible rise to the top in Tests

While the Pakistan Test team are on cloud nine having achieved the No 1 ranking for the first time ever since the official rankings were introduced by the ICC in 2003, their ODI side are languishing in the ninth spot and are in danger of facing the embarrassment of having to play a qualifying tournament with the minnows of the game to secure a place in the 2019 World Cup, also to be played in England.

Arthur admitted that the rankings are a big cause for concern and asked the players to repay the confidence that has been shown by the selectors and the team management.

"Of course, it's a concern, Pakistan cricket should never be down at No. 9 in the world," Arthur said. "We need complete buy-in from the players, we have got to give them a lot of confidence and allow them to grow in the roles we've given them."

An area which Pakistan is particularly lacking in is the absence of power hitters who are capable of taking the match away from the opposition on their own. Arthur said that he wants his batsmen to play with more freedom and is seeking a radical change in approach in line with the needs of modern-day cricket.

"Everything I've heard was on view really," he said. "We've had a real good chat about it and got some ideas about how we can put it right. I've said to the boys we've got absolutely nothing to lose. I want to see the guys go out and express themselves, play with a bit of freedom. Playing the way we played the other night, we're behind the times."