Rashid Latif criticises PCB after Pakistan’s 194-run Lord’s defeat
Former Pakistan wicketkeeper-batter Rashid Latif on Sunday, August 30 criticised the Pakistan Cricket Board, selection committee and coaching staff after Pakistan were beaten by 194 runs by England at Lord’s in the second Test of the three-match series.
The loss handed England an unassailable 2-0 lead in the series and extended Pakistan’s difficult run on their tour of the UK. Pakistan’s batting has been singled out as the main problem: the visitors have not reached 200 in any innings across the first two Tests and their overall performances have attracted criticism from the British media.
Latif said he agreed with suggestions that this is the "worst Pakistan side in the last 50 years" but argued the players should not shoulder all of the blame, directing his primary criticism at administrators and support staff. "Everyone is talking about the Pakistan team, and how it is the worst touring team in the last 50 years. But nobody is speaking about how the current board is the worst in the last 70 years. Nobody is talking about the worst selection committee and coaches," Latif said on Geo News.
He expanded that case in a second comment: "If you combine these issues, you will get the answer to your question. You will know who has ruined this team. Now you are losing consistently. This is the worst cricket board, that's a fact," he added.
Babar Azam, who missed the opening Test, returned for the Lord’s match but was unable to bolster the fragile batting line-up, scoring eight and six. His second-innings dismissal came when Jofra Archer produced a sharp short ball that the Pakistan batter failed to handle.
The Lord’s Test was also played amid controversy after Sky Sports broadcast an 18-minute interview with Imran Khan’s sons that focused on the former Pakistan captain and prime minister’s situation in jail. Reports said the PCB had threatened to pull out of the Lord’s Test over the broadcast, but both Babar and head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed denied Pakistan had considered withdrawing from the match.
Pakistan now prepare for the third and final Test at Edgbaston in Birmingham, which begins on September 9, with the series already lost and the visitors aiming to avoid a 3-0 whitewash and finish the tour on a positive note.