Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur calls for return of his 'warriors' ahead of third Test against England
Pakistan take on England in the third Test at Edgbaston on 3 August.
Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur has called for a return of his "warriors" as the visitors prepare to face the hosts in the third Test which begins on 3 August at Birmingham. The tourists won the first game comfortably by 75-runs, but were brought down in the second Test, when the Three Lions thrashed them by 330 runs to square the series.
Arthur, admitted he was really disappointed by his side's performance at Old Trafford, warning his players that they will need to raise their game considerably if they are to emerge victorious in the third Test which starts on Wednesday.
"We're going to have to raise our game considerably from Old Trafford, without a doubt. I was really disappointed with our performance-really disappointed, with the way we lost there. There are credible losses and there are losses when you lie down and were stream rolled. Old Trafford was clearly that," Arthur said, as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.
"At Lord's we were upbeat and played with real spirit. We had that edge. I told the guys, I thought we were warriors at Lord's. But we were completely the opposite at Old Trafford. I wasn't sure if it was as if we had reached our goal and our goal was to come and win a Test and then take your foot off the pedal," the South African added.
The biggest concern for the visitors has been the form of their openers, with Shan Masood and Mohammad Hafeez not contributing consistently which has led to a lot of pressure being put on the middle order. While he conceded that the current side can be improved, he stressed that he will not be forced into selecting Umar Akmal or Ahmed Shehzad until they can demonstrate that they "buy into" the values of the team.
Akmal and Shehzad were left out of the probable list for the tour to England due to poor form and indiscipline. The duo are currently playing in the 2016 edition of the Caribbean Premier League, with the selectors not giving any indication on when they will return to the squad.
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