Mike Hesson, Pakistan’s head coach, hopes that the big changes he has made to the squad will help Pakistan get past the usual chaos and perform much better against England in the third and final Test next week in Birmingham.
Pakistan lost the opening match at Headingley by an innings and 103 runs. Then Pakistan was defeated again at Lord’s by 194 runs. England now has a 2‑0 lead in the three‑match series, a lead that Pakistan cannot catch.
The Pakistan Cricket Board reacted to those defeats in a way. It sent seven players home, called up another seven players and replaced the fired Test coach Sarfaraz Ahmed with Mike Hesson. Mike Hesson was already in charge of Pakistan’s white‑ball teams.
Senior players Imam‑ul‑Haq and Salman Ali Agha, who captained Pakistan at Headingley when Babar Azam was injured, were among those told to leave. Left‑arm spinner Ali Usman, who took a five‑wicket haul at Headingley, and seamer Khurram Shahzad were also sent home.
Among the seven players, only the batsmen Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal have played in Test matches.
Mike Hesson believes that the entire squad can now come together and give a performance when the third Test at Edgbaston begins on September 9.
The New Zealander had just been in Japan preparing for the Asian Games. He was scheduled to travel to the UK for Pakistan’s audience with King Charles, which happened on Wednesday.
“I was heading over to see the King and be part of an occasion. That plan was expedited,” Mike Hesson told reporters at Edgbaston on Friday, as reported by the BBC. “The last few days have been challenging because we were in a hotel with some players arriving, some players leaving and then everyone finally arriving.”
Pakistan is probably more used to a bit of chaos than Mike Hesson. There is no doubt that Pakistan has been disappointed, very disappointed. Mike Hesson says they have had to let that go and think, ‘Okay, where do we go from here?’ Pakistan has been very good over the few days.
Hesson said: “I don’t think anyone wants this to happen in the middle of a series.
“From my point of view, it is about building a squad not only for this Test so we actually have some variety in our attack,” he adds. “Pakistan is known for pace, unusual actions, mystery spin. We haven’t really been able to show any of that.”
