Shaun Tait says he's satisfied with his work as bowling coach

Shaun Tait says he's satisfied with his work as bowling coach

LAHORE (Web Desk) – Pakistan bowling coach Shaun Tait held a brief but lively press conference on Thursday after the fourth day was wrapped.

Tait gave short, one-line responses to the questions of the reporters and did not elaborate his answers any further. He previously stated that he is usually asked to speak with the press when Pakistan loses, particularly during the T20 series against England last year.

Pakistan are facing a third straight Test series defeat at home, needing a pile of runs to win with five wickets in hand on the last day of the second Test against New Zealand. Losses to Australia and England in this bumper home season had raised questions over Pakistan’s bowlers’ ability to strike at regular intervals and it has been a similar story against New Zealand — the first game of which ended in a draw.

Across four innings, Pakistan’s most successful bowler has been spinner Abrar Ahmed with 11 wickets for which he’s had to toil through several overs, bowling at a stretch. The fast bowlers have struggled. Naseem Shah, who only came in for the second Test, is the leader with four wickets. Mir Hamza has one in two, while Mohammad Wasim Jr, who played the opening Test, got just one. Hasan Ali also got just one wicket over two innings in the second Test.

When Tait was asked the reason behind Pakistan’s poor bowling performances, he replied, “That’s your opinion.” Asked by another reporter whether he was satisfied with his performance, he gave a short answer, saying, “Yes, I am satisfied.”

Tait, though, did talk about managing the workload of Pakistan’s pacers, many of whom like Shaheen Shah Afridi and Haris Rauf, have been laid low by injury after playing non-stop cricket across all formats. “Yes, there has been too much cricket,” he said. “This is an important year [with the ODI World Cup to be played], so yes I believe player management will be crucial.”