Pakistan Cricket the Masters of blaming everything that happens on and off the field are at it once again. This time it was the Team Director and Coach Mohammad Hafeez, who pointed fingers at “inconsistent umpiring” and the “curse” of technology for Pakistan’s 79-run defeat to Australia in the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne. Mohammad Hafeez went on to give funny justifications saying Pakistan played better cricket than the Australians. Despite the loss, Hafeez feels there were a lot of positives to take forward for the team.
Pakistan chasing 317, showed promise with some good partnerships and made the game interesting. However, Australia consistently scalped wickets at critical junctures handing a 79-run defeat for the visitors.
The fate of both Imam-ul-Haq (LBW) and Mohammad Rizwan (caught behind) was decided by the third umpire who had to make the decisive calls for their dismissals.
Speaking to the media after the match, “The Professor” said,
“We made some mistakes as a team. We’ll take that, we’ll address those things. But [at] the same time I believe, inconsistent umpiring, technology curse, really gave a result which should have been different. So, I feel like these are the areas that need to be addressed rightly…”
Why is there an umpire’s call?- Mohammad Hafeez
Imam-ul-Haq found himself on the wrong side of the LBW decision, departing for 12 (38) against Pat Cummins. Despite opting for a review, the on-field call was upheld as Hawk-Eye indicated the ball was just clipping the leg stump. Interestingly, a similar situation occurred earlier with a not-out decision on the field, which Australia reviewed. In that instance, too, the on-field decision was sustained.
Later in the day, Cummins returned to claim the crucial wicket of Rizwan, who was involved in a significant partnership with Agha Salman. Rizwan, unfortunately, got a faint touch off his wristband, considered to be a part of the gloves, and both Ultra-Edge and HotSpot confirmed the dismissal. The Pakistani wicketkeeper expressed his displeasure with the decision.
Hafeez expressed his discontent with the Decision Review System (DRS), labeling it as a “curse” for Cricket.
“Technology, I’m in favor of that… but if it is bringing some doubt and bringing some curse into the game it should not be acceptable by anyone. We play this beautiful game of cricket on the basics of the game but sometimes technology brings some decisions which obviously as a human we don’t understand. Hitting the ball into the stumps (on DRS) is always out. Why is there an umpire’s call? I’ve never understood that,” said Mohammad Hafeez.
“I think there are a lot of areas that need to be addressed for the betterment of cricket in general where technology is taking away from the instinct of the game. We play this game for the fans but the fans will never understand why this technology is inconsistent and the result of the game comes up differently. This technology is putting a curse on this beautiful game of cricket and we need to address it,” he added.
With the dismissal of Rizwan, Australia gained the upper hand, and their momentum carried through as they swiftly claimed the remaining four wickets in less than seven overs to wrap up the game.
Pakistan played better than Australia- Mohammad Hafeez
Mohammad Hafeez went on to express his belief that, in his opinion, Pakistan outperformed Australia both with the bat and the ball, indicating his confidence in the team’s overall performance.
“This whole game I’ll sum up, our Pakistan team played better than the other team in general. Our batting intent was better, our bowling was hitting the right areas. Yes, we made some mistakes and lost the game. But as a team, I believe that there were a lot of right positives within the team to win the game. Unfortunately, in the end, we didn’t win the game,” Mohammad Hafeez concluded.
With this victory, Australia has secured an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series. The third and final Test is scheduled to commence in Sydney on January 3rd.