Dav Whatmore, the Pakistan coach, has said the recent Test loss against Zimbabwe has been “embarrassing, upsetting and disappointing”, but on the positive side, has provided the team with preparation ahead of the upcoming series in the UAE.
“All three adjectives (upsetting, disappointed and embarrassing) can be used to describe the way I feel after the defeat against Zimbabwe,” Whatmore said. “I understand you cannot win with these sort of performances but I don’t want to blame. I rather look for reasons and try to see things in a perspective than being judgmental.
“I know things were not good as we were a bit naughty with both bat and ball. But in the end, we only lost one Test match. I know it’s Zimbabwe and I am also not happy with the result at all. I would like to think and public should understand that Zimbabwe team gave us a better fight than what the whole public thought. It wasn’t easy breaking them down as they were not a bad team in their home conditions.”
Pakistan are yet to win a series under Whatmore, who has six months remaining in his two-year contract, and the team’s next assignment – the two-Test series against South Africa in the UAE – is a tough one. But it was in the UAE that Pakistan earned a remarkable win against the then No. 1 side, England, and Whatmore understood that there would be expectations this time too.
“I have confidence in the Pakistan team,” he said. “You can’t just say (that we don’t have a chance). The conditions will be entirely different.
“I feel we are in a better position than before. At least Zimbabwe gave us better preparation and they were bit stronger than what a lot of us thought.”