Colombo: Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore criticised his players and demanded improvement after his team’s eight-wicket thumping by India in their Super Eight encounter on Sunday.
He accused his players of failing to follow his instructions, surrendering their wickets easily, bowling badly and fielding poorly.
When asked about Pakistan’s next match against Australia on Tuesday and how he plans to stop the imperious Shane Watson, Whatmore said: “Maybe poison his food. He is very good and is in good nick. But he is a human being; he can also play a bad shot and get out.”
Whatmore made it clear that if his team plays the same way again they will be out of the tournament. “There are a number of areas that we are going to have to improve,” he said. “Sometimes it’s better to get back on the horse that bucks you off quickly. We’ve had only a day between matches, so that’s a good thing for us.”
However, the coach pointed to recent form against the Australians as a reason for optimism. “We have had some reasonable performances against Australia just recently. But they have played very well in the last three weeks or so, in their warm-up games and in this tournament so far. It will be a good test — they are a good side,” he said.
There is every chance that run rate may decide the winner of the semi-final slot from this group and, when asked how he plans to balance this and ensure victory, Whatmore said: “It’s not easy. Any one of three teams can actually still make it. It’s an organisers’ delight, it is fantastic for them and for the spectators, but not for us. It won’t be easy to balance the two.”
