14 October - Ahmedabad - Pakistan Director of Cricket Mickey Arthur post-match press conference
[Reporter:]
What went wrong? I mean, at the point when Babar and Rizzi were playing, it looked like we are going to post something around 300. But then suddenly, traditional collapse? What went wrong?
[Mickey Arthur:]
Yeah, I just think we were a little bit timid tonight with our overall performance. I would have liked us to really take the game on just a little bit more. It's a massive occasion, as we know, but I think we just went into our shells just a little bit. And to go from 155 for two, if it was, to 190-odd all out is just not on. Yeah, credit to India, I thought they bowled really well, but I just thought our performance was just a little bit timid.
[Reporter:]
Just wanted to know that the way the landscape of ODI scoring pattern has changed over the years. Do you think the way Babar and Rizwan approached till they were at the crease for 83 run partnership, would you think that they could have shown a bit more intent? Probably take the Indian spinners on a bit more?
[Mickey Arthur:]
Look, they're classy performers and they've done it day in and day out for Pakistan over an extended period of time. So, I'm not going to sit here and castigate them for that.
As I said, I thought we were a little bit timid. I did think we could probably have taken on the Indian spinners just a little bit more. It was a wicket that didn't turn massively, and I thought we needed to put some pressure back. But again, they were building and building nicely. I think we've got to realize that there are two ways to always skin a cat. And we've had success by taking it deep and then cashing in at the back end. That's been our style, that's been our brand, but we didn't play the Pakistan Way tonight, and that was the disappointing aspect of it for me.
[Reporter:]
I know that you were not at the helm of affairs before, but for 31 long years, India been just beating Pakistan, and Today it's 8-0, it stands at 8-0. As a coach, as a director, how do you explain this?
[Mickey Arthur:]
Yeah, look, I can only explain 2019 and this one, because I was at the helm for it. And I think we were well beaten in both games. But I can take you back to 2017 Champions Trophy where I thought we played particularly well. Our guys worked the house down. Every day we're striving to get better. Every day we're putting goals in front of them. I can’t fault the attitude or can’t fault the effort. We were just off the pace tonight and that's the disappointing aspect of it.
[Reporter:]
I just know it sounds cliched and repetitive but you know did the team talk about 7-0 or 8-0 in the World Cup? Is that just something which is the elephant in the room and nobody seems to…
[Mickey Arthur:]
No, look, that's just spoken about by you guys. The media just talk about that. We approach every game thinking we're going to win it. We approach every game dotting the Rs, crossing the Ts, making sure our game is in place.
Tonight, we were off our performance and as I've said before, that was the disappointing aspect for me. We were off it but the record doesn't come into the equation.
[Reporter:]
Still early days in the tournament, just one third of the game is done, but in the back room as head of the coaching staff, what would your message be to the side now having been lost to India and in such fashion? So, is it like just lost to India or - the way you guys lost today? How much of an impact is it going to have to your World Cup campaign?
[Mickey Arthur:]
No, look, it's a long World Cup campaign. There's nine games. We've played three. We're two from three now. We've played well in patches in this tournament. I don't think we've hit our straps yet. And that's the exciting thing for me. But we're two from three. As I say, the key is remaining calm, staying focused, concentrating on what our next opposition is, getting the strategies right for that, getting the team balance right, and then the next focus is the next game for us.
[Reporter:]
During the Asia Cup, Rohit, and Gil counter-attacked in the power play and India won in Colombo. After that, was there any kind of plan formulated as to how to counter that, should they do it again in Ahmedabad? Like, they did it today and what were the conversations you were having during the mid-innings break?
[Mickey Arthur:]
Yeah, well, we had clear strategies. I mean, we had clear plans. And I think India showed us how to bowl on this wicket. They definitely did. And I just don't think we executed it just well enough for long periods. When we got it right, we caused some issues, but we didn't get it right enough for long periods and I thought India executed it really well.
And again, India know these conditions unbelievably well and I'm not using this as an excuse at all but it's our boys first opportunity here. They're getting used to the red soil and the black soil and the conditions that come with it. So yeah, we'll get used to that quickly and move on.
[Reporter:]
You said that batsmen were timid in their approach. So, what was the message before the match?
[Mickey Arthur:]
Oh, look, we set ourselves up as a 330 team. That's our message, that's where we set ourselves up. Now I've said there's two ways to skin a cat - teams come out firing up front and take it on and they have the personnel to do that. We've got the personnel to build and build and build and make sure that we keep that momentum going through the innings so that we can cash in at the back end. That's been our method.
But we've certainly tried to instil in our team that we're a 330 team, because we think if we get that, we defend that more often than not with our bowling attack.
[Reporter:]
After a defeat like this, I know it's too soon, but will you look at change in personnel also? Certain players were perhaps not performing the way you expect them to and given somebody -
[Mickey Arthur:]
Look, it's too soon and as I said, we're two from three, So there's certainly no panic yet. We'll go back and we'll analyse this game to the nth degree. We'll talk to our players. We'll have conversations about how we want to go forward. Australia's our next game. We'll have conversations about them. We'll look at conditions, and then we'll make a selection decision based on our strategy and conditions for the next game.
[Reporter:]
What factor, how much of a factor do you think such a big crowd and such a partisan crowd against you, like 130,000 people all against you, do you think that had any impact in the things you've mentioned, being timid, etc.?
[Mickey Arthur:]
Look, I'd be lying if I said it did. It didn't seem like an ICC event to be brutally honest. It seemed like a bilateral series; it seemed like a BCCI event. I didn't hear Dil Dil Pakistan coming through the microphones too often tonight.
So yes, that does play a role, but I'm not going to use that as an excuse because for us it was about living the moment, it was about the next ball and it was about how we were going to combat the Indian, the Indian players tonight.
[Reporter:]
Is that right for a World Cup? Should that be allowed to happen?
[Mickey Arthur:]
Look I don't think I can't comment on that just yet. I don't want to get fined.
[Reporter:]
You've played three teams and you've seen 10 teams, followed 12 games. As an experienced cricketing mind, do you have an opinion on this Indian team?
[Mickey Arthur:]
Yeah, I do. This Indian team is a very, very good cricket team. I think they're very well led by Rahul and Rohit. I think they look good. I think they've got all bases covered and I'm looking forward to meeting them in the final again.
[Reporter:]
Mickey, Shaheen, and Shadab, two players who seem to be struggling, what have you identified as the reasons for their struggles?
[Mickey Arthur:]
Look, we've been doing a little bit of work behind the scenes. Look, it'd be remiss of me to discuss it out here, but we've been doing some work with them. For me, it's just about confidence. The key for us now is getting our players to remain calm. It's getting our players to focus on the next game, and it's to build them up and make sure that they go into that next game thinking they can run through a brick wall.
Yes, there are technical aspects and those are things that we look at every day with our players.