Mohammad Hafeez takes drastic measure to counter Pakistan’s poor fielding against Australia
After losing the first match of the three-match series against Australia in Perth, Pakistan is rearing to win in the second match at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground. Australia had won the first match of the series one-sided by 360 runs.
The first day of the second test started with a solid opening start between Usman Khawaja and David Warner courtesy to Abdullah Shafique, who dropped a simple catch of David Warner off the bowling of Shaheen Shah Afridi. Pakistan got back into the game with some valiant bowling effort and restricted Australia to a competitive first innings score of 318 runs with Marnus Labuschagne topping the batting charts with his 63 runs innings.
Currently, Pakistan is lingering at 194 for the loss of 6 wickets at the end of the second day’s play despite getting a solid 2nd wicket stand of 90 runs between skipper Shan Masood and Abdullah Shafique with both the batters getting a half-century each. A mini-collapse occurred and in no time Pakistan was left at 170 for 6 from 124 for 1.
Hafeez imposes a unique fine on the Pakistan team
Apart from all this what caught the limelight in the cricketing sphere was a new internal fine that was imposed by Pakistan cricket director Mohammad Hafeez on the Pakistan players. Mohammad Hafeez reportedly implemented a new policy of holding Pakistani players accountable for their on-field conduct. This includes a USD 500 fine for any perceived lack of effort or commitment on the field.
Pakistan are known for their lacklustre fielding effort and in the first match too they dropped an easy catch of David Warner, who went on to blast a match-winning century in the first innings of the first match.
To compensate for their poor show in the field and foster discipline in the fielding aspect of the Pakistan team, Hafeez has taken such a drastic measure of imposing heavy fines on those who appear to be lethargic on the field. However, reportedly the Pakistan players have not taken this drastic step quite well and players are finding this step to be quite harsh and uncalled for. However, it is to be seen that such a drastic measure could result in a significant change in the fielding performance of the Pakistan team in the future.
