Here is the full transcript of Mike Hesson’s press conference ahead of the Super 8 clash between Pakistan and New Zealand.
(Reporter:)
Now the harder stage begins. How prepared is the team and what do you see as areas for improvement?
(Mike Hesson:)
We’ve certainly spent the last six months getting to this point. So the fact that we created the Super 8s is the position we want to be in. We’ve played some pretty good cricket, I think we’ve won eight out of the last ten games, and a lot of different players have come up at different times, so sure where the group is. We didn’t play that well on this surface last time, so we’re looking forward to rectifying that tomorrow. And I think it’s probably just adapting to the conditions a little bit better than we did last time. But other than that, the guys are well prepared.
(Reporter:)
Coach, Mark Chapman was here in the afternoon and he said we’ve played a lot of cricket with Pakistan over the last few years and we know what they’ve brought up. Any compliments for this? And secondly, can you please tell us if Usman Tariq is your attacking or defensive option?
(Mike Hesson:)
I mean, Mark Chapman has an incredible record against Pakistan, both in Pakistan and at home. So he faced a lot of our pitchers and had some success. But this pitch is going to bring different challenges and we’re going to have different thoughts about how we might find a way to try and conquer it a little bit. But it is certainly not the only threat, there are many. So we’re not going to focus on just one, but your question was Usman Tariq, I think he’s one of those bowlers around the world who does both. He can attack and defend at the same time. And that’s an incredible skill, so we’re very lucky to have him on our side.
(Reporter:)
If we talk about numbers, Pakistan has an edge over New Zealand. They have won five out of seven T20 World Cup matches. The last time New Zealand beat Pakistan was in 2016. So do you think these numbers have any psychological edge? And talking about Pakistan, Pakistan was conditioning in this state and they came, they just came there and they didn’t have proper training there either. So do you think Pakistan have a psychological advantage in this match?
(Mike Hesson:)
I don’t think matches are won or lost mentally. I think they lost, they won because of skill. , New Zealand have been playing a huge amount in the subcontinent recently. Sri Lanka tend to spin a bit sharper than India as a general rule. And we saw a bit of that at SSC. We’ve seen it in early innings as well, especially here last night. So I don’t believe anyone has a psychological advantage. Of course I remember the 2016 game. I was there at that time. I remember that and I remember we prepared quite well against Pakistan. We had a lot of different threats. So yes, what happened in the past is in the past. We are looking forward to getting the Super 8s off to a good start tomorrow.
(Reporter:)
Mike, we don’t understand why Babar Azam is batting at number 4. If we look at Babar Azam’s timeline, he opened in LP, he opened in Big Bash, he opened for Pakistan when he was captain, even in PSL. But why are you making him play number four? Because it seems to be cricket suicide for Babar Azam, which will see him play at number four in T20s.
(Mike Hesson:)
Well, look, that’s what the team requires. And Babar is well aware of this. I think he is well aware that the number of strikes in power plays in the World Cup is less than 100 in T20. It’s clearly not a role we think we need. We think he’s a good player in the middle if needed, in terms of if we’re struggling a little bit, or as we saw against the USA, once he gets there, he can increase the number of shots at that point. So we brought Babar back for a specific role after the Asia Cup. We wanted some batsmanship in the middle and he certainly delivers. And he has done that in many games over the last 10. So we got to 12th the other day and at that moment Babar Azam is not the best person to come on. We have a lot of other options who can come in and play that role towards the end. And Babar is actually the first to admit it. He knows he has a certain skill set that the team requires and there are certain times when other players can fill that role more effectively.
(Reporter:)
It’s been almost a year since you joined this team as head coach and Abrar has been one of the best players. In that stint, and looking at the overseas goal charts, he was again the second league’s leading wicket-taker in the last 12 months, but after just one game after the India game. He was eliminated. Do you think Pakistan rely too much on all-rounders and could be risky against top teams?
(Mike Hesson:)
Look, I think you call them all-rounders, but Nawaz is one of the most powerful spinners in the world in T20 cricket. Ever since Shadab came back – his characters have been exceptional. Saim is already in the side anyway and obviously has the ability to throw a carrom ball. So there are certain times when – and Salman Ali Agha obviously opened the bowl the other day. So we have six pitchers. There are times when we don’t need it as much. And the fact that Usman Tariq was able to pop through the middle and end was a real plus for us. Look, there could be conditions in this tournament where we could spin hard again, or even harder than we already do. And we know Abrar would be ready if needed.
(Reporter:)
Just a middle order question. It’s basically one dimensional, there’s too much right-handed batter. Do you think we will see Fakhar replace someone in the Super 8, be it Babar or someone else in the playing eleven, what do you think? Because it’s pretty one-dimensional now. After Saim, the other stalwart who plays in the XI in Pakistan, if I’m not mistaken, is Mohamed Nawaz. Your thoughts on that?
(Mike Hesson:)
Yeah, I mean, we’ve got Nawaz, we’ve also got Faheem, who are both left-handers who can play a role there. But definitely, I think, Fakh is in the team. We know that when we need to, when we have to play a lot of left arm spin and the ball turns, that advantage is important. And we have that flexibility in the team.
(Reporter:)
Are you satisfied with the current approach of our top order, especially the middle order?
(Mike Hesson:)
Look, the top order has been exceptional in three games. We played on a different surface at SSC during the day the other day and it was actually quite two paces and I thought we absorbed a bit of pressure well in that power play. If we went too hard too soon, we could find ourselves in a little trouble. I think there was a bit of talk about that – we needed to attack it a bit more, but the conditions didn’t really allow for that. And once the seam was softer, it was easier. And we saw Aga and then Shadab and of course Sahibzada Farhan dominate the last 15 overs.
(Reporter:)
The coach, Fakhar and Shaheen are still on the bench. Usually we see that some senior player has not performed well, another senior player replaces him because he is waiting on the bench. So why are both still on the bench because Pakistan have already played four matches.
(Mike Hesson:)
We have selected the best team to play this particular match for Pakistan. We got a call that Salman Mirza is coming for Shaheen. He bowled incredibly well. To be fair, he was probably really unlucky not to play the second and third games. His record since he started playing for Pakistan is exceptional. And the conditions dictated that we play with only two welders, and these two welders often do not even play in full. And I was talking about Fakhar just before.
(Reporter:)
I just want to ask, we haven’t seen Naseem Shah bowling in any match so do you think it is lack of confidence in him from the team management or do you think tomorrow is the best day to play him as he is under cloud and Pakistan should go for specialist bowlers?
(Mike Hesson:)
Look, I’m sure you’ve watched enough games here to know that spinners play a huge role. And even in the games that we played, in our spin, we bowled something like 14 overs in the spinner, we went for just over seven an over. And we had seamstresses in our tank who didn’t even carry a full count. So even if Shaheen played, or even Salman Mirza the other day, they still didn’t field their full number for the overs because we didn’t need them. And that’s the luxury of a team. But we also know that if the conditions suggest that we need more seamers and probably more Pallekelle than here, then we know that Naseem is playing incredibly well and we have options, but we will pick the best team for the conditions.
(Reporter:)
I want to know about Abrar, will we see him play tomorrow as the pitch is very slow here in Premadas? As for Saim Ayub’s role, he struggled with the bat and scored 63 runs in four matches. Yes, he can bowl well, but he doesn’t play with the bat. Can we see him drop down the order and Babar open with Farhan?
(Mike Hesson:)
Like I said, we’ve won eight of our ten games. In the series before this, Saim was the top scorer. So we’re definitely not looking at one or two games in isolation. The first game against, one of those first two games, he actually bowled quite nicely, caught at short thirds, got a good one from Bumrah, got into a bad position, but we know that Saim Ayub if he hits, he’ll take anybody’s game. Sure, he’s bowling well. I think it definitely helps. And he plays tough overs too. So yeah, look, I wouldn’t expect much change. As I said, our growth in ratings over the last eight months has been based on consistency and making subtle changes, but not big changes. Look, Abrar, I’m not going to tell you what the team is. I’ll tell you that.
(Reporter:)
In terms of the Namibia game, I mean, from Pakistan’s point of view, in terms of approach and thought process, have we seen a paradigm shift in the way Shaheen Shah Afridi has been dropped, the use or rather the non-use of Babar Azam? Was the India game a line in the sand?
(Mike Hesson:)
No, I wouldn’t say that. I think like I said, Salman Mirza has earned his opportunity. And Babar was the first to recognize that the left-arm spin was taking shape and turning, that it wasn’t a smart move to send out two right-armers. And then we, the left-arm spinner, finished and Nafe came into play. That’s what we needed at the time. So no, it’s definitely not a paradigm shift, more about roles.
(Reporter:)
In the last match against Namibia, when Salman came out, you had a heated discussion with him. We’ve seen the footage. what was that Please explain.
(Mike Hesson:)
I actually sent the video and you really got it wrong. So I’ll tell you what happened. So I went to talk to Salman about getting Nawaz to put the pads on as a left-hander and Agha was upset that he had just stepped out, so he threw the bottle on the ground. Nothing to do with the conversation we were having. And then, of course, as I said, once the left-arm spinner finished, we talked about going quiet and going and putting the pads on for him to come after – So it was a really simple conversation that he often wasn’t even a part of. He just stood there and was pretty disappointed that he was out and it happened to be in the crossfire. So it’s amazing what people can interpret sometimes.