Thursday, March 28, 2024

PCB not to extend contracts of Arthur, Azhar, Grant Flower

PCB not to extend contracts of Arthur, Azhar, Grant Flower
August 7, 2019
LAHORE (92 News) – The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday decided not to renew contracts of head coach Mickey Arthur, bowling coach Azhar Mahmood, batting coach Grant Flower and trainer Grant Luden. During a meeting, the PCB cricket committee was unanimous in its recommendations for a revamp of the coaching setup. The recommendations were forwarded and discussed with PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani, who approved the changes. The PCB will now advertise the four available roles and will invite high-level applications from interested candidates, a press release stated. “On behalf of the PCB, I want to sincerely thank Mickey Arthur, Grant Flower, Grant Luden and Azhar Mahmood for their hard work and unwavering commitment during their tenures with the national men’s team. We wish them every success in their future endeavors,” PCB Chairman Ehsan Mani said. “The PCB remains committed to its fans and followers and we will do our utmost to ensure that we make decisions that continue to move Pakistan cricket forward in all formats,” he added. Head coach Mickey Arthur said that Pakistan’s defeat against bitter rivals India was so painful that it left him wanting to ‘commit suicide’. It is pertinent to mention here that Pakistan suffered a bruising 89-run loss to India in Manchester on June 16, a result which sparked a furious backlash from their frustrated fans. “Last Sunday I wanted to commit suicide. But it was, you know, it’s only one performance. It happens so quick. You lose a game; you lose another game; it’s a World Cup; media scrutiny; public expectation, and then you almost go into sort of survival mode. We’ve all been there,” said Arthur. Arthur’s emotional comment may have been exaggerated to show how passionate he is about his job. But some fans feel the South Africa-born coach’s words are in bad taste given Pakistan’s former coach Bob Woolmer died of natural causes during the 2007 World Cup. Pakistan lifted Arthur’s spirts with an impressive 49-run win against South Africa at Lord’s. However, the defeat put Pakistan’s hopes of reaching the World Cup semi-finals in grave danger.