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Domestic structure behind ODI failings – Misbah
- Updated: September 18, 2016
Pakistan Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq has identified the paucity of 50-over cricket at domestic level as the main cause of the team’s current ODI struggles. Pakistan’s domestic structure has undergone several changes in recent years and Misbah said the one-day game has been getting the short shrift.
“While a Pakistani domestic cricketer may play at least ten to twenty first-class matches a season, he doesn’t get the same match practice in the 50-over format,” Misbah told ESPNcricinfo. “I have long been saying that we need to lay greater emphasis on one-day cricket in our domestic system, and play more one-day games, because you can’t evolve by playing a maximum of five 50-over matches a year in the domestic circuit.”
While Pakistan are the No. 1 Test team in the world, they languish at No. 9 in the ODI rankings. Misbah was clear the discrepancy in the team’s fortunes was due to lack of exposure, and not talent.
“We have just one fifty-over tournament and the format is not even played at club level anymore,” he said. “Most of the cricket at grassroots level is 20 to 25 overs; this is one big reason that our ODI cricket has deteriorated and we are standing at No. 9. We needed and still need to develop our resources and we can only do so by increasing the number of games in our domestic tournament. The reason we are on top in Tests is because our players are getting enough games and exposure at domestic level. That is the only reason I see.
“Otherwise, these …
