Pakistan ditch coaches, send seven players home after England defeats / Photo: COLIN MURTY - AFP
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Pakistan ditch coaches, send seven players home after England defeats
Pakistan have replaced head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed and pace-bowling chief Umar Gul, and sent seven players home, in a dramatic response to successive Test thrashings by England.
The tourists suffered an innings and 103-run loss in the series opener at Headingley before going down by 194 runs at Lord's on Sunday as England took an unbeatable 2-0 lead in the three-match campaign.
The team has been labelled one of Pakistan's worst and the Pakistan Cricket Board has taken drastic action ahead of the third Test at Edgbaston starting on September 9.
"The Pakistan Cricket Board has today announced that seven players have been released from the Test squad following completion of the Lord's Test," said a PCB statement Monday.
"The players include Mohammad Rizwan, Imam-ul-Haq, Salman Ali Agha, Ali Usman, Aamir Jamal, Muhammad Awais Zafar and Khurram Shahzad.
"Additionally, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Umar Gul have also been released and will be replaced by Mike Hesson and Ashley Noffke in the backroom staff."
New Zealander Hesson was already Pakistan's white-ball chief, and, with Australian Noffke, will take charge for the rest of the tour.
Opener Imam-ul-Haq suffered a low-grade calf tear at Lord's, but received criticism for not batting in either innings.
Experienced wicket-keeper Rizwan, spinner Usman and seamer Shahzad played in both games. Salman captained the team in the defeat at Headingley before regular skipper Babar Azam returned from injury at Lord's.
Usman bagged a five-wicket haul in Leeds.
Jamal and Zafar have not featured in the Test series.
- Five uncapped players -
Among the seven players called up, five are uncapped.
Batters Saim Ayub and Abdullah Fazal have played Test cricket, but fast bowlers Razaullah Khan and Mohammad Imran, left-arm spinner Arafat Minhas and wicket-keepers Said Baig and Rohail Nazir are looking to make their debuts.
Pakistan arrived in London already bottom of the World Test Championship table, with defeat at Lord's their 15th loss in 20 Tests and tenth away from home in 11 games.
They have yet to make the benchmark total of 200 in four innings in England, although they did come close on Sunday, with 194 featuring Saud Shakeel's 97.
Mohammad Abbas, who took nine wickets across the second Test, said Sunday: "Our performance is a concern for everyone. Everyone is worried.
"We're not doing well, we accept that. We're not batting, bowling or fielding well and we discuss this all the time in meetings."
L.Lefebvre--JdCdC
