He sees enough red-ball talent to build a stronger side but warns progress will take time<\/p>\n
Pakistan interim head coach Mike Hesson said he is open to taking charge of the Test team permanently alongside his white-ball responsibilities after their eight-wicket series-ending defeat to England on Saturday.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019d be open to it, for sure,\u201d Hesson told reporters after the third Test. \u201cI love Test cricket and there\u2019s enough talent around the system in Pakistan that if we provide some good direction, we can make some strides going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hesson took over the red-ball side on an interim basis less than two weeks ago after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) sacked Sarfaraz Ahmed following the series defeat at Lord\u2019s.<\/p>\n
The New Zealander said he was encouraged by the talent available but warned that significant improvements would take time.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not going to happen in a game or two but there\u2019s some skill there I\u2019d certainly be considering looking after,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
Hesson had previously been approached about England\u2019s Test coaching vacancy following Brendon McCullum\u2019s departure, but England ultimately appointed Stephen Fleming.<\/p>\n
He stressed that his immediate focus remained Pakistan\u2019s white-ball commitments, with the Asian Games next on his agenda, and said any decision on the Test role would involve discussions with selectors and the PCB.<\/p>\n
\u201cI haven\u2019t even contemplated a job offer at this stage,\u201d Hesson said. \u201cBy the time that arrives I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll have some discussions about the Test team going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hesson also called for a rethink of Pakistan\u2019s Test selection, saying the team needed players with specific skills rather than simply those producing the most runs or wickets in domestic cricket.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou need players that can play high pace and that can bring different elements to Test cricket,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cSometimes we have to be brave in terms of picking players that we think have those skills.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pakistan\u2019s Test struggles, Hesson added, were not the result of their recent defeats alone but had developed over a longer period.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe team hasn\u2019t just struggled in the last week or two, it\u2019s been a year or two in the making,\u201d he said, calling for greater attention to detail throughout the squad.<\/p>\n
Hesson nevertheless praised the players for showing character after a difficult start in Birmingham, where Pakistan conceded several early wickets after losing the toss.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was really pleased with the way we showed some character the last couple of days,\u201d he said. \u201cIt wasn\u2019t perfect, but it was certainly some really good signs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Pakistan\u2019s next Test assignment is a two-match home series against Sri Lanka in November.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
He sees enough red-ball talent to build a stronger side but warns progress will take time Pakistan interim head coach Mike Hesson said he is open to taking charge of the Test team permanently alongside his white-ball responsibilities after their eight-wicket series-ending defeat to England on Saturday. \u201cI\u2019d be open to it, for sure,\u201d Hesson […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":113325,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/i.tribune.com.pk\/media\/images\/img-24861789294664-0\/img-24861789294664-0-640x480.webp","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[13],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-113324","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-top-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t