12 June 2008

The head of Pakistani cricket has taken the unusual step of writing directly to the team management, expressing his disgust with the humiliating 140-run defeat to India in the triangular series in Bangladesh.

Pakistan's 12-match winning streak was brought to a shuddering halt by India in Mirpur on Tuesday, although 10 of those victories were against Zimbabwe and Bangladesh.

The heavy loss prompted Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Nasim Ashraf to send an email to team manager Talat Ali, expressing his displeasure with the performance and commitment of the players and officials.

The contents of the message were widely reported in the local media on Thursday with English daily Dawn highlighting some of Ashraf's more critical words.

"Last night's performance against India in which we lost by over 100 runs was embarrassing," Ashraf wrote.

"It is not a question of losing a match but our overall performance and the lack of resolve and commitment bothered me.

"We were smiling and joking as if we were some junior team which was happy just to be given the privilege of playing against a top team. This has to stop."

Ashraf singled out wicket-keeper Kamran Akmal, describing his performance as "pathetic", particularly an incident when he dropped a catch but still claimed it.

"This is unsporting behaviour but perhaps one has to give him the benefit of the doubt. But I do not want such behaviour from our players please warn everyone. We ought to be looking at playing another wicket-keeper," Asraf added.

© Reuters 2008

Tri-Nation ODI Series In Bangladesh