Former New Zealand head coach Mike Hesson, who had joined Pakistan as their white-ball head coach in May, is facing a deluge of criticism after the Men in Green suffered their first ODI series loss against West Indies with a 202-run thrashing on Tuesday.
Pace legend Shoaib Akhtar questioned Mike Hesson’s credentials as a white-ball coach after Pakistan suffered a humiliating loss at the hands of West Indies on Tuesday, losing the three-match ODI series 1-2 as a result.
After winning the T20I leg of the tour of the Caribbean 2-1 under Salman Agha’s leadership, the Mohammed Rizwan-led side went 1-0 up in the three-match rubber, only for the hosts to fight back with a spirited chase and level the series.
Pakistan, however, suffered their
first ODI series loss against West indies in 34 years after getting bundled out for a paltry 92 while chasing a challenging target of 295, thanks to Shai Hope’s unbeaten 120 and pacer Jayden Seales’ 6/18.
‘Be thankful Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc weren’t here’: Akhtar
Akhtar, best known for being the fastest bowler in the history of the game, slammed Hesson for his “bad policies” that left the Pakistani players exposed on a seaming track.
“Mike Hesson is a good T20 coach, but I don’t know what qualities he has for ODIs. In this format, if you don’t play quality players, this is what will happen. Unless you field established all-rounders, batters, bowlers, and spinners, you won’t get a complete 50 overs. You can’t just scrape by in this format,” he added.
“This is the result of bad policies, not the players’ fault. Your players will always be exposed on seaming tracks. Now this rebuilding process has been given a new name, making a combination. Be thankful Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc weren’t here. Wherever such conditions exist, our players will be exposed,” the 50-year-old added.
Hesson had joined Pakistan as their white-ball coach in May after the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) decided against continuing with Aaqib Javed, who had served as interim coach across formats until the ICC Champions Trophy earlier this year.
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Hesson had previously coached the New Zealand team for six years from 2012 to 2018, helping the Black Caps come out of a slump early in his tenure and helping them finish runner-up in the 2015 ICC World Cup, which the Kiwis had co-hosted with Australia.