Saturday 27 August 2016 10:29, UK
Pakistan coach Mickey Arthur has vowed to make major changes to his one-day team if they do not start to show signs of life in the 50-over format.
Arthur has put the entire Pakistan squad 'on notice' after they opened their five-game series against England with a limp performance and a 44-run Duckworth-Lewis-Stern method defeat at the Ageas Bowl.
The Australian said there was little positive to be taken from that performance and says a repeat at Lord's on Saturday, where only minor changes to his starting XI are expected, will not be acceptable.
"Playing the way we played the other night...we're behind the times," Arthur said.
"That was my first ODI with Pakistan and everything I've heard was on view really. I want to see the guys go out and express themselves, play with a bit of freedom.
"England and all the other teams around the world are sort of playing the same way. We want to play with a style that is fairly attractive and doesn't leave us behind the rest of the world.
"We've had a real good chat about it and got some ideas about how we can put it right. I've said to the boys we've got absolutely nothing to lose."
Arthur says there is little he can do to make wholesale changes to his current tour party and is challenging them to prove they are worthy of a long-term role in his plans.
Pakistan are currently ninth in the one-day rankings and, should that be the case on September 30 next year, face having to qualify for the 2019 Cricket World Cup in Bangladesh.
"We're going to build a team we think can compete in a year or two's time," he said. "The invitation is there to every player: step up or we'll find somebody else who can step up, it's as simple as that.
"I've actually started, the other night, going through potential players in Pakistan who can fulfil roles we think we're going to need to evolve.
"In the meantime, the 15 players we've got here we've got to back 100 per cent and given them the opportunity to stake their claim to be part of the Pakistan ODI squad going forward.
"I'll look into the archives in Pakistan and see if there's any young players around who can do that. What we've got is what we've got at the moment and we've got to formulate a plan to make it work for us.
"I said to the players this morning nobody's safe. And if you're over 30 you've got to be coming to table more often than not otherwise it's an opportunity to blood some younger players.
"I'm telling no secrets, nobody is 100% safe in the ODI side and the guys know that. Everybody knows they're on notice."
