'No progress in batting and fielding'

An editorial in The Express Tribune says Pakistan's batting and fielding woes in the recent ODI series against Sri Lanka contributed to the defeat.

Two departments, which have long been considered our weak links — batting and fielding — have shown little improvement, despite the appointment of a coach of the calibre of Dav Whatmore. The stunning batting collapses during the series exposed the extreme lack of form of some of our leading batsmen. In addition, the ham-handed fielding proved especially costly during close encounters.

The lack of clear thinking on the part of the team management when it came to selecting the playing-eleven also contributed to the series loss as Pakistan were left ruing the decision of dropping their best bowler, Saeed Ajmal, from the final match.