Pakistan vs. Australia: Coach Tim Nielson says bowlers lost their nerve
Australia’s coach Tim Nielson feels that his strike bowlers lost their nerve following a complete batting collapse against Pakistan. The batting department representing Australia in the second test against Pakistan at Headingley could only muster a total of 88 runs which saw some devastating Pakistani bowling.
Australia entered the match with a 13-match winnings streak against Pakistan but the team lost its confidence after being shunned by the bowling prowess of the Pakistani bowlers. Australian coach Tim Nielson however felt that the Australian bowlers were under a lot of pressure when they came out to bowl since it was almost next to impossible to defend such a small total. He said, "You get bowled out for 88, you think we've got to bowl the miracle ball every ball and try to bowl these blokes out in ten over’s if we're going to have any chance. We bowled a few to their strengths, they got away from us a little bit and all of a sudden you're chasing your tail, the first five over’s go for 30 or 40 and they're halfway to us. It's easy for us to panic a bit."
Ricky Ponting opted to bat first under cloudy conditions in a bid to post a big score against Pakistan in the first innings. The decision by Ricky Ponting did not pay off as Australia’s batting line collapsed in a short span of time. The Australian bowling attack in their wildest dream had never thought that they will be bowling at 2 p.m. in a test match where Australia had decided to bat first. Mitchell Johnson and Bollinger opened the attack for http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755. However, things took a totally different turn as Pakistan’s batsmen negotiated the seam bowling with ease.
It has become a trend now that the Australians normally pick Coach Nielsen to face the media whenever the team is in a difficult situation. It was a disastrous day for Australia’s batting department and once again, the coach came out to answer the media inquiries after Day 1 of the second Test match. Tim, unlike his captain, didn’t show many signs of disappointment and said that his team will learn from today’s mistakes. Nielsen stressed that it’s good to get exposed of our weaknesses before the Ashes Series. Australia’s test cricket revolves around the Ashes which will start at the end of this year. Tim said that they will work on their weaknesses and will go in with a strong frame of mind in the upcoming Ashes series. "It's not a worry," he said. "I'd prefer we're exposed to these experiences now than the first time it happens it happens in an Ashes series that everyone is going to be focusing on. We have a couple of young blokes playing in their second Test match; we've got http://www.senore.com/Cricket/A-Young-c41367 bowling attack. It’s exciting for them to be exposed to this sort of pressure and understand that Test match cricket is not easy."
Tim was pleased with Hilfenhaus who bowled quite well after lunch for which he was rewarded with the prized wicket of Salman Butt. However, Bollinger and Johnson failed to pick up any wickets early in the innings. Pakistan had raced to 35 in the first six overs which put the Australian bowling attack under a lot of pressure. Ricky Ponting had publicly desired more effort from his front line bowlers in a press conference before the second Test match. "If you want to be critical you can probably look at the fact that we got 11 wickets out of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326 and North in the game," Ponting said. "Our fast bowlers probably tried a little bit too hard I think in conditions that were suiting the quicker bowlers. I think they probably tried to get a bit too much out of the wicket.”
Coach Nielsen believes that Australia has a chance to make a comeback in this test. The Sydney test comes to everyone’s mind where Pakistan lost the match after gaining a lead of 206 runs in first innings. The Australian squad will be hoping for a similar result like Sydney where Pakistan capitulated in the second innings. Tim said, ideally he will like his bowlers to start positively on Day 2 and stop Pakistan from posting a big score. Pakistan finished the day with 148-3 and has a lead of 60 runs. Nielsen said, "I know we're 50 or 60 behind but at least we're a chance," Nielsen said. "If we can have a good morning tomorrow and take a couple of wickets and not let the scoreboard get out of control we're still a chance in the game."
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