Mike Hesson was only in the UK this week to meet King Charles. But now the New Zealander finds himself interim head coach of a Pakistan Test side that have sent seven players and his predecessor home. As Hesson put it after his first net session: “The guys are probably more used to a little bit of chaos than I am.”
Even by Pakistan’s standards, this past week has been more than a little chaotic, with their somewhat nuclear response to going 2-0 down to England the talk of the sport. Hesson, previously Pakistan’s white-ball coach, has been parachuted in to restore some pride in the third Test at Edgbaston that starts next week.
“It’s been pretty challenging,” said Hesson, who had been in Japan preparing for the Asian Games before a supposed whistle-stop visit to Clarence House with the Pakistan Cricket Board on Wednesday turned into a brand new role. “I was heading over to see the king and be part of a nice occasion. That got expedited.”
After holding one-on-one talks with the remaining squad members this week, and then drilling them at Edgbaston’s indoor school due to rain, Hesson believes a reset has occurred. Of the seven players being flown in, three were still due to arrive in the UK on Friday. As for the departed, Hesson tried his best to explain.
In essence, three of the seven dropped – Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha – were told their tour was over immediately after the defeat at Lord’s. Hesson claims he was not privy to this decision by the high performance director, Aaqib Javed, nor was he able to share the precise reasons why.
But once asked to take over as head coach, for Hesson it was then a case of assessing the team’s remaining shortcomings and the blend needed in Birmingham, resulting in four further members of the tour party being swapped out. Ali Usman, for example, was sent home as a spinner is unlikely to be needed.
Hesson said: “I don’t think anyone wants this to happen in the middle of a series, clearly not. From my perspective, it’s about putting a balanced squad together so we actually have some variety in our attack. Pakistan is known for pace, unusual actions, mystery spin – we haven’t really been able to present any of that.
“There’s been talk about having an identity as a Test team, and that does come from stability. But it also comes from being authentic to the way your team plays. We have to get back to that.”
Hesson did not commit to the Pakistan Test role beyond next week and looked to inject some calm into proceedings overall. But the former New Zealand head coach did take issue with a report that the Pakistan Cricket Board asked the dropped players to stay on for the reception with King Charles to bolster their numbers – and Agha refused.
Babar Azam* (c), Abdullah Fazal*, Abdullah Shafique, Arafat Minhas*, Azan Awais, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ali, Muhammad Imran*, Mohammad Imran Jnr*, Muhammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Razaullah*, Saad Baig (wk)*, Saim Ayub*, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shan Masood, Ubaid Shah
*New additions to the squad
He said: “I know there’s been a void in the news but people are just making up stories. Three players were released from the squad before I arrived and well before [the reception]. [The organisers] were sent a note at the time that these three players will not be attending.
“All of the rest of the players in the squad were already on the list. I was on the list as the white-ball head coach. There were no changes to it. Someone has put two and two together and come up with nine. For me, that’s unacceptable journalism.”
Meanwhile, Jacob Bethell is set to be out of action until England’s white-ball tour of Australia in November after undergoing knee surgery at the start of the week. Bethell has not featured since the third one-day international against India in July, missing the Hundred and the current Test series against Pakistan.
England Men’s T20 squad – 16 players: Harry Brook (Yorkshire – captain), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Gus Atkinson (Surrey), Sonny Baker (Hampshire), Tom Banton (Somerset), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), James Coles (Sussex), Jordan Cox (Essex), Liam Dawson (Hampshire), Aneurin Donald (Derbyshire), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Will Jacks (Surrey), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Jamie Overton (Surrey), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire)
England Men’s ODI squad – 16 players: Harry Brook (Yorkshire – captain), Rehan Ahmed (Leicestershire), Jofra Archer (Sussex), Gus Atkinson (Surrey), Tom Banton (Somerset), Sonny Baker (Hampshire), Jos Buttler (Lancashire), Jordan Cox (Essex), Henry Crocombe (Sussex), Liam Dawson (Hampshire), Ben Duckett (Nottinghamshire), Will Jacks (Surrey), Jamie Overton (Surrey), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Joe Root (Yorkshire), Josh Tongue (Nottinghamshire)
1st Vitality IT20: Tuesday 15 September, Utilita Bowl, Southampton, 6.30pm start
2nd Vitality IT20: Thursday 17 September, Sophia Gardens, Cardiff, 6.30pm start
3rd Vitality IT20: Saturday 19 September, Emirates Old Trafford Cricket Ground, Manchester, 2.30pm start
1st Metro Bank ODI: Tuesday 22 September, Banks Homes Riverside, Chester-le-Street, 12.30pm start
2nd Metro Bank ODI: Thursday 24 September, Headingley, Leeds, 12.30pm start
3rd Metro Bank ODI: Sunday 27 September, The Kia Oval, London, 10.30am start
In Bethell’s absence, Derbyshire’s in-form batter Aneurin Donald has been called up to England’s Twenty20 squad for the forthcoming series against Sri Lanka. The similarly uncapped Henry Crocombe has been added to England’s stable of seamers for the one-day internationals that follow following his recent back-to-back hat-tricks for Sussex.
Brydon Carse has been overlooked for both squads while both Derbyshire police and the Cricket Regulator look into the late night incident that led to him being dropped from the second Test at Lord’s. Phil Salt misses both series with a quad injury.
