Former South African cricketer Michael Smith has been appointed as the batting coach of the Pakistan men’s team. The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has confirmed the latest development on Tuesday morning via an official statement. They also confirmed that Smith will work with the side across all three formats, covering both red-ball and white-ball cricket.
Notably, the 46-year-old has been handed a two-year contract and will join the Pakistan team ahead of their upcoming three-match Test series against England, scheduled to begin on August 19. The team management and the selectors were reportedly concerned about the current batting standard of the team and hence, to strengthen the core and improve consistency across formats, Smith was brought in.
โFormer South African cricketer Michael Smith has been appointed batting coach of the Pakistan men’s team, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) confirmed today. 46-year-old will work with the team across both red-ball and white-ball formats,โ PCBโs statement read.
Smithโs illustrious CV
Smith brings with him experience as both a player and a coach. During his playing career between 2003 and 2013, he featured in 89 first-class matches, 72 List A games and 16 T20 matches. The right-handed batter accumulated 7,029 runs across the three formats, including nine centuries and 40 half-centuries.
After moving into coaching, Smith worked with several domestic and franchise teams. He has been part of the coaching setups ofย Islamabad United, Karachi Kings and Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchises. He has also served as batting coach for Australia’s Hobart Hurricanes and Cricket Tasmania.
The former cricketer holds a Level 4 coaching qualification and has further experience as a coaching consultant with South Africa’s KZN Inland and Eastern Province.
Smithโs first major task would be to work with the Test side. The Babar Azam-led side hasnโt won a single Test away from home in the last eight games and that is the longest streak in history. They recently suffered a defeat to West Indies in the first Test and things are not looking up to the mark as of now.ย
The PCB will hope Smith’s combination of domestic, franchise and international coaching experience can help address the team’s batting challenges and provide greater stability to its top and middle order ahead of a demanding international schedule.
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