Pakistan are at the “very start” of rebuilding their Test side, bowling coach Ashley Noffke said on Monday, as the team attempts to move past a tumultuous week that has seen sweeping changes to the squad and a shake-up of its coaching staff.
“Every nation has a life cycle, and there’ll be moments where they play really great cricket for long periods and then older players will move out and younger players will come in. And we’re at the very start of that process,” Noffke told reporters at Edgbaston.
The contrast with England, who are attempting to complete a 3-0 series sweep after emphatic victories at Headingley and Lord’s, could hardly be starker.
While Pakistan have brought in a new interim head coach in Mike Hesson, made wholesale changes to their squad and sent Noffke to England at short notice, the hosts have been able to build on a settled pace attack led by Jofra Archer, who says he is finally enjoying a period of stability after years of injury.
Pakistan’s changes have opened the door for young fast bowlers Razaullah and Mohammad Imran Jr, with Noffke viewing their presence in England as part of a longer-term plan rather than simply an emergency response to two defeats.
“They’re young guys. They haven’t experienced England conditions and they’re over here to learn and grow,” he said. “I think with any life cycle of any cricket team, you need to take a forward-thinking approach to what we might need in the future. I think other teams have been doing that and it’s now our turn to bring young guys over, make sure they get accustomed to conditions that are different to theirs at home.”
Both bowlers offer Pakistan something that has been missing from their attack during the series — pace. Noffke said they were “certainly closer to the 140 mark” than some of the quicks Pakistan had previously used.
Imran Jr, a left-armer, and Razaullah, a right-armer with a different action, could also provide variety to an attack that has relied heavily on veteran seamer Mohammad Abbas.
“Abbas has obviously bowled amazingly through this series and we need to support him as best we can,” Noffke said.Noffke himself was thrust into the Test set-up at short notice, saying he received a message “at 3am” informing him that management was sending him to England.
Asked whether he had been given an explanation for the sweeping changes to the squad, he said: “Not really.”
“It’s not my job to be in consultation with where they see who’s in and who’s out. That’s obviously the selection panel,” he said.
“As we’ve already asked Mike [Hesson] in previous interviews, he’s only just come into that phase. So, like we said before, it’s unsettling, but it’s about getting on with it, focusing on what’s ahead of us as a Test-playing squad and trying to develop in all areas.”
The uncertainty surrounding Pakistan has also been compounded by an internal PCB disciplinary inquiry into the conduct of some players announced on Monday.
Noffke said he knew no more about the matter than the media did.
“As much as you do. And I can be really honest in that — I don’t know too much,” he said. “I sit outside of that decision-making model above us as coaches.”
He said the coaching staff had attempted to keep the players focused on the cricket rather than the developments surrounding them.
