Moin feels the repercussions of Pakistan's loss
Staff and Agencies - 20 December 2000

The repercussions of England's series clinching victory in Karachi are still being felt in Pakistan.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) chief Lieutenant General Tauqir Zia has had a two-hour one-on-one meeting with team captain Moin Khan to discuss "what went wrong."

"I had a detailed meeting with the captain and we tried to unearth what went wrong against England and in future we want the players to lift their performance," Zia told AFP. "The captain must control the team properly, and we want to achieve good results. Even if we lose it should be after a spirited fight."

Moin has been criticised not just for losing to England, but for the style that Pakistan adopted. Many followers of Pakistan cricket feel that the tactics were too negative, particularly at Karachi, where a team led by Imran Khan, for example, would have been much more likely to attempt to force a win with England chasing 176 on the final afternoon.

There is concern too, at the quality of pitches, which did little to encourage positive cricket. Crowd attendance was poor, with slow scoring and a lack of scope for the pace-men being viewed as partly responsible.

Moin's 'go-slow' ploy as England batted on through bad light also attracted criticism from the match-referee, while team selection is another area of controversy.

Moin has tried to play down yesterday's meeting with Zia. "There was nothing special, but we discussed in detail the team's performance against England, and of course the loss was disappointing," he said.

© CricInfo Ltd.