The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has taken a big step towards improving the batting of the national team for the upcoming series against England by naming former South Africa cricketer Michael Smith as Pakistan’s new batting coach.
He will coach Pakistan both in red-ball and white-ball cricket for the next two years.
The PCB spokesperson said that Michael Smith, 46, has been appointed as the national team’s batting coach for two years.
He will not only be present in Test cricket but also in ODI and T20I editions to enhance the technical and mental skills of Pakistan’s batters.
Michael Smith is a Level Four coach with a wealth of experience in coaching at the international standard, PCB officials said.
The board saw him as a good option due to his considerable experience as a batting coach in various domestic and franchise teams.
Michael Smith has had coaching experience with three Pakistan Super League (PSL) teams before.
He has also had experience coaching batters for the Hobart Hurricanes in the Big Bash League in Australia.
In his coaching era, some young batters pulled down some sterling performances.
Michael Smith had an impressive record as a player, too.
In first-class cricket, List A and T20, he amassed a total of 7,029 runs and recorded nine centuries and 40 half-centuries.
He will now be working to boost the batting lineup for Pakistan.
According to sources, Michael Smith will soon arrive in Pakistan to join the national team and will begin working with the players in the training camp ahead of the three-match home Test series against England, which starts on August 19.
The PCB also expects the new batting coach to be able to rectify the batting situation that the team has been suffering from over the last few years and help the national team do better in the series against England.
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