Nasser Hussain Critiques Pakistan's Selection Gamble

Nasser Hussain has never been shy of a strong opinion, and at Lord’s he tore into Pakistan’s selection gamble with a precision that matched England’s bowling.

The former England captain slammed the decision to parachute Saim Ayub straight into a Test at the top of the order, fresh from white-ball cricket in very different conditions, and ask him to survive against a Dukes ball and a relentless home attack led by Ollie Robinson.

“I don’t know who thinks it’s the right thing to fly someone over from foreign conditions, playing a completely different format, and think they’re going to be fine in these conditions against a Dukes ball, against Ollie Robinson and England’s bowling attack,” Hussain said, his frustration obvious.

For Hussain, this was about more than one dismissal or one young player. It cut to what he sees as a growing disregard for the demands of the longest format.

“It is just a sort of disrespect and disregard for Test match cricket. Test match cricket, as any cricketer will tell you, is the toughest format. Batting at the top of the order in England is the toughest task, and you just feel you can fly someone in from some part of the world and go, Good luck,” he added.

He reached back into recent history to make the point land even harder. The example he chose was a heavyweight.

“Virender Sehwag tried it on this ground, if you remember… they flew him in. Virender Sehwag got a pair, and that’s Virender Sehwag, who’s a better, more experienced player than Saim,” Hussain reminded viewers.

Ayub’s shot came in for criticism, but Hussain was careful to share the blame.

“So a bit of responsibility goes to the lad for the shot he played. But also, whoever thought that was a seriously good decision and that he was going to go okay this week?”

The comments came against the backdrop of sweeping changes in Pakistan’s camp. After the second Test at Lord’s, the visitors removed seven players from the squad and replaced the coaching staff, installing a white-ball coaching set-up under Mike Hesson to oversee a red-ball series.

In Hussain’s eyes, that kind of muddled thinking is exactly what Test cricket cannot afford.