Pakistani first-class cricketer Ashar Zaidi has urged the batsmen in the national team to change their 'flat-track' mentality, saying that it is the reason why the batsmen struggle in international grounds, especially outside Asia.
The all-rounder, who was picked for the Pakistan Under-19 team, which took part in the World Cup in Sri Lanka in 2000, had played 88 first-class games for Islamabad and has spent the last three years playing for Accrington Cricket Club in the Lancashire League.
According to www.PakPassion.net, Zaidi believes that the current Pakistani batsmen need to get out of their mentality of just scoring 50-60 runs on a proper flat track, which does not have any grass on it, if they want to improve their performances on the international scene.
Zaidi further said that veteran players like Mohammad Yousuf or former captain Salman Butt used to give orders to the groundsman to make a proper flat track instead of a seaming wicket, without any grass, because the bowling attack consisted of good fast bowlers like Rao Iftikhar, Shoaib Akhtar, Saad Altaf and Azhar Mahmood.
However, Zaidi called for a change in mentality of the batsmen saying that even if many of them are automatic selections because of their political backgrounds and do not care if they get out in the nets, they are exposed in international cricket, as in Zimbabwe recently, with their off-stump or middle-stump gone off quickly.
Urging the bowlers to get rid of their fear of facing bouncers, Zaidi also said that it is necessary in order to face fast bowlers like Dale Steyn or Morne Morkel on a fast, bouncy wicket.