PCB appoints Michael Smith as men's team's batting coach
What's the story
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has appointed former South African first-class cricketer and coach Michael Smith as the new batting coach for the men's team. The appointment comes on a two-year contract, which will see Smith work with both red-ball and white-ball teams. His first assignment will be the three-Test series against England, starting August 19.
Coaching experience
Appointment follows Pakistan's batting collapses
Smith's appointment comes after Pakistan's recent batting collapses, including a defeat in the Tarouba Test against the West Indies last week.
The PCB had been under pressure to hire a specialist batting coach after these performances.
Smith will replace Asad Shafiq, the national selector, who has been occasionally filling in as the batting coach for both formats of the game.
Coaching background
Smith holds Level 4 coaching qualification
Despite not playing international cricket for South Africa, Smith is a Level 4 qualified coach with extensive experience in the franchise circuit.
He has previously worked with Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, and Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League (PSL).
He also served as batting coach for Australia's Hobart Hurricanes and Cricket Tasmania while holding consultancy roles with KZN Inland and Eastern Province in South Africa.
Player profile
Improving Pakistan's batting unit
As a player, Smith played 89 First-Class matches, 72 List A games, and 16 T20s from 2003 to 2013.
He scored a total of 7,029 runs across formats with nine centuries and 40 half-centuries.
His first challenge as Pakistan's batting coach will be to help the team improve its inconsistent batting unit in Test cricket.