Daijiworld Media Network - Lahore
Lahore, Aug 4: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has appointed former South African cricketer Michael Smith as the batting coach of the Pakistan men's cricket team on a two-year contract.
The PCB confirmed the appointment in an official statement on Tuesday, saying the 46-year-old will work with the national side across all three formats, covering both red-ball and white-ball cricket.
Smith is set to join the Pakistan squad ahead of the three-match Test series against England, which begins on August 19.
According to reports, the appointment comes amid concerns within the team management and selection committee over the batting unit's inconsistency. The PCB hopes Smith's expertise will help strengthen the team's batting across formats.
"Former South African cricketer Michael Smith has been appointed batting coach of the Pakistan men's team. The 46-year-old will work with the team across both red-ball and white-ball formats," the PCB said in its statement.
Smith enjoyed a decade-long professional playing career between 2003 and 2013, featuring in 89 first-class matches, 72 List A games and 16 Twenty20 matches. The right-handed batter scored 7,029 runs across formats, including nine centuries and 40 half-centuries.
After retiring from professional cricket, he built an extensive coaching career with several domestic and franchise teams. He has previously served in coaching roles with Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchises Islamabad United, Karachi Kings and Multan Sultans. He has also worked as batting coach for Australia's Hobart Hurricanes and Cricket Tasmania.
Smith holds a Level 4 coaching qualification and has also worked as a coaching consultant with South Africa's KZN Inland and Eastern Province.
His first assignment will be to prepare Pakistan's batting unit for the Test series against England. Pakistan have struggled in the longer format away from home, failing to register a victory in their last eight away Tests. The team recently suffered a defeat against the West Indies in the opening Test of their ongoing series.
The PCB hopes Smith's experience in domestic, franchise and international coaching environments will help improve the consistency of Pakistan's top and middle order as the team prepares for a busy international calendar.