The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) officially announced on Tuesday, August 4, the appointment of Michael Smith as the new batting coach for the Pakistan men’s team. The 46-year-old former South African first-class cricketer has signed a two-year contract to oversee both the red-ball and white-ball squads, filling a specialist vacancy that had persisted for several months.
Smith is scheduled to join the national team ahead of their upcoming three-Test series against England, which is set to commence on August 19. His arrival addresses a long-standing gap in the coaching staff; while Umar Gul has been serving as the Test side’s bowling coach, the batting department lacked a full-time specialist, with national selector Asad Shafiq previously filling the void on an intermittent basis.
A Level 4 qualified coach, Smith possesses significant experience within the franchise circuit and maintains a deep familiarity with Pakistan’s cricketing landscape. He has previously held coaching positions with three Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchises: Islamabad United, Karachi Kings, and Multan Sultans. His international coaching resume also includes stints as a batting coach for Hobart Hurricanes and Cricket Tasmania in Australia, alongside consultancy roles for South Africa’s KZN Inland and Eastern Province teams.
During his playing career from 2003 to 2013, the right-handed batter participated in 89 first-class matches, 72 List A games, and 16 T20s. Over this period, he accumulated 7,029 runs across all formats, recording nine centuries and 40 half-centuries. Smith now faces the immediate challenge of stabilizing a batting lineup that has struggled with consistency; Pakistan is currently aiming to break a streak of eight consecutive away Test match defeats, a slide that began during the 2023-24 tour of Australia.
The 46-year-old will work with both the red-ball and white-ball sides, filling a specialist role that has remained vacant in recent months.
The England tour, featuring three Tests, presents an immediate opportunity to address those concerns as Pakistan look to reverse their fortunes in the longest format, which has seen them lose eight straight away Tests go
