LAHORE: The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Tuesday appointed former South African cricketer Michael Smith as Pakistan men’s team batting coach on a two-year contract.

“Michael Smith, a former South African cricketer, has been appointed batting coach of Pakistan men’s team. The 46-year-old will work with the team across both red-ball and white-ball formats,” the PCB announced.

Interestingly, Smith, whose first assignment will be a three-Test series in England this summer, is the fourth official picked for the said position during the last two and a half years by the PCB.

During the said time period, the PCB appointed former Pakistan batter Mohammad Yousuf and former Pakistan assistant manager Shahid Aslam as batting coach. Following Shahid’s tenure, the board assigned the role to former Test batter and national selector Asad Shafiq.

Currently, Asad is accompanying the national team in West Indies where the Babar Azam-led team are featuring in a two-Test series.

Smith during his career played 89 first-class matches, 72 List-A matches and 16 T20s between 2003 and 2013. The right-handed batter scored 7,029 runs across the three formats, including nine centuries and 40 half-centuries.

A Level 4 qualified coach, Smith has previously served on the coaching staffs of three Pakistan Super League franchises — Islamabad United, Karachi Kings and Multan Sultans. He has also worked as batting coach with Australia’s Hobart Hurricanes and Cricket Tasmania. This will be his first appointment as batting coach of a national team.

As a coaching consultant, Smith has also worked with South Africa’s KZN Inland and Eastern Province.

“Smith, who has been appointed on a two-year contract, will join the Pakistan squad ahead of the three-match Test series against England, commencing on Aug 19,” the PCB added.

Published in Dawn, August 5th, 2026