Dec23

Pakistan Vs Australia 1st test preview

by wasim on December 23rd, 2009 at 1:16 am
Posted In: Cricket, Cricket Pakistan

The first test between Australia and Pakistan will be played on the boxing day at the Melbourne cricket ground. Both teams are quite evenly matched with Australia having a home advantage and an edge against Pakistan in batting and fielding. Pakistan has a clear advantage over Australia in bowling as they have more variety in their pace attack and  have two top class spinners. 

Historically Pakistan has never won a test series in Australia their batting always lets them down, but cricket pundits are saying that Australia is going through a transition and right now they are quite vulnerable, but I beg to differ. The Aussie batting is quite experienced and their top order is in good form. They haven’t been tested against quality spinners recently, it’s yet to be seen how they will perform against Kaneria.

 Pakistan usually play a test match with four bowlers, the absence of Razzaq from the team will eliminate the option of playing  Ajmal and Kaneria together in a test match.  Siddle’s return has strengthened Australian pace attack and since they have a genuine allrounder in Watson they enjoy the luxury of playing with five bowlers in fact Micheal clarke gives them the option of the sixth bowler.

The conditions at MCG will suit Aussie pacers more than the Pakistani bowlers as Pakistani pace bowlers rely more on seam and swing. If the pitch didn’t offered any sideways movement then Mohammad Asif will be neutralized. Pakistan must play Umar Gul as the conditions will suit him better than any other bowler in the Pakistani line up.

Form report

The following are the batting and bowling averages from the last test series played by the key players from Pakistan and Australia.

Pakistan team

Umar Akmal   379 runs from 6 inn @ 63.16

Imran farhat 268 runs from 6 inn @ 53.60

Kamran Akmal 257 runs from 6 inn @ 51.70

Mohammad Yousaf 230 runs from 6 inn @ 38.33

Faisal Iqbal 73 runs from 2 inn @ 36.5

Salman Butt 122 runs from 4 inn @ 30.50

Mohammad Aamer 101 runs from 6 inn at 16.83 and 7 wkts @ 43.71

Mohammad Asif 19 wkts from 6 innings @ 19.81

Danish Kaneria 13 wkts from 4 inn @ 20.68

Umar Gul 8 wkts from 6 inn @ 46.41

Australian team

Simon KATICH: 302 runs @ 60.40

Shane WATSON: 263 runs @ 52.60, 8 wickets @ 26.37

Michael HUSSEY: 235 runs @ 47.00, 1 wicket @ 3.00 

Ricky PONTING: 136 runs @ 34.00

Michael CLARKE: 209 runs @ 52.25

Marcus NORTH: 166 runs @ 33.20, 0 wickets for 62

Brad HADDIN: 225 runs @ 75.00, 14 catches

Nathan HAURITZ: 80 runs @ 40.00, 11 wickets @ 33.00

Doug BOLLINGER: 2 runs @ 2.00, 13 wickets @ 19.84

Mitchell JOHNSON: 52 runs @ 13.50, 17 wickets @ 28.05

Pitch report

MCG curator Cameron Hodgkins has said that he is hopeful about striking the right balance between bat and ball for the first Test.

Hodgkins predicted that the pitch would not be too batsman-friendly, which has been the nature in matches at the ‘G so far this season.The curator said that he would prefer to prepare a similar wicket to the one from last year’s Test between Australia and South Africa, where the batsmen from both sides scored well, but they also had to combat some reverse swing.

“So far there’s been good pace and carry and the good bowlers are getting wickets. In the last game there was plenty of grass, but the only ingredient missing was there wasn’t much nibble,” The Herald Sun quoted Hodgkins, as saying.

“We’d always like a bit of sideways movement, but it’s hard to get and a fine line between what’s right and what’s too much, so it’s easier to be conservative. If we can get one similar to last year I’d be pretty happy,” he added.

The MCG wickets have played well so far this season, although the bat easily dominated in most of the recent first-class matches. Hodgkins said that there will be tough work for spinners in the opening Test. “Traditionally there’s not any extra turn, although good bowlers take wickets. We’re not known as a turning wicket, it’s more one for the quicks.”

Australia positives

They have almost completed the transition stage and now are almost settled on their new combination, they have won their Odi series in India quite convincingly and have beaten WI 2-0.

Australia negatives

There batting is a bit inconsistent and their bowlers are prone to injuries, they still lack a quality spinner and they might miss the leadership and experience of Ricky Ponting in the first match.

Pakistan Positives

There bowling looks extremely good, and they seem to have settled on their opening  pair, after the series in SL and NZ their batsmen have adjusted their game to the test format and are improving with every match they play. The inclusion of Mohammad Aamer and Umar Akmal and the return of Kaneria and Asif has transformed Pakistan team into a fighting unit which can give any team tough time. The rifts within the team have also settled under the leadership of Mohammad Yousaf.

Pakistan Team Negatives

There #3 and #5 positions in the batting order are still vulnerable, Faisal Iqbal and Misbah Ul Haq have not shown any sort of form so far and with Shoaib Malik and Younis Khan also out of form no solution to this problem is in sight. Pakistan are also missing a genuine all rounder like Razzaq and Afridi which can provide them the fifth bowling option. Feilding was Pakistan’s major concern in their series against New Zealand they dropped too many easy catches and if they don’t improve their fielding they don’t stand a chance against the Aussies. Over criticism by fans and ex-players during a series adds too much pressure on the players and they can’t perform freely.

Likely Squads

Mohammad Yousaf, Kamran Akmal, Imran Farhat, Salman Butt, Faisal Iqbal, Shoaib Malik/Misbah Ul Haq, Umar Akmal, Danish Kaneria, Mohamad Aamer, Umar Gul/Abdul Rauf and Mohammad Asif

Micheal Clarke, Shane Watson, Simon Katich, Micheal Hussey, Ponting/Hughes, Marcus North, Brad Haddin, Nathan Hauritz, Mitchell Johnson, Peter Siddle, Doug Bollinger