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Rassie van der Dussen falls short of maiden Test hundred as South Africa fold on fourth day

The Report by Valkerie Baynes27-Jan-2020Nine wickets for the match to Mark Wood propelled England to an emphatic 191-run victory and 3-1 series triumph against South Africa inside four days at the Wanderers.Wood’s conquering of adversity – and England’s for that matter – on this tour gives them huge cause for optimism, but the hosts’ view of what lies ahead remains obscured by mountains every bit as imposing as their 466-run target for victory in this match.While England could enjoy the return of one of their key strike weapons to his best and the emergence of several youngsters with decade-long careers beckoning, South Africa’s rebuilding prospects have been hit by structural turmoil, issues with depth and low confidence, which has to be near rock-bottom after losing two consecutive home series for the first time in 70 years.Wood, playing back-to-back Tests for the first time since 2017, claimed a rare double by contributing 53 runs and nine wickets to play a pivotal role in the result and be named Man of the Match in an incredibly popular choice given his battle to even be playing here.Wood added 4 for 54 to his first-innings 5 for 46 – the second five-wicket haul of his Test career – as England comfortably accounted for the home side in the end, despite some resistance in the form of Rassie van der Dussen, who fell two runs shy of his maiden Test century and put on a 92-run stand with Faf du Plessis for the third wicket.As straightforward as England’s win ultimately was, the Test was not without tension with du Plessis becoming involved in an altercation with several England players, which included him making physical contact with Jos Buttler that could land him in hot water with the match referee. That was after the retiring Vernon Philander was fined 15% of his match fee as his verbal conflict with Buttler spilled into a second chapter.With uncertainty remaining over du Plessis’ Test future and Philander playing his final international match, South Africa stand to lose experience with only the greenest of green shoots appearing.While van der Dussen’s display with the bat, reaching his third half-century of the series in just his fourth Test, Beuran Hendricks’ five-for on debut and Anrich Nortje’s five-wicket haul in England’s first innings should all have given South Africa hope – and they may yet prove to – the overwhelming feeling was that there is just so much work to be done.In contrast, England were led by the likes of Man of the Series Ben Stokes, Joe Root and Stuart Broad offering a nurturing core to youngsters Ollie Pope, Dom Sibley, Zak Crawley and Dom Bess, the latter missing from this side which boasted a five-pronged pace attack. And with James Anderson, Jofra Archer and Rory Burns to return from injury, the depth is there that South Africa seem to be lacking.It was Archer’s absence, only settled on during the warm-ups in the first morning in Johannesburg when he aggravated an elbow injury, that brought Wood to the fore.Despite concerns over his ability to back-up after Port Elizabeth, his first match in six months, Wood produced in consecutive innings at the Wanderers, too.South Africa openers Pieter Malan and Dean Elgar started strongly enough, negotiating the first hour without worry. It was Chris Woakes who made the breakthrough after drinks when he tempted Malan to send an outswinger to Stokes at second slip. Elgar was out in similarly soft fashion, spooning a return catch to Stokes.Du Plessis and van der Dussen then came together, sparking South African hopes of reaching a fifth day, but it wasn’t all smooth sailing for the pair with van der Dussen withstanding a testing spell from Woakes and du Plessis getting into that heated exchange after he was struck by a ball thrown in from the outfield.Du Plessis fell first for 35 to a Stokes delivery that kept low and ricocheted on to his stumps off the toe of his bat. Having been hit on the chest by a Wood bouncer, van der Dussen was dispatched two runs short of his hundred a short time later when his attempted drive popped up to Broad, who was stationed for the catch at short extra cover.Broad sent down a gem to the recalled Temba Bavuma, who gloved the ball to Buttler behind the stumps and walked despite the umpire looking unmoved. Once Broad had Dwaine Pretorius caught cheaply hooking to deep backward square, Wood was back in the game.Wood had Philander out, strangled down the leg side for an anticlimactic end to his final Test, drew an all-too-typical smash from Quinton de Kock who found the safe hands of Woakes at mid-off and then another leg-side strangle dismissed last man Nortje after Hendricks had been run out.England’s struggles with illness at the start of the series, when a virus affected most of their touring party, and the 107-run loss in the first Test seemed so long ago as they looked towards their tour of Sri Lanka in March with the luxury options of resting players, further exposing the newer ones and picking their squad to suit the conditions. South Africa, meanwhile, must surely be asking, “Where do we go from here?”

Marshalling bowling attack was “great fun” says England captain, as he reflects on 211-run win

Andrew Miller09-Nov-2018Joe Root, England’s captain, praised his side’s adaptability and game awareness, after they ended a run of 13 overseas winless Tests by sealing a memorable 211-run victory over Sri Lanka on the fourth day in Galle.Having set Sri Lanka an improbable 462 for victory, England sealed the deal in the final session of the day, with their spinners Moeen Ali, Jack Leach and Adil Rashid sharing eight of the ten wickets. However Root praised in particular the impact of Ben Stokes with the ball, and said his contribution had been symptomatic of a side that has found new depths of resolve to overcome alien conditions.”From our position at lunchtime on the first day we’ve been in control of the whole game,” Root told Sky Sports. “And to be as consistent as that throughout a whole Test match, which is something we haven’t always got right in the past, especially away from home, has been really pleasing. We’ve been clear about things, and adapted to the surface all the time.”Stokes claimed just the one wicket, that of Dhananjaya de Silva just before lunch, but his eight-over spell rattled Sri Lanka’s middle order and gave the spinners a chance to turn the screw at the other end.”To have guys who can do different jobs is pleasing,” said Root. “You know with Ben you are going to get a flat-out performance. He’ll leave everything out on the field. I asked him to bowl one more and he said I’ve nothing left, and that doesn’t happen often. He could have had four or five in that spell, it was very hostile, and showed good skills with reverse swing. He changed the game, because that wicket before lunch was crucial.”England’s unparalleled depth of all-round talent, which was in particular evidence in their recovery from 103 for 5 on the first morning, was the stand-out feature of their victory, and Root admitted that it had been “great fun” marshalling his troops on their fourth-innings victory push.”We had so many different options,” he said. “It’s great to see the lads really dovetail and complement each other. There were times when the seamers might not get the praise they deserve, but they built a lot of pressure. The first hour today was great, we didn’t necessarily get any wickets, but they didn’t score freely and rotate at a comfortable rate, and towards the back end of the session we got our rewards.”Moeen continued his renaissance performance with another four-wicket haul, but Root singled out Leach for particular praise, for the way he helped control the tempo of Sri Lanka’s innings in only his second Test.”He’s had experience of bowling on wickets at Somerset that do spin,” Root said. “To transfer that into Test cricket is a great thing to have. He calls Somerset ‘Ciderabad’ and it seemed there were a few similarities. He gave great control which allowed us to attack at the other end.”England did well, too, to tailor their approach to suit a Galle wicket that, while not unfriendly to spinners, was not the dry Bunsen that they have usually faced at this venue.Ben Stokes dismissed Dhananjaya de Silva on the stroke of lunch•Getty Images

“Traditionally the pitch here deteriorates rapidly and you expect it to turn square and be hard to bat last on,” he said. “But with weather around it’s held together a lot better than we might have anticipated. You have to give yourself enough time to get the result.”We knew we were going to have to work hard and there’d be periods we’d have to be very patient and trust our plans, and the fact we managed to do that and see it work is really pleasing.”We had in-out fields to dry up the boundaries but still had to bowl in good areas and we did that,” Root added. “Sometimes when it’s spinning you want them to go for the single and bring the catchers into play.”If you take the boundary options out, as a batter you feel like you aren’t going anywhere so it can be quite frustrating. In difficult conditions, when you know it’s only going to get harder, it can weigh quite heavily on you psychologically, and we used that in our favour.”England now head to Pallekele for next week’s second Test with a victory under their belts, but a lot of selection headaches to face up to, not least the potential return to fitness of Jonny Bairstow, who may struggle to displace England’s Man-of-the-Match debutant, Ben Foakes,”To play the innings [Foakes] did showed great maturity and skill, and awareness of his own game,” said Root. “To keep in these conditions was a great challenge as well, and he was unflustered. He’s a natural and it’s great to see someone come in with an attitude of pure enjoyment, and grasp the opportunity in both hands.”It’s going to be an interesting meeting, but I’d rather be in this position than not have a clue who to pick. If the pitches look drastically different we can adapt to that with a different XI. It’s very balanced so going to be tough, but it’s great to see the guys putting pressure on for places.”

Both players have had stints in the middle order before, but India’s team management does not want to resume those experiments

Vishal Dikshit at the Wankhede21-Oct-20171:42

‘Don’t want to force Rahul into middle-order role’ – Kohli

KL Rahul is missing from India’s ODI squad for the New Zealand series because the hosts are looking at him purely as an opener and don’t want to forecefully make him another middle-order option. Captain Virat Kohli explained on the eve of the first ODI in Mumbai that India were already carrying three openers – Shikhar Dhawan, Rohit Sharma and Ajinkya Rahane – so it was decided to give Rahul more time in the first-class circuit.

Kohli wary of India’s ‘hectic’ schedule

Virat Kohli is concerned about the lack of rest Indian players have been getting because of the “hectic” schedule they are made to play in. Kohli emphasised the importance of getting adequate rest as it could be the difference between good and bad performances, and said every player needed a break irrespective of the high fitness levels they maintain these days.
“It’s become quite hectic, that’s something we definitely have to sit and discuss in the future,” he said. “Look at New Zealand, they haven’t played any cricket after Champions Trophy, there’s been such a good layoff and it can be the difference between doing well in a big tournament and not doing well. We are expected to perform on a consistent basis but I think the rest and the time to prepare should be adequate for athletes as well.
“This shouldn’t be an area where players are just chipped and changed according to form. You need to look at all the aspects, in terms of how many games you are playing, how much rest you are getting, whether you are able to maintain that consistency for 12 months given the number of matches that we play. Physically, are you able to keep up with it.
“How much ever fitness you do, but everyone needs rest. Everyone needs time to come back from training, especially the fast bowlers. We are doing that now with Umesh and Shami, we want them fresh for the Test season coming up. We don’t want to overtire players. Even some of the key batsmen will definitely get some rest in the future weeks because of the importance of the away tours that are coming up.”

For the middle order, India opted for Dinesh Karthik, who has amassed runs across formats in recent times. Even though Rahul was in the squad for the recently-concluded ODI series against Australia, he was dropped without being given a single chance.”This series, Dinesh Karthik has come in for KL. We felt KL, because he opens mostly, we don’t want to have a situation like Jinks (Ajinkya Rahane) was going through in between – having to play in the middle order forcefully because of what the top order was doing,” Kohli said. “We thought it’s better that he (Rahul) gets some game time in the first-class level so we got in Dinesh who has always played in the middle order. He is more comfortable and more aware of how to bat in the middle order. We need to strike that good balance, bring in guys who have the ability, who have done well in domestic cricket, who have done well for India A, you know track their performances and give them chances accordingly.”It’s not a situation where you just start giving chances to people so much that you compromise on winning the series because of lack of experience. We need to strike that good balance regularly.”Soon after being dropped for the ODIs, Rahul got a chance to open when he was drafted in for the warm-up matches against New Zealand. In the first match , he scored 68 off 75 balls in an opening stand of 147 with Prithvi Shaw but was only made to carry the drinks in the second match, for which Karun Nair moved up from No. 3.Rahul had started his ODI career in impressive fashion when he became the first Indian to score a century on ODI debut, against Zimbabwe in June 2016. He got to open against England too, earlier this year, when Rohit was injured but only managed low scores of 8, 5 and 11, falling to early swing two out of the three times. Rohit opened in the Champions Trophy once he recovered, and now the only way to slot Rahul in the XI was somewhere in the middle order.When India toured Sri Lanka in August, Rahul got opportunities at Nos. 3, 4 and 5 in the ODIs but the runs still didn’t come as he scored 4, 17 and 7, perishing to offspinner Akila Dananjaya all three times. Time was running out for Rahul because of the fierce competition in the Indian batting line-up. There could have been another chance to open for him when Australia arrived for five ODIs and Dhawan opted out of the series, but Rahane had been sitting on the sidelines for so long that he was given a go and he shone with four consecutive half-centuries. Coincidentally, he may also sit out of some of the New Zealand ODIs as the Dhawan-Rohit combo is set to reunite.”He’s definitely grabbed his opportunities as the third opener,” Kohli said of Rahane. “As I mentioned, there was KL as well competing for the spot for a bit, but Jinks has really performed well, he stood up and taken his chances. That’s how the dynamics of the team work, when you have four guys who play in a similar position, then obviously one of them will have to miss out. Even in the three, only two can play in the XI. Again, as I mentioned, we don’t want to confuse him too much making him play in the middle order.”You need to find your game in ODI cricket, you need to understand how to go about things in ODI cricket and he’s always been very solid at the top order because of his technique. And he likes playing there as well, it gives him freedom to go after the bowlers. We don’t want to confuse him, he’s in a happy space, he knows whenever someone is not going through a good phase or there is an injury coming up, he’s there, he is right at the doorstep waiting to play a game whenever the team requires him to. He’s pretty happy with his batting at the moment.”Since Dhawan and Rohit have collected nearly 3000 runs while opening together, at an average of over 48, it only means Rahane is going to be the back-up opener. And Rahul, will be the back-up’s back-up.

As a number of former and current players criticise Steven Smith for leaving the Sri Lanka tour early, his stand-in as captain, David Warner, has come to his defence

Andrew Fidel Fernando27-Aug-2016Mahela Jayawardene wondered on Twitter whether previous Australia captains would have left a tour early, as Steven Smith has done. Graeme Smith has echoed those sentiments publicly. Angelo Mathews was typically diplomatic, but as he prepares to play a side led by David Warner now, even he admits to being perplexed.”I think they have their own player management system, but honestly, if it was me, I wouldn’t have [left], because it’s a tough tour,” Mathews said. “You need the captain alongside the playing XI. They decided to rest him – well, I don’t think we as players have any issues with that.”Smith’s own team-mates have – not surprisingly – been more understanding of his departure, despite the ODI series still hanging in the balance. Warner said regular breaks for players were required because of cricket’s hectic modern schedules. Smith had also been leading Australia across all formats, taking over the ODI team after last year’s World Cup, and the Test and T20 sides since.”I can feel for Steve and the amount of cricket he has been playing,” Warner said. “It is going to very, very tough with the scheduling these days to play all three forms and every single game possible. Players are getting rested here and there. Everyone has to adapt, and we’ve got [to remember] that everyone is human.”While Warner attempts to fill the gap in leadership that Smith has left behind, Australia will also need to replace the man who has been ODI cricket’s most prolific run-scorer over the past year. Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh are in line to step into the XI. Warner suggested Smith’s output makes a break from cricket particularly well-deserved.”The stats he has on the board, runs-wise and the world’s best batter and player, I think he deserves a break whether or not it was during the series or before the series.”There were times there when I may have been leaning towards having a break and then you have a bit of misfortune by getting injured and that has sort of been my freshen-up.” [Warner broke a finger while fielding in June, and missed the end of the tri-series in the West Indies.]Warner is set to become Australia’s 23rd ODI captain, and said it had not been in his “wildest dreams” to lead the side. “I feel honoured and thrilled,” he said. “I’m really pumped to get out there, help the guys and lead from the front.”Though he has never led a national side, Warner has had captaincy success in the IPL, leading Sunrisers Hyderabad to this year’s title. Allrounder James Faulkner, who plays for the Gujarat Lions IPL franchise, suggested that experience would assist Warner’s captaincy at the international level.”David’s got lot of experience in all three formats – in IPL and BBL as well,” Faulkner said. “I know one thing – that he is pretty honest, and he’s going to back each and every one of us. Much as the same with Smithy – very good leaders. They let their presence be felt in the middle. I’m sure David will fill the position really well.”

England’s style of play compared to the World Cup could not be more of a contrast but Steven Finn insisted the aggressive mindset so effective in this series was the plan for World Cup too

ESPNcricinfo staff18-Jun-2015Steven Finn suffered more than any England bowler at the World Cup but he, like the team, has shown a remarkable turn of form in the ODI series against New Zealand, which heads to the final match on Saturday level at 2-2. England’s style of play compared to the World Cup could not be more of a contrast but Finn insisted the aggressive mindset so effective in this series was the plan for that tournament too.The removal of Peter Moores as coach has been highlighted as the primary cause of England’s change of attitude but Finn insisted Moores was also trying to instill the type of cricket they have produced in this series.”We talked about what we wanted to do in the World Cup,” Finn said. “We sat in front of the media and said we wanted to play with freedom and smiles on our faces. We didn’t do it. I’ve been involved in both series and I can’t put my finger on why but it seems there has been a huge change in attitude here.”There’s been some personnel changes and those guys have come in and done really well. Everyone is playing with a smile on their face. Even when we walked off the field after going for 350, we felt as though we were in the game. When you are 100 for 0 off 11 overs, everyone is sitting there in the dressing room and there’s a real camaraderie with the guys that I’ve rarely experienced in a dressing room before. It is really exciting.”All the credit for England’s turnaround has gone to their batsmen but Finn has played a crucial, and largely unheralded, role in the series, staging his own comeback having been their most expensive bowler at the World Cup, and then left out of the tour to West Indies. Finn is the joint-top wicket-taker in the series and is the most economical of those to have played in three or more matches, conceding 5.67-an-over, which before this series would have been considered expensive. Finn recognised how much the game has changed.”It is about accepting that the game has changed. [Brendon] McCullum hit me over wide long-off for six and I thought, ‘that was probably hitting the top of off stump’. So you have to walk back and think, ‘fair play, that was a good shot’. It’s that sort of attitude that bowlers are having to take into games.”It’s like playing a long Twenty20. You almost have to accept that you’re going to be hit for boundaries, you have to accept that people will play good shots. It’s just trying to make sure they are playing good shots to get their boundaries and they are not hitting bad balls. It has changed big time since the World Cup. To come into this series and for there to be scores regularly of around 350, as a bowler you have to change your mindset and go about things slightly differently.”It’s been tricky so far but it’s been really exciting. We have a good, young, very talented group of players at the moment. We’ve talked a lot about playing with a carefree attitude and playing with freedom – we talked a lot about it in the winter but never did it – so it’s great that four games in a row now, win or lose, we’ve played with that attitude. It has stood us in good stead so far.”Finn might have feared his England career was over when left out of the West Indies tour but he has staged a second return to international cricket, following his initial resurgence having been dubbed “unselectable” during the Ashes tour of 2013-14.”When I came back from that Australia tour, we stripped everything back and went right back to basics,” Finn said. “It’s been a case of grooving that over the last 18 months. To be now feeling in control of what I’m doing when I’m at the end of my mark is a nice feeling and something I want to keep doing. I learned a lot about my bowling and my action in that time and I feel as though I have a really good understanding of it now. I don’t feel as though I’ve ever bowled this consistent in terms of where I’m bowling it. I’d love to get that high-end pace back 100 per cent all the time that I had when I was taking wickets a lot a few years ago. That’s something I’m working towards but I’m happy where I am at the moment.”My mantra is very much to keep it as simple as I can. When I’ve done alright in T20s and one-dayers, it is about keeping it as simple as you can. If you’re clouded at the end of your mark or clouded when you’re running up, that generally leads to you bowling a poor ball. So it is about having a clear plan and saying, ‘if you hit me while I’m bowling to this plan, then you’ve got the better of me and are too good for me today’. It’s about finding plans for each batsman and you try not to bowl to their strengths.”Finn was named in the 14-man training squad that will travel to Spain ahead of the Ashes and now has his sights set on a return to the Test arena.”Well my last Test match was in the last Ashes over here nearly two years ago. I’d love to be involved. I’m going to have to keep bowling well and taking wickets for Middlesex. I dream and hope and wish I can play in this Ashes series but I can’t change what I’m doing in order to do that. I can just keep plugging away, keep trying to get better, keep feeling that rhythm, keep feeling as if I’m getting better. If that gets me in the Ashes squad, then great.”

A new four-day cricket tournament called the Bangladesh Cricket League will kick off on December 27

Mohammad Isam24-Dec-2012A new four-day cricket tournament called the Bangladesh Cricket League will kick off on December 27. The franchise-based tournament will be played between four teams, split by regions.Walton Central Zone, comprising players only from Dhaka Division and Dhaka Metro, Prime Bank South Zone (Khulna Division and Barisal Division), Islami Bank East Zone (Sylhet Division and Chittagong Division) and BCB North Zone (Rangpur Division and Rajshahi Division) will take part in the competition. Three of the four teams have been bought by companies but the fourth, North Zone, will be run by the BCB because it had no takers.The BCB has not yet initiated the process of obtaining first-class status for the BCL. The National Cricket League (NCL) still remains the country’s only first-class competition.The national selectors have picked 80 cricketers for the franchises to choose from, specifically from their regions. The tournament will be held at two venues, Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur and the Shaheed Chandu Stadium in Bogra, and will run till January 11. The rest of the tournament will be completed after the BPL.

The New Zealand coach John Wright has challenged Doug Bracewell to keep aiming high after he bowled his side to victory over Australia in Hobart

Brydon Coverdale14-Dec-2011The New Zealand coach John Wright has challenged Doug Bracewell to keep aiming high after he bowled his side to victory over Australia in Hobart. Wright believes Bracewell can become a consistent world-class player following his strong performance at Bellerive Oval, which came after another match-winning effort against Zimbabwe last month.In his third Test, Bracewell collected match figures of 9 for 60, including three important middle-order breakthroughs in the space of nine deliveries as he curved the ball in the air and accounted for Ricky Ponting, Michael Clarke and Michael Hussey. On debut, Bracewell had taken five wickets in Bulawayo to rescue New Zealand when it appeared Zimbabwe would achieve their chase of 366.”A lot of credit goes to Doug Bracewell and Timmy Southee, particularly Doug,” Wright said after arriving home in New Zealand following the Hobart victory. “He’s done some special things. We’ve been here before. We were in a similar situation against Zimbabwe going in to the last session of the game and Doug stood up in that match and he’s done it again.”He could be [something special], but there’s a few like that in this team. There’s a few young players who haven’t had much experience, they’ll take some time. I think our Test team will take some time. He’s one of a number that, you look at him and think he should be wanting to be world-ranked, not just a good player for New Zealand but he should be a world-class player.”Wright has the distinction of being the only man with a direct involvement in all three of New Zealand’s Test wins in Australia, having opened the batting in their victories at the Gabba and the WACA in 1985. He instilled a fighting mentality into his side and it was apparent in the way they played on the final day in Hobart that they never felt out of the game, even when Australia’s chase was on track early.”I’ve always enjoyed victories over Australia,” Wright said. “I’ve had some battles with them as a player and then with India we had some great tussles. It’s nice to go back there again. You always know that they’re just like any other opposition: if you get them under pressure they can succumb to that.”The success in Hobart means that under the leadership of Wright and the captain Ross Taylor, New Zealand have won two of their past three Tests, having previously had only two wins from 21 matches before the Zimbabwe trip. A one-off Test against Zimbabwe at home in late January gives them a strong chance to keep that form going, but Wright talked down the idea of New Zealand being on the cusp of a special era.”It’s a bit early to tell,” he said. “People tend to get a little bit carried away with victory. We’ll let the dust settle. We’ll pick our best side and try to get another win against Zimbabwe. Then we’ve got South Africa coming, who are very formidable opponents. Let’s hope we can show some of the fighting qualities that people saw.”

The family of Zulqarnain Haider, the Pakistan wicketkeeper, has reported receiving threatening phone calls to the police

ESPNcricinfo staff29-Nov-2010The family of Zulqarnain Haider, the Pakistan wicketkeeper, has reported receiving threatening phone calls to the police after Haider, who is still in England, said he would expose those involved in corrupt practices in Pakistan cricket.”Zulqarnain’s wife got three calls today, two from an unknown number and one from a number in Greece, in which the caller, speaking in Urdu, threatened her of dire consequences if Zulqarnain said anything about anyone,” Aqeel Haider, one of Haider’s brother, told .Aqeel said the calls were received after Haider had updated his Facebook page with a message saying he would blow the whistle on ” those who have taken money”. “All these people who are saying negative things about me, they should wait for five more days, then I will show them my background and status,” Haider wrote. “After five days I will show them their background and place, and also those who don’t take money and those who have taken money.”Haider had gone missing from the team hotel on the morning of Pakistan’s fifth ODI against South Africa in Dubai and resurfaced in London later the same day. He was said to be seeking protection in the UK after he was threatened by unidentified people following his team’s one-wicket win in the fourth ODI against South Africa. As a result of the threats Haider announced his retirement from cricket.

For the first time in nearly 15 years, Pakistan have their best chance to do anything other than be thrashed by Australia

Osman Samiuddin at the MCG25-Dec-2009With due pardon to England and South Africa, no country would be as happy
to be not facing Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne anymore as Pakistan. In 14
Tests the pair played together against Pakistan, they picked up a
staggering 157 wickets between them, leading to 11 wins and only two
losses; pace and spin have never been, and are unlikely to ever again be, this
potent, at least until Usain Bolt signs up with Max Clifford. Largely
because of the two, Pakistan have lost nine Tests in a row to Australia.
They’ve come close to winning only one. In hip-hop parlance, Pakistan has
long been Australia’s she-dog.The pair’s reign brought out the worst truths about Pakistan’s batting;
McGrath exposed inadequacies with bounce and indiscipline outside off and
Warne burst open regularly and brutally the myth that Pakistan could play
spin. They have only ever played Indian spin well. Now, as more
teams are discovering, they will also find out that Australia without that
pair is not the same Australia at all. Now, for the first time in nearly
15 years, Pakistan have their best chance to do anything other than be
thrashed by Australia. A Test win is not beyond them, though a first-ever
series win in the country probably is.”That was a top bowling attack and those two were the best in the world,”
Yousuf, who averaged under 30 against them, said. “That is all in the past now. I want to be realistic
about our chances this time round. This is not Twenty20. We need to play
good cricket over five whole days, not just a session or two.”Many things will have to go right for the realism to come through, not
least the batting. Yousuf is another in a long line of Pakistani batsmen
to have fared poorly against Australia, though at least he has the memory
of a shimmering Boxing Day hundred in 2004-05 to fall back on. Younis
Khan is not around, so the burden on Yousuf and the Akmal brothers down the
order is already inordinately great.The younger Umar scored big in Australia on an A tour against a handy
attack earlier this year which bodes well. Mostly, just the prospect of
watching a rare and genuine batting talent is enough and only excitability
can do him in; at nets on Friday, he was the last man to leave and that
too only after Waqar Younis, the bowling and fielding coach, told him to so as to ensure he is relaxed before the Test. But one of the openers and one from the middle order of Faisal Iqbal or Misbah-ul-Haq will have to produce something somewhere.And though spilt catches do not always mean lost matches in Pakistan’s
case – they dropped six in Wellington and still won comfortably – they cannot afford to be lax here of all places. They have an attack that creates a fair amount of work in the slips and the absence of Younis, in that regard, becomes doubly harmful.The brightest prospects for a Pakistan win, however, revolve around their
pace attack. Pakistan’s finest moments in Australia historically have been
pace-oriented. Imran Khan’s Sydney 12, Sarfraz Nawaz’s Melbourne spell of
seven for one, Wasim Akram’s coming of age in 1990-91, a couple of Shoaib
Akhtar spells in the 2000s; what cheer there has been has come from fast
bowlers. This time, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Aamer and Umar Gul combine to
give Pakistan a lovely shape where most angles, save perhaps extreme pace,
are covered. They should enjoy the conditions here. Danish Kaneria has
fond memories of Australia too but the suspicion is that he will be a fine
foil to any success, rather than an instigator.The package can be a formidable one, as Ricky Ponting acknowledged.
“They’re a better team than West Indies, a more skilled group of
players, no doubt about that,” Ponting said. “We know with Pakistan when
they put their best foot forward they are a very, very good cricket team,
no doubt, Tests, ODIs and Twenty20. They have a lot of mystery about them,
probably the word that sums them up the best. There are a number of very
good players, the young left-arm quickie [Aamer] looks good, Gul has been
around, Asif is a world class bowler, Kaneria too. Mohammad Yousuf, the
two Akmals – a number of very good players in their side that we will have
to pay attention to. They are unpredictable, one day brilliant, another
day pretty ordinary. We have to make sure they have more ordinary days
than brilliant ones over the next few weeks.”