Being trounced in Australia is a routine experience for everyone apart from South Africa, whose conditions are so similar.
And, of course, in spite of toothless bowling, all three Tests went late into Day 5, which is unusual, and the first two were only lost because of a batting failure in one innings.
So I would argue that Pakistan got around 75% of the tour right. The question is whether they have the insight and the will to address the other 25% of issues.
What Pakistan did right
1. They identified and persevered with Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed and Wahab Riaz.
2. They played enough cricket outside Asia in the preceding six months to give their batsmen a chance.
3. They brought in Mickey Arthur and Steve Rixon.
4. They excluded Mohammad Hafeez and Zulfiqar Babar from the squad.
What Pakistan did wrong
1. They messed up their scheduling and gave themselves too little time in New Zealand and Australia to acclimatise and to see that their bowling plans were not going to work. They could easily have played the home West Indies Tests before the ODI and T20 matches, but didn't.
2. They failed to see this tour as the culmination of a two year playing cycle. This meant that short-term selection policies ensured that Sami Aslam and Babar Azam arrived as rookies, and learned from their mistakes 18-24 months too late.
3. They failed to understand that outside Asia your two best quicks deliver more in a four man pace attack than a three man one - it's all about limiting workloads to maximise pace. Even Hammad Azam or Aamer Yamin would have strengthened this side - and been able to open the bowling in the Second Innings at the SCG. This of course is why Australia has tried both Mitchell Marsh and Hilton Cartwright at Number 6.
4. They failed to anticipate that Yasir Shah would have limited effectiveness. I wrote long ago that he lacks the overspin needed in Australia. But the second key moment was when Australia called up Renshaw and Maddinson meaning five left-handers in the Top Seven. At that point every plan needed to go out the window, with SOS calls sent out to Mohammad Hafeez and Saeed Ajmal, with a licence to chuck. But Misbah and Mickey ploughed on, full steam ahead, into the iceberg.
5. They failed to anticipate that using Yasir Shah as stock bowler meant that the quicks only got a 3 minute break between overs rather than a 5 minute break. Steve Smith was clear that he used Jackson Bird more than Nathan Lyon to give his strike bowlers a longer break between overs. By the time they reached the SCG Mohammad Amir was out on his feet.
6. There was too much of an emphasis on "team harmony" and too little respect for past performances in the conditions. A political veto might have kept out Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif even after they hit top form at home. But Umar Akmal's Australian track record in Tests and A Tests is excellent too, and he was sorely missed in a way that he wouldn't be anywhere else apart, perhaps, from South Africa.
7. It's been seven years since the last Test tour to Australia. Why hasn't Pakistan A visited? Surely Pakistan A should visit places like England, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa a year before every senior tour there - and possibly play Pakistan at minor grounds.
8. Misbah is a proven failure as a batsman in Australia and South Africa. Had anybody done an assessment to determine whether he might fail as a batsman at the age of 42? Even Younis, at 43, arguably outweighed his masterful 175 not out on a helpful track at Sydney with his failures in the collapses at Brisbane and Melbourne.
It's great that Pakistan got 75% right. But the 25% of errors turned a highly winnable tour into a whitewash defeat.
I am pretty sure that England and India have learned from similar mistakes: in the space of 3 years India converted a 4-0 whitewash into a 2-0 defeat.
But can Pakistan learn from their mistakes? Can they schedule properly before the 2018 England and 2018-19 South Africa tours?
And, of course, in spite of toothless bowling, all three Tests went late into Day 5, which is unusual, and the first two were only lost because of a batting failure in one innings.
So I would argue that Pakistan got around 75% of the tour right. The question is whether they have the insight and the will to address the other 25% of issues.
What Pakistan did right
1. They identified and persevered with Azhar Ali, Asad Shafiq, Sarfraz Ahmed and Wahab Riaz.
2. They played enough cricket outside Asia in the preceding six months to give their batsmen a chance.
3. They brought in Mickey Arthur and Steve Rixon.
4. They excluded Mohammad Hafeez and Zulfiqar Babar from the squad.
What Pakistan did wrong
1. They messed up their scheduling and gave themselves too little time in New Zealand and Australia to acclimatise and to see that their bowling plans were not going to work. They could easily have played the home West Indies Tests before the ODI and T20 matches, but didn't.
2. They failed to see this tour as the culmination of a two year playing cycle. This meant that short-term selection policies ensured that Sami Aslam and Babar Azam arrived as rookies, and learned from their mistakes 18-24 months too late.
3. They failed to understand that outside Asia your two best quicks deliver more in a four man pace attack than a three man one - it's all about limiting workloads to maximise pace. Even Hammad Azam or Aamer Yamin would have strengthened this side - and been able to open the bowling in the Second Innings at the SCG. This of course is why Australia has tried both Mitchell Marsh and Hilton Cartwright at Number 6.
4. They failed to anticipate that Yasir Shah would have limited effectiveness. I wrote long ago that he lacks the overspin needed in Australia. But the second key moment was when Australia called up Renshaw and Maddinson meaning five left-handers in the Top Seven. At that point every plan needed to go out the window, with SOS calls sent out to Mohammad Hafeez and Saeed Ajmal, with a licence to chuck. But Misbah and Mickey ploughed on, full steam ahead, into the iceberg.
5. They failed to anticipate that using Yasir Shah as stock bowler meant that the quicks only got a 3 minute break between overs rather than a 5 minute break. Steve Smith was clear that he used Jackson Bird more than Nathan Lyon to give his strike bowlers a longer break between overs. By the time they reached the SCG Mohammad Amir was out on his feet.
6. There was too much of an emphasis on "team harmony" and too little respect for past performances in the conditions. A political veto might have kept out Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif even after they hit top form at home. But Umar Akmal's Australian track record in Tests and A Tests is excellent too, and he was sorely missed in a way that he wouldn't be anywhere else apart, perhaps, from South Africa.
7. It's been seven years since the last Test tour to Australia. Why hasn't Pakistan A visited? Surely Pakistan A should visit places like England, New Zealand, Australia and South Africa a year before every senior tour there - and possibly play Pakistan at minor grounds.
8. Misbah is a proven failure as a batsman in Australia and South Africa. Had anybody done an assessment to determine whether he might fail as a batsman at the age of 42? Even Younis, at 43, arguably outweighed his masterful 175 not out on a helpful track at Sydney with his failures in the collapses at Brisbane and Melbourne.
It's great that Pakistan got 75% right. But the 25% of errors turned a highly winnable tour into a whitewash defeat.
I am pretty sure that England and India have learned from similar mistakes: in the space of 3 years India converted a 4-0 whitewash into a 2-0 defeat.
But can Pakistan learn from their mistakes? Can they schedule properly before the 2018 England and 2018-19 South Africa tours?
I like Wahab to but he was god awful on this tour
