I attended the first three days of the Gabba Test and watched the fourth on TV.
And it strikes me that two things conspired to allow Australia to win, while a third thing has given Pakistan a glimmer of hope.
1) Key factor 1: on Day 1 when Rahat was poor, there was nowhere else for Misbah to turn.
2) Key factor 2: when Pakistan's batsmen aged in their forties failed under lights, the lower middle-order wasn't strong enough to resist. The batsmen at numbers 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9 contributed almost nothing.
3) Key factor 3: when storms prolonged Day 4 into a very, very long day, Australia's four man bowling attack was overworked and fell apart.
It is important at this point to grasp the differences between:
TYPE 1: Batting all-rounders
These are people like Jacques Kallis and Mohammad Hafeez who bat in the Top Six but can bowl three 5 over spells in a day and reliably return figures each innings of:
15-5-35-1
But they also need to average at least 35 with the bat. Which is why Shane Watson had a long Test career, but Mitchell Marsh has had to be dropped.
Look around the world and you see Corey Anderson and Ben Stokes in this category, and arguably Quinton de Kock.
It is my contention that when Misbah and Younis retire, their replacements should not be specialist batsmen - there is already Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq and Azhar Ali in the side - but rather one batsman who can bowl spin and one who can bowl medium-fast, and they need to be groomed for the highest level.
I would argue that of the great all-rounders of the 1970's and 1980's, this is where Clive Rice belonged.
The only Pakistani who I can see in this area is Aamer Yamin, and his batting would always be marginal.
TYPE 2 - Balanced all-rounders
This type is as rare as hen's teeth. These are men like Imran Khan who can bat at 6 or 7 but bowl as well as any specialist bowler. I'd argue that Shakib-al-Hasan is the only one currently in world cricket.
It's the hardest role of all to develop into, and it is what Mohammad Nawaz is trying to grow into.
This is what Imran Khan, Kapil Dev and Ian Botham were.
And at a much lower level, it's what Faheem Ashraf and Hammad Azam are, although neither seems to have the potential to make it at international level.
TYPE 3 - Bowling all-rounders
In some ways this is usually the easiest category to develop. It requires a specialist bowler to have decent hand-eye coordination and a sound technique, so that he can average well over 20.
This is what Richard Hadlee and Shaun Pollock were superb examples of (averaging 30 with the bat) and what Mitchell Johnson and Vernon Philander now are.
It's also what both Mohammad Amir and Hasan Ali are comfortably capable of being, and so too is Amad Butt.
So where does this leave the Pakistan team?
As I have written, Pakistan will already have 4 specialist batsmen who can't bowl when Younis and Misbah depart. I don't think that their replacements can be men who can't bowl.
I would be thinking that Pakistan needs to ensure that for the next couple of years, they have to take Aamer Yamin, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali and Amad Butt on every tour. Get them batting and bowling in the nets against the top players every day. Hopefully 2 or 3 of them will make the improvements that would elevate them to genuine all-rounder status.
Because I reckon that the following would actually be a pretty good Test team when the 2018 Spring tour of England arrives, which could open up qualificiation for the 2019 World Test Championship Final at Lords:
1. Sami Aslam
2. Imam-ul-Haq or Salman Butt
3. Azhar Ali
4. Babar Azam
5. Asad Shafiq
6. Sarfraz Ahmed
7. Mohammad Nawaz (Asia) or Aamer Yamin (elsewhere)
8. Hasan Ali
9. Mohammad Amir
10. Yasir Shah
11. Wahab Riaz or Mohammad Asif or even Amad Butt
And it strikes me that two things conspired to allow Australia to win, while a third thing has given Pakistan a glimmer of hope.
1) Key factor 1: on Day 1 when Rahat was poor, there was nowhere else for Misbah to turn.
2) Key factor 2: when Pakistan's batsmen aged in their forties failed under lights, the lower middle-order wasn't strong enough to resist. The batsmen at numbers 4, 5, 6, 8 and 9 contributed almost nothing.
3) Key factor 3: when storms prolonged Day 4 into a very, very long day, Australia's four man bowling attack was overworked and fell apart.
It is important at this point to grasp the differences between:
TYPE 1: Batting all-rounders
These are people like Jacques Kallis and Mohammad Hafeez who bat in the Top Six but can bowl three 5 over spells in a day and reliably return figures each innings of:
15-5-35-1
But they also need to average at least 35 with the bat. Which is why Shane Watson had a long Test career, but Mitchell Marsh has had to be dropped.
Look around the world and you see Corey Anderson and Ben Stokes in this category, and arguably Quinton de Kock.
It is my contention that when Misbah and Younis retire, their replacements should not be specialist batsmen - there is already Sami Aslam, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq and Azhar Ali in the side - but rather one batsman who can bowl spin and one who can bowl medium-fast, and they need to be groomed for the highest level.
I would argue that of the great all-rounders of the 1970's and 1980's, this is where Clive Rice belonged.
The only Pakistani who I can see in this area is Aamer Yamin, and his batting would always be marginal.
TYPE 2 - Balanced all-rounders
This type is as rare as hen's teeth. These are men like Imran Khan who can bat at 6 or 7 but bowl as well as any specialist bowler. I'd argue that Shakib-al-Hasan is the only one currently in world cricket.
It's the hardest role of all to develop into, and it is what Mohammad Nawaz is trying to grow into.
This is what Imran Khan, Kapil Dev and Ian Botham were.
And at a much lower level, it's what Faheem Ashraf and Hammad Azam are, although neither seems to have the potential to make it at international level.
TYPE 3 - Bowling all-rounders
In some ways this is usually the easiest category to develop. It requires a specialist bowler to have decent hand-eye coordination and a sound technique, so that he can average well over 20.
This is what Richard Hadlee and Shaun Pollock were superb examples of (averaging 30 with the bat) and what Mitchell Johnson and Vernon Philander now are.
It's also what both Mohammad Amir and Hasan Ali are comfortably capable of being, and so too is Amad Butt.
So where does this leave the Pakistan team?
As I have written, Pakistan will already have 4 specialist batsmen who can't bowl when Younis and Misbah depart. I don't think that their replacements can be men who can't bowl.
I would be thinking that Pakistan needs to ensure that for the next couple of years, they have to take Aamer Yamin, Mohammad Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali and Amad Butt on every tour. Get them batting and bowling in the nets against the top players every day. Hopefully 2 or 3 of them will make the improvements that would elevate them to genuine all-rounder status.
Because I reckon that the following would actually be a pretty good Test team when the 2018 Spring tour of England arrives, which could open up qualificiation for the 2019 World Test Championship Final at Lords:
1. Sami Aslam
2. Imam-ul-Haq or Salman Butt
3. Azhar Ali
4. Babar Azam
5. Asad Shafiq
6. Sarfraz Ahmed
7. Mohammad Nawaz (Asia) or Aamer Yamin (elsewhere)
8. Hasan Ali
9. Mohammad Amir
10. Yasir Shah
11. Wahab Riaz or Mohammad Asif or even Amad Butt
