Australia name squads for Pakistan tour

[shahidafridi123]

Australian men's Test squad for the Qantas tour of Pakistan

The National Selection Panel (NSP) has named an 18-player squad Test squad for the Qantas tour of Pakistan.

Australia will tour Pakistan for the first time since 1998 for three Test matches, three One-Day Internationals and one T20 International.

The Test playing contingent and staff are due to depart for Pakistan later this month while white ball players, to be announced separately, will join mid-tour for the One-Day Internationals and T20 International.

Australian men’s squad for the Qantas tour of Pakistan:

Pat Cummins (NSW/Penrith Cricket Club) (c)
Ashton Agar (WA/University Cricket Club)
Scott Boland (VIC/Frankston Peninsula Cricket Club)
Alex Carey (SA/Glenelg Cricket Club)
Cameron Green (WA/Subiaco-Floreat Cricket Club)
Marcus Harris (VIC/St Kilda Cricket Club)
Josh Hazlewood (NSW/St George Cricket Club)
Travis Head (SA/Tea Tree Gully Cricket Club)
Josh Inglis (WA/Joondalup Cricket Club)
Usman Khawaja (QLD/Valley District Cricket Club)
Marnus Labuschagne (QLD/Redlands Cricket Club)
Nathan Lyon (NSW/Northern District Cricket Club)
Mitchell Marsh (WA/Fremantle Cricket Club)
Michael Neser (QLD/Gold Coast District Cricket Club)
Steve Smith (NSW/Sutherland Cricket Club) (vc)
Mitchell Starc (NSW/Manly Warringah Cricket Club)
Mitchell Swepson (QLD/Sandgate-Redcliffe District Cricket Club)
David Warner (NSW/Randwick Petersham Cricket Club)

George Bailey, NSP Chair, said: “This squad covers for all scenarios including the conditions given it has been such a long time since Australia was last in Pakistan.

“With several subcontinent tours and a one-day World Cup in India on the near horizon this is a great first up challenge for the group after the successful home Ashes Series.

"It’s also a very historic tour given the length of time since an Australian side last toured Pakistan.”

 

[hitthestump]

Thank you Australia.

Whatever anyone says about Ramiz's reign in the future, if all goes well this will be a massive point in his favour.

 

[PakFan2010]

Thank you Australia.

Whatever anyone says about Ramiz's reign in the future, if all goes well this will be a massive point in his favour.

Not really, Waseem Khan did all of the work.

 

[Sycamore]

Now it is upto the security agencies to ensure that the next 2 months go by without a hitch. Credit goes to Rameez, everyone was attacking him, in regards to making himself a fool on twitter etc, but stern words are needed to remind countries around the world about their obligation to pakistan, after all that pakistan does for them.

 

[zoeyfactor]

Let's just hope and pray they come, good cricket happens without ANY incident and they leave the country satisfied with full tour completion.

 

[HappyWarsFan]

Let's just hope and pray they come, good cricket happens without ANY incident and they leave the country satisfied with full tour completion.

Yes hopefully. I still haven't gotten over the New Zealand pullout PTSD.

 

[Major]

Damnn.. its happening i guess.

Wont believe it till toss gets done as we all remember the nz event.

If we have goo 2 months of cricket woth australia, this will be opening floodgates. This is great for the repo... Australian team coming and that too on its full strength.

I might get tickets for all the pindi odis and t20s

 

[DeadlyVenom]

Great news. Thank you Australia.

I hope and pray that the tour goes ahead and the Aussies get to experience the hospitality and passion of Pakistanis.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

with so much focus on the security where our hearts are constantly throbbing in the fear of something ill happening (God forbids), that leads to the cancellation of the tour, I wonder it would be even fun to watch the actual games?

 

[Savak]

Not really, Waseem Khan did all of the work.

Wasim Khan failed to convince the NZCB and the ECB to stay in Pakistan in Sept 2020. At the time it was completely uncertain whether Australia would tour after these two countries had pulled out. Since WK's departure its been all Ramiz in the PCB.

 

[RedwoodOriginal]

Looking forward to watching the first test at Pindi Stadium.

 

[offstump]

Really hope they do some quick cosmetic work to make Pindi stadium presentable on television.

 

[JaDed]

Nice, Aus the one least expected is actually going to tour !

 

[ChTab]

This is massive. Hope everything goes well. Really happy that there are 3 tests as compared to the 2 Pakistan normally plays. Can't wait for the 1st match to happen at Pindi Cricket Stadium. Hope the tours go on smoothly so that we can host NZ & ENG on 5 venues in Pakistan.

 

[moghul]

Great news , hope those people who were constantly posting negative comments about the tour will take a break.

 

[HappyWarsFan]

Wow, it actually may go ahead in the end. I guess [MENTION=131701]Mamoon[/MENTION] was correct here

 

[Bilal Ahmad15]

4th of March. That is the day we are all waiting for.

 

[Snowflake]

Thank you Australia.

Whatever anyone says about Ramiz's reign in the future, if all goes well this will be a massive point in his favour.

What do you mean by "whatever anyone says"? The guy hasn't put a foot wrong till now. There would be nothing but praise for him if things continue to go the way they are going.

 

[Snowflake]

Now it is upto the security agencies to ensure that the next 2 months go by without a hitch. Credit goes to Rameez, everyone was attacking him, in regards to making himself a fool on twitter etc, but stern words are needed to remind countries around the world about their obligation to pakistan, after all that pakistan does for them.

Oh man! How I wish I could mention all those posts lambasting Ramiz for being "reckless", "emotional", "immature" and what not..fearing that he'd "burn all bridges" with other boards...lol!

So many of us have gotten used to being subservient and cowardly. Good on Ramiz to take this issue head-on!

 

[Devadwal]

Full strength squad. Great news. Really looking forward to this series. 2-1 to either side

 

[Snow]

Great news! I loved watching Pakistan vs England and India vs Pakistan in 2000s in Pakistan. There were something about the passion that fans had, which went missing in Dubai.

Is crowd going to be allowed in stadiums, i hope so.

 

[MenInG]

Media release from Cricket Australia added.

 

[Slim]

This is HUGEEEE! Big thanks to Cricket Australia. We will forever be grateful to them if this goes through. Thankyou!

 

[Kaddy]

So finally .........The real cricket is coming soon and even that against the big boys.

Tired of this all this T20 season.

 

[Forward Defensive Push]

Thank you Ramiz and thank you WTC.. no team can afford to lose points now and that indeed played a part!

 

[Titan24]

Good stuff, hopefully everything goes as planned.

Little worried that how well our players will be prepared for the test series against such a quality opposition when they are in T20 mode.

They are professionals though, hopefully will be able to adapt quickly.

 

[Sarwar89]

If i have to be honest it is going to be the most influential and historic test tour of Pakistan since Bishan Singh Bedi’s India visited Pakistan in 1978 Test series. Impact of that series was so much thag within next 5 years Cricket replaced Hockey as the most popular sport in country.

 

[Bewal Express]

Most of the guys have no intention of coming and are doing it for PR. As we get closer to the tour you will see these guys lose their nerve and look for excuses to get out. The incidents in Balochistan aren't happening in a vacuum, our neighbours are getting desperate about the PK-Sino relationship and the cricket. Remember where all the NZ calls were coming from.

 

[Romali_rotti]

This has potential to be a great tour, I feel Pak will edge Aussies in the test series, but will lose the limited over games.

 

[ARK Rafay]

"We may have one or two players who won't be comfortable despite all of the advice and guidance that we provide. Along with Cricket Australia, we'll need to respect those players and give them our full support if they decide not to make this tour.

Interesting. So the squad has not been finalized until they aboard the plane.

 

[MenInG]

Australia have named a full-strength squad for their first overseas Test tour in almost three years, with Ashton Agar the only addition from the extended group of players that won the Ashes.

Mitch Marsh, Josh Inglis and Mitchell Swepson have all been named in an 18-man squad for the historic three-Test tour of Pakistan, Australia's first visit to the cricket-mad nation in nearly 25 years.

Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner

While squads for the limited-overs matches that will follow the Tests are yet to be named, the fact no Test players have pulled out is a vote of confidence for a tour that was only given the green light to proceed following a Cricket Australia Board meeting last week.

Thorough security assessments were conducted by officials for the first trip by an Australian team to Pakistan since the 2009 terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team bus in Lahore.

"Clearly there is some anxiety about touring which I think is perfectly natural given an Australian team hasn't toured Pakistan for almost 25 years," Australian Cricketers' Association chief Todd Greenberg told SEN on Monday.

"We may have one or two players who won't be comfortable despite all of the advice and guidance that we provide. Along with Cricket Australia, we'll need to respect those players and give them our full support if they decide not to make this tour.

"It's a very important tour. The players completely understand our contribution to the global game and we don't have an expectation that we can sit here and expect teams to tour our country and not contribute ourselves."

Jhye Richardson is the only player of note to miss the trip as Australia manage the body of the 25-year-old fast bowler, who has struggled with injuries over his career.

Marcus Harris has held his spot in the squad after being squeezed out of his opening spot for the final match of the Ashes campaign following Usman Khawaja's twin hundreds at the SCG.

Harris had won plaudits at the MCG for his Test-high 76 on a dicey pitch, while Pat Cummins has admitted fielding two 35-year-old openers (in Khawaja and David Warner) is not a sound long-term selection strategy.

There are no surprises among the other bowlers picked, with Ashes hero Scott Boland named alongside the big three quicks in Cummins, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, who returns from injury, while Michael Neser is also in.

Agar is one of three spin options along with Nathan Lyon and Swepson, with the trio earmarked for major roles over the next 18 months with tours of Sri Lanka and India (and potentially Bangladesh given a tour there was 'postponed' in 2020 and is still to be rescheduled) on the horizon.

But Australia have been warned that Pakistan is not a slow bowlers' paradise.

"The general perception, which I think is wrong, is … there's going to be two spinners in the game and it's going to spin all the way through," former Pakistan batter Bazid Khan told cricket.com.au last month.

"Pakistan is totally different to India. The ball is not going to spin straight away and mostly the wickets have been taken by the faster men rather than the spinners."

Marsh and Inglis, both of whom rode the bench during the Ashes, provide cover in the seam-bowling allrounder and wicketkeeper positions currently occupied by incumbents Cameron Green and Alex Carey respectively.

The extended size of the squad reflects the difficulty of calling players up at short notice to an overseas tour should there be a last-minute injury, with Australia expected to be in some form of a bio-secure bubble for the tour.

"This squad covers for all scenarios including the conditions given it has been such a long time since Australia was last in Pakistan," selection chief George Bailey said.

"With several subcontinent tours and a one-day World Cup in India on the near horizon this is a great first up challenge for the group after the successful home Ashes series.

"It's also a very historic tour given the length of time since an Australian side last toured Pakistan."

Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner

https://www.cricket.com.au/news/aus...-richardson-schedule-george-bailey/2022-02-08

 

[Amjid Javed]

i hope if the series is played its as good as the 1994 played between the 2 sides in Pakistan. This is a series to prove we are a force at home in test cricket.

 

[MenInG]

Michael Clarke has questioned national selectors’ decision to pick Marcus Harris for Australia’s Test tour of Pakistan after the opener was dropped during this summer’s Ashes series.

The selectors’ patience with Harris finally ran out this summer as the opener was axed for the Hobart Test after averaging 25.29 from 14 matches.

Nonetheless, he was picked in Australia’s 18-man squad to tour Pakistan next month as back-up for David Warner and the man who replaced him, Usman Khawaja.

Speaking hours before the squad announcement, when it was reported Harris would tour, former Australia Test captain Clarke voiced his concern.

“Where is he going to bat?” Clarke said on Big Sports Breakfast. “You’re not going to open with him. Khawaja is going to.

“You’re only going to take one spare batsman. You’re not going to take an opening batter as your spare batter, that makes no sense to me at all.”

Clarke said that Khawaja’s versatility to bat anywhere inside the top six means selectors may view the left-hander as their main form of cover.

Nonetheless, if Khawaja is also Australia’s No.1 choice to open the batting alongside Warner, Clarke believes there needs to be another middle-order option instead of an opener.

“If Uzzie is opening the batting now, I’d be selecting my spare batter as someone that is very good against spin bowling,” Clarke said.

Mitchell Marsh has been selected in the squad, and is a strong player of spin, but is considered an all-rounder option rather than a specialist batter.

Of Marsh’s 55 Test innings, all but seven have come batting at No.6 or lower, while only three have come higher than No.5, where Travis Head will bat.

Meanwhile, still missing out is 24-year-old Will Pucovski after an extended lay-off due to concussion.

Clarke believes that Pucovski is “not even close” to returning for Australia.

“He’s 12 months at least away,” Clarke said. “I reckon the rest of this season and all of next season before we have a conversation about him.

“I don’t think he can be even close to international cricket, there’s way too much risk now.”

https://www.foxsports.com.au/cricke...n/news-story/28c11781be536b8cef7cd60a39494013

 

[Energy]

Heartening to see this but we shouldn't lose the series in the emotional bhaichaara. Need to win and get much needed WTC points.

 

[shah9425]

Hopefully all goes well

 

[Mesozoic]

Great to see..

I would have never imagined the likes of Smith, Starc, Cummins, Warner etc playing in Lahore/Karachi stadiums.

On an another note, the road to WTC final might have just become a tad bit harder for Pakistan. This Aussie team is good enough to win this series if they play to their potential. Only thing that might push them back is the lack of preparation as I don't think there will be any practice games against the local sides.

 

[arif_2021]

About time

Who’s going to
Go see this series in person

I may fly out to see the first test

 

[Titan24]

Great to see..

I would have never imagined the likes of Smith, Starc, Cummins, Warner etc playing in Lahore/Karachi stadiums.

On an another note, the road to WTC final might have just become a tad bit harder for Pakistan. This Aussie team is good enough to win this series if they play to their potential. Only thing that might push them back is the lack of preparation as I don't think there will be any practice games against the local sides.

Yes but, to be honest Pak is also coming into red ball cricket without much red ball practice. Pak last played test in late Nov, early December, Aussies had ashes recently.

Home advantage will definitely be there but, I feel in terms of red ball practice Pak is at a disadvantage. Aus will have no practice matches with domestic teams and will have to play inter squad games/practice sessions but, then that is how its been going in quite a few a few series due to Covid recently (Even Eng had no local warm ups before the Ashes).

 

[Rana]

Pakistan need to floor them with Spin. 3-0 on the cards if they prepare spinning tracks

 

[cricketerB94]

They have announced a very strong squad. Will be very challenging to make a playing 11 that can beat this team. I would go with the following:

Abdullah Shafiq
Abid Ali (if his health is good) / Shan Masood
Saud Shakil
Babar Azam
Fawad Alam
M Rizwan
Shadab Khan
Sajid Khan
Hasan Ali
Shaheen Afridi
Naseem Shah

The goal should be to take 20 wickets as soon as possible and for that, threatening bowlers are needed. Shadab and Naseem look more threatening these days than Faheem and Nauman with bowling.

Babar and Saud can be the part time bowling options.

 

[Mesozoic]

Yes but, to be honest Pak is also coming into red ball cricket without much red ball practice. Pak last played test in late Nov, early December, Aussies had ashes recently.

Home advantage will definitely be there but, I feel in terms of red ball practice Pak is at a disadvantage. Aus will have no practice matches with domestic teams and will have to play inter squad games/practice sessions but, then that is how its been going in quite a few a few series due to Covid recently (Even Eng had no local warm ups before the Ashes).

It all depends on when Australia lands. If they arrive even a week earlier and play a couple of 2-day intra games, they should be fine. I honestly don't think Pak will have as big as an advantage they had in the UAE. Should be a very close series.

 

[shamaan]

Thank you Australia.

Whatever anyone says about Ramiz's reign in the future, if all goes well this will be a massive point in his favour.

Wasim did most of the work.

 

[shamaan]

Damnn.. its happening i guess.

Wont believe it till toss gets done as we all remember the nz event.

If we have goo 2 months of cricket woth australia, this will be opening floodgates. This is great for the repo... Australian team coming and that too on its full strength.

I might get tickets for all the pindi odis and t20s

You should get tickets.It should be full house.

 

[shamaan]

They have announced a very strong squad. Will be very challenging to make a playing 11 that can beat this team. I would go with the following:

Abdullah Shafiq
Abid Ali (if his health is good) / Shan Masood
Saud Shakil
Babar Azam
Fawad Alam
M Rizwan
Shadab Khan
Sajid Khan
Hasan Ali
Shaheen Afridi
Naseem Shah

The goal should be to take 20 wickets as soon as possible and for that, threatening bowlers are needed. Shadab and Naseem look more threatening these days than Faheem and Nauman with bowling.

Babar and Saud can be the part time bowling options.

If Abid isn't fit which I don't think he will then I will play with Azhar.with Shadab the question is can he bowl 20 overs a day.

 

[Major]

You should get tickets.It should be full house.

Yup planning on to get them. Might not get tickets for the Test match as we dont have a culture for Test cricket yet, but lets see if things get interesting by day 5 than might aswell go for that.

But one t20 and the 2nd odi is done deal and would be fetching tickets for those.

Still not sure to get odi tickets for the 1st and 3rd game or not, so lets see.

 

[DeadlyVenom]

It really depends on the pitches but id go with a 5 man attack

Faheem
Shadab
Hassan
Nauman/Sajid
Shaheen

Gives batting depth and bowling versatility too.

 

[Major]

Most of the guys have no intention of coming and are doing it for PR. As we get closer to the tour you will see these guys lose their nerve and look for excuses to get out. The incidents in Balochistan aren't happening in a vacuum, our neighbours are getting desperate about the PK-Sino relationship and the cricket. Remember where all the NZ calls were coming from.

this.. This would be an important thing during the start, but once the test series are done and the limited overs portion starts, than Australia will have no reason to run away.

Right now, the Test series is very crucial.

The advantage that we have this time around and the reason why Cricket Australia shifted the matches after march 23 to Rawalpindi is because of the security situation.

OIC meeting will be happening in Pakistan, infact as Pakistan would be celebrating 75 years, it will be a jubilee event and OIC members have also been invited for the march. Thus, due to the protection being provided the area would already be safe...

 

[MenInG]

Very happy that full strength is coming but was hoping for a weaker side which we could beat

 

[cricketerB94]

If Abid isn't fit which I don't think he will then I will play with Azhar.with Shadab the question is can he bowl 20 overs a day.

Azhar is too slow, even for test cricket. Shan also bats slow in test cricket, but he is looking in very good form with the bat and fit as usual. Due to Azhar's age, his reflexes are slow now and I doubt if he can cope with the pacey Australian bowlers as opener when the ball is moving. With Shan, you have an in-form batter, who is younger and very good fielder, and who has scored 3 100s and 1 50 in 8 innings of this year's QEA trophy with average of 71 and strike rate of almost 100.

I'd prefer Shadab (or any spinner) over Faheem in home or SC conditions. Shadab looks like in very good bowling form and he'll ask more questions with his bowling than Faheem with Australian batters. It seems like he has fully recovered from his injury. A bowling attack of Shaheen, Naseem, Hasan, Sajid and Shadab looks very lethal as there is variety in this attack and every bowler has the ability to take 5-fer in an innings against Australian batters.

 

[Pakpak]

They have announced a very strong squad. Will be very challenging to make a playing 11 that can beat this team. I would go with the following:

Abdullah Shafiq
Abid Ali (if his health is good) / Shan Masood
Saud Shakil
Babar Azam
Fawad Alam
M Rizwan
Shadab Khan
Sajid Khan
Hasan Ali
Shaheen Afridi
Naseem Shah

The goal should be to take 20 wickets as soon as possible and for that, threatening bowlers are needed. Shadab and Naseem look more threatening these days than Faheem and Nauman with bowling.

Babar and Saud can be the part time bowling options.

There is no way medically Abid Ali can play cricket for atleast 9 months

 

[msb314]

They have announced a very strong squad. Will be very challenging to make a playing 11 that can beat this team. I would go with the following:

Abdullah Shafiq
Abid Ali (if his health is good) / Shan Masood
Saud Shakil
Babar Azam
Fawad Alam
M Rizwan
Shadab Khan
Sajid Khan
Hasan Ali
Shaheen Afridi
Naseem Shah

The goal should be to take 20 wickets as soon as possible and for that, threatening bowlers are needed. Shadab and Naseem look more threatening these days than Faheem and Nauman with bowling.

Babar and Saud can be the part time bowling options.

If Abid isn't fit which I don't think he will then I will play with Azhar.with Shadab the question is can he bowl 20 overs a day.

There is no way medically Abid Ali can play cricket for atleast 9 months

Need to play Imam as the second opener. He deserves that chance and I’m confident he will do well in home conditions.

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

Need a packed crowd for the tests.

 

[Maher96]

Need to continue to hold our fingers crossed, the last time we was handed a slap 20 minutes before the toss.

Will only be fully excited and convinced once I see them on home soil.

 

[moghul]

I'm hoping tests match will have a good attendance . I'm most interesting in the test series and its no fun watching test cricket with empty stands. This is not just another test series.

 

[sweep_shot]

So far so good.

They will hopefully not cancel the tour at the last minute.

 

[Colorblind Genius]

Very happy that full strength is coming but was hoping for a weaker side which we could beat

wait till Australia takes the series and Mamoon jumps on you all over the place by comparing India beating Australia in Australia, and Pakistan getting spanked by the Aussies in our own backyard.

 

[Savak]

Pakistan has beaten Australia twice in the UAE in 2014 and 2018. We are very much capable of beating this Australian team in Pakistan.

 

[MenInG]

Cricket Australia’s chairman of selectors George Bailey has officially put together an 18-man squad for the upcoming tour of Pakistan.

The Aussies are set to face Pakistan in three Tests, three ODIs and one T20, with the selectors going for a squad to suit “all scenarios”.

Australia have gone with 14 of the 15 players who appeared in the recent Ashes series - with Jhye Richardson sitting out - while Ashton Agar, Josh Inglis, Mitchell Marsh and Mitchell Swepson have also been included.

While at this stage the squad appears to be at full strength, Bailey has now indicated who the four players are that are on “standby” in case of illness or injury.

For the batting department, Bailey says Queensland’s Matt Renshaw and Victoria’s Nic Maddinson will be the next called up.

“We’ve got four guys on standby,” Bailey said on SEN 1170 The Run Home.

“That’s because of the risk of COVID and injury risk with some domestic cricket, plus these five internationals (T20s) over the next couple of weeks as well.

“Matt Renshaw and Nic Maddinson on the batting front I think are two guys that we’re really happy with how they’re going at the moment.

“We’re looking forward to them continuing their form over the next little period.”

While Renshaw and Maddinson already have baggy greens, the two bowlers Bailey has placed on standby are yet to play Test cricket.

“Sean Abbott and Mark Steketee on the bowling front,” Bailey said.

“They’ve both been around the Australian group at different times.

“Any of those four, when they do get their opportunity, I’m really confident they’ll do a great job.”

The first Test in Pakistan begins on March 4 in Rawalpindi.

https://www.sen.com.au/news/2022/02/09/bailey-names-the-quartet-on-standby-for-pakistan-tour/

 

[Bhaag Viru Bhaag]

Good to see full strength Australian team visiting Pakistan. Is this tour going to clash with IPL? If yes, then how many Australian players will miss IPL?

 

[MenInG]

Usman Khawaja is prepared to miss the arrival of his second child to fulfil a lifelong ambition of wearing the baggy green in his country of birth, as Cricket Australia brace for player withdrawals from the historic series in Pakistan.

All of Australia’s biggest stars feature in a near full-strength 18-player squad for the three Tests, as Pat Cummins’ men aim to conquer the cricketing world in the post-Justin Langer era.

But CA is expecting some players to pull out of Australia’s first visit to Pakistan in almost 24 years due to concerns over safety.

Players and agents have been briefed by CA’s head of high performance Ben Oliver in recent days over the presidential level security measures Pakistan authorities are implementing in a bid to raise international confidence over playing cricket in the country.

Though there remains anxiety among players over touring, one man who will take part is Khawaja, who is prepared to make an enormous personal sacrifice to play in Pakistan.

The veteran, who has been assured of opening in the first Test, and his wife Rachel are expecting the birth of their second child in mid to late April. The three Tests are due to finish March 25 but he will almost certainly miss the birth if the baby is born earlier than expected.

“She’s very understanding. We even had a conversation about what happens if we had a baby mid-Test match. She knows I love playing cricket, it’s very important to me, she’s very supportive of that, and she knows I try to support her any way I can,” Khawaja said.

“But fingers crossed she doesn’t have a baby while we’re away. I was always going to go. It’s going to take me a lot to come back, it is Test cricket for Australia. I’m sort of not thinking about it because I don’t want it to happen, but ask me if it does happen.”

Khawaja will retain his place at the top of the order after deposing Marcus Harris for the fifth Ashes Test with twin tons upon recall in Sydney. Selectors have not closed the door on Harris, 29, who remains in their plans as they prepare for life after Warner.

“I’d certainly think David Warner and Uz would likely start as the openers in Pakistan, but we also are aware, not that age is a be all and end all barrier, both Uz and Bull are reasonably old,” chairman of selectors George Bailey said.

“We’ve got a lot of subcontinental cricket over the next 12-18 months so it’s important to focus on a succession plan there and develop Harry’s skills.”

The series in Pakistan is the first of three in Asia for Australia, followed by a tour of Sri Lanka slated for June and a heavyweight bout in India, which is likely to also settle the score on the best Test nation in the world.

Cummins has made it clear he wants this Australia side to return to the heights of the teams he watched growing up in the 1990s and 2000s led by Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting – and winning abroad is pivotal to achieving those goals.

Subcontinent pitches traditionally favour spin but Bailey’s intel is telling him there will be assistance for the quicks in the first Test (Rawalpindi), spin in the second (Karachi) and the batters in the third (Lahore).

There were no surprises in the squad with 14 of the 15 players who featured in the Ashes all named, with the exception being Jhye Richardson, who is having his long-term future managed. Leggie Mitchell Swepson and back-up wicketkeeper Josh Inglis stay in the squad, while all-rounder Mitchell Marsh and spinner Ashton Agar have been recalled.

Scott Boland has kept his place following his meteoric rise, though he faces a challenge to stay in the XI with senior quick Josh Hazlewood back after a side strain ruled him out of the final four Ashes Tests.

Australia’s Test squad for the Pakistan tour

Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Michael Neser, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricke...eries-in-post-langer-era-20220208-p59unr.html

 

[MenInG]

Test greats Greg Chappell and Mark Waugh have backed new opener Usman Khawaja to continue his late-career renaissance on what is shaping as a challenging three-match series in Pakistan next month.

The in-form Khawaja was elevated to the opening spot at the expense of Marcus Harris for the final Test of the Vodafone Ashes in Hobart in January, making 6 and 11 in difficult batting conditions.

The reshuffle was forced by the Queensland skipper's incredible comeback Test in Sydney when he made hundreds in each innings from No.5 after being out of the side for more than two years.

Yesterday, chief selector George Bailey confirmed Khawaja would open the batting alongside David Warner in the first Test in Pakistan, meaning Australia will field two 35-year-old openers.

For that duo, history beckons; no Australian opener over the age of 33 has ever scored a Test century in any Asian nation, while only three 35-year-old Australians have reached three figures in Asia-based Tests from any position in the order: Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Mike Hussey.

Pakistan-born Khawaja is certainly a player in fine touch. Opening the batting today for the Bulls in the Marsh Sheffield Shield, he worked his way to another patient half-century on a green-tinged Gabba pitch.

And Chappell says that is exactly the trait Australia's batters will need in Pakistan.

"It will be hot, oppressive conditions, and it doesn't matter how experienced you are, batting over there is just hard work," said the 87-Test veteran, who made a double-hundred and a pair of fifties in Australia's 1980 tour of Pakistan.

"You've just got to be prepared to bat … to soak up the pressure, to work hard for your runs. Patience will be the key.

"I think batting at the top of the order is the spot for (Khawaja) – batting when the ball is coming on will suit him fine.

"He's got a good temperament for those sort of conditions – I think he'll be prepared to just go out and bat, and that's what you've got to do in that part of the world.

"He's a lot more experienced now, he knows his game – knows what he can and can't do, and he concentrates well; he's the sort of bloke who can play a long innings."

Khawaja's 63 against the Blues in Brisbane was his fifth score of 50-plus from nine innings in the Shield this summer, and it made him the first player in this year's competition to reach 500 runs.

Waugh, who is Australia's most recent Test century-maker in Pakistan, having notched 117 in the third Test in Karachi in the tourists' one-nil series win in 1998, has watched the left-hander as both selector and commentator across the past decade, and believes his technique has only gotten better in recent years.

"He's a pretty unflappable character, and his technique has tightened right up; he could be a little bit loose outside off stump in previous years, and just sort of feel for the ball, but I thought he looked really tight and compact in (the fourth Ashes Test in) Sydney in challenging conditions," he said.

"It wasn't an easy pitch to bat on in Sydney, but he made it look easy.

"Technically he's probably a better player now than he was a few years ago, and obviously mentally now he's in a good place, so I think he could do a good job as an opener in Pakistan, for sure."

Speaking with the media yesterday, Khawaja said it is still to be decided whether he and other Test squad members will feature in next week's round of Shield matches as they work out the ideal preparation for Pakistan, adding there was considerable mystery around what conditions they will be presented with through the three-Test series.

"Preparation will be different … we'll have a lot less lead-up time than we normally would for overseas tours," he said. "We'll definitely watch some footage (of Pakistan's players).

"The biggest variable in our game is the wicket, and we're not quite sure what we're going to get over there … whether they'll favour spin or pace bowling.

"It's hard to know because it's one place we haven't been. So, we all talk about adapting, and we're going to have to adapt pretty quickly, pretty well to beat the Pakistanis over there."

https://www.cricket.com.au/news/usm...-pakistan-tour-opener-david-warner/2022-02-09

 

[Flat_Track_Bully]

If we want to make a statement, then the test matches must have a full stadium.

 

[shamaan]

Need to play Imam as the second opener. He deserves that chance and I’m confident he will do well in home conditions.

Based upon what should the captain give him a chance ?

 

[MenInG]

Australia are optimistic star batter Steve Smith will be fully fit ahead of their tour of Pakistan despite a concussion ruling him out of the Dettol T20I series against Sri Lanka.

Smith is expected to make a full recovery within a week from the head knock he suffered in a daring boundary-line save during the final over of Sunday evening's dramatic second T20 victory over Sri Lanka in Sydney.

The 32-year-old, who has a history of concussions and was famously laid low by a Jofra Archer bouncer during the 2019 Ashes, hit his head on the SCG turf in an audacious leaping attempt to stop a six on the midwicket rope.

There was considerable concern as Pat Cummins and Glenn Maxwell urgently gestured for medical attention, but the fact Smith was back on his feet not long after and enquiring as to whether umpires had called the six or not (they had) was a positive sign.

Although he was walking around the changerooms and talking with teammates after Australia held on for victory following a dramatic Super Over finish, his concussion diagnosis was confirmed late on Sunday evening.

Smith will now be subject to "low level protocols" over the coming days before an anticipated recovery within the week.

"It didn't look great," Matthew Wade told cricket.com.au. "I think he hit the ground pretty hard. Whether he went lights out or not, I'm not 100 per cent sure. That's something only he can answer."

Added Josh Hazlewood: "When anyone dives and doesn't get up straight away, there's always a bit of concern. It's good to see him walking around now and make his way off the field."

It comes a day after Will Pucovski suffered the latest in a string of concussions during a warm-up mishap in Victoria's Marsh Sheffield Shield clash with South Australian in Adelaide.

While Smith's head-knock history is not as concerning as that of Pucovski, who has cruelly had his career interrupted by concussions nearly a dozen times, Australia will no doubt monitor the 32-year-old closely.

This latest blow marks Smith's third concussion in two-and-a-half years.

He was the first player to be replaced by a concussion substitute when he was felled by a brutal Archer bouncer at Lord's in 2019, suffering delayed symptoms that forced him to miss the second innings of that match and the ensuing Test at Headingley.

Smith then suffered another knock upon his return to the United Kingdom for a limited-overs tour the following year, missing the entire ODI series against England having been struck while batting in the Old Trafford practice nets on the eve of the tour opener.

He also revealed last summer that he nearly missed an ODI against India in which he made a match-winning century after suffering from vertigo and vomiting due to the formation of small crystals known as 'ear rocks'.

Medical experts believe head trauma can be a cause of debris within the ear canal.

The first of three Tests on Australia's historic tour of Pakistan begins on March 4 in Rawalpindi.

Smith scored 9 and 14 in the first two T20Is against Sri Lanka and is adjusting to a middle-order role having been moved down from the No.3 spot he previously occupied.

While he might not possess the power of some of his big-hitting teammates and is not the Indian Premier League prize he once was (earning no bids during the weekend's auction), the right-hander is adamant he has a role to play Australia's T20I side.

"My role in this team is to fix it if the boys at the top don't come off," Smith told Fox Cricket before play on Sunday.

"If we lose a few (wickets) in the Power Play it's about coming in and batting normally through the middle for a few overs and then accelerating from there.

"Then letting the big boys around me go berserk – that's essentially my role.

"I think there's still a place for someone like me in the T20 game. If you hit the middle of the bat the ball generally goes to the boundary a lot of the time.

"You can hit gaps and I know when I'm playing my best in this format I'm not overthinking things, I'm just playing good cricket shots and using the middle of the bat as much as I can."

https://www.cricket.com.au/news/ste...es-ruled-out-fitness-pakistan-tour/2022-02-14

 

[wrongun]

Steve Smith is one of our more proven Test bats in Asia, I hope he makes it.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Test greats Greg Chappell and Mark Waugh have backed new opener Usman Khawaja to continue his late-career renaissance on what is shaping as a challenging three-match series in Pakistan next month.

The in-form Khawaja was elevated to the opening spot at the expense of Marcus Harris for the final Test of the Vodafone Ashes in Hobart in January, making 6 and 11 in difficult batting conditions.

The reshuffle was forced by the Queensland skipper's incredible comeback Test in Sydney when he made hundreds in each innings from No.5 after being out of the side for more than two years.

Yesterday, chief selector George Bailey confirmed Khawaja would open the batting alongside David Warner in the first Test in Pakistan, meaning Australia will field two 35-year-old openers.

For that duo, history beckons; no Australian opener over the age of 33 has ever scored a Test century in any Asian nation, while only three 35-year-old Australians have reached three figures in Asia-based Tests from any position in the order: Allan Border, Steve Waugh and Mike Hussey.

Pakistan-born Khawaja is certainly a player in fine touch. Opening the batting today for the Bulls in the Marsh Sheffield Shield, he worked his way to another patient half-century on a green-tinged Gabba pitch.

And Chappell says that is exactly the trait Australia's batters will need in Pakistan.

"It will be hot, oppressive conditions, and it doesn't matter how experienced you are, batting over there is just hard work," said the 87-Test veteran, who made a double-hundred and a pair of fifties in Australia's 1980 tour of Pakistan.

"You've just got to be prepared to bat … to soak up the pressure, to work hard for your runs. Patience will be the key.

"I think batting at the top of the order is the spot for (Khawaja) – batting when the ball is coming on will suit him fine.

"He's got a good temperament for those sort of conditions – I think he'll be prepared to just go out and bat, and that's what you've got to do in that part of the world.

"He's a lot more experienced now, he knows his game – knows what he can and can't do, and he concentrates well; he's the sort of bloke who can play a long innings."

Khawaja's 63 against the Blues in Brisbane was his fifth score of 50-plus from nine innings in the Shield this summer, and it made him the first player in this year's competition to reach 500 runs.

Waugh, who is Australia's most recent Test century-maker in Pakistan, having notched 117 in the third Test in Karachi in the tourists' one-nil series win in 1998, has watched the left-hander as both selector and commentator across the past decade, and believes his technique has only gotten better in recent years.

"He's a pretty unflappable character, and his technique has tightened right up; he could be a little bit loose outside off stump in previous years, and just sort of feel for the ball, but I thought he looked really tight and compact in (the fourth Ashes Test in) Sydney in challenging conditions," he said.

"It wasn't an easy pitch to bat on in Sydney, but he made it look easy.

"Technically he's probably a better player now than he was a few years ago, and obviously mentally now he's in a good place, so I think he could do a good job as an opener in Pakistan, for sure."

Speaking with the media yesterday, Khawaja said it is still to be decided whether he and other Test squad members will feature in next week's round of Shield matches as they work out the ideal preparation for Pakistan, adding there was considerable mystery around what conditions they will be presented with through the three-Test series.

"Preparation will be different … we'll have a lot less lead-up time than we normally would for overseas tours," he said. "We'll definitely watch some footage (of Pakistan's players).

"The biggest variable in our game is the wicket, and we're not quite sure what we're going to get over there … whether they'll favour spin or pace bowling.

"It's hard to know because it's one place we haven't been. So, we all talk about adapting, and we're going to have to adapt pretty quickly, pretty well to beat the Pakistanis over there."

https://www.cricket.com.au/news/usm...-pakistan-tour-opener-david-warner/2022-02-09

Poor article. No Australian opener has scored a ton in Asian conditions after the age of 33? Really? Mark Taylor was opener and smashed 334* on the last tour of Pakistan and he was 34 then. Very poor research.

 

[Usman Chadda]

This team should get smashed in Pakistan, provided Pakistan doesn’t underperform (a la T20WC semi)

 

[Mamoon]

Poor article. No Australian opener has scored a ton in Asian conditions after the age of 33? Really? Mark Taylor was opener and smashed 334* on the last tour of Pakistan and he was 34 then. Very poor research.

Mark Taylor was born on 27 October 1964.

The Peshawar Test in 1998, where he scored 334*, was played from 15 October to 19 October.

So he was a few days short of his 34th birthday, and hence the statement “no Australian opener over the age of 33 has ever scored a Test century in any Asian nation” is factually correct.

 

[aqeelPK]

If we want to make a statement, then the test matches must have a full stadium.

Its up to the PCB. If they facilitate fans, then surely we will see full houses. Currently, there are too many problems for fans visiting stadiums. Long security check queues, parking issues, lack of quality food, mandatory covid vaccinations, high ticket prices etc.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Mark Taylor was born on 27 October 1964.

The Peshawar Test in 1998, where he scored 334*, was played from 15 October to 19 October.

So he was a few days short of his 34th birthday, and hence the statement “no Australian opener over the age of 33 has ever scored a Test century in any Asian nation” is factually correct.

My bad. I checked it later and realised. Thanks .

 

[MenInG]

A sidestrain suffered by Michael Neser could put his hopes of touring Pakistan in doubt after the fast bowler was forced from the field on Monday night during a one-day game at the Gabba.

The Queensland quick could manage just two balls when he took to the field following a long rain delay in the match won by NSW.

His over was finished by some medium pace from the number one Test batsman in the world, Marnus Labuschagne, who only made 13 with the bat, as Neser’s fitness was assessed by team medical staff.

Neser, who made his Test debut against England in Adelaide in December, has only bowled five times in games in 2022 after spending most of January with the national team.

He was picked as part of a bulked-up 18-man squad for the tour of Pakistan, with the first Test starting in Rawalapindi on March 4.

His injury concern came just 24 hours after Steve Smith was forced off the SCG, with concussion. Smith will miss the rest of the Sri Lanka series.

Already Australian cricket is dealing with Will Pucovski’s latest concussion, which could see the prolific run-scorer have an extended absence from the game.

His Queensland teammate, Mark Steketee, could be the beneficiary if Neser is ruled out having been nominated by national selection chief George Bailey as one of two bowlers, the other being Sean Abbott, who are on standby.

Selectors had already decided to rest fellow Test quick Jhye Richardson from the Pakistan tour, despite him being a part of the national T20 squad currently playing Sri Lanka.

The Monday night match, cut in half by wet weather, also allowed spinner Mitchell Swepson to take his tenth wicket for the season two months after his first having also spent a large chunk of the summer with the national squad.

Swepson was released from the Australian T20 squad to roll his arm over in a game for just the fifth time in 2022, having bowled just two overs in the preceding Sheffield Shield clash against NSW which was done inside three days in seam-friendly conditions.

Bowlers were licking their lips again as the two teams suited up for the one-day clash with the home team limping to 7-105 off 24 overs before rain barrelled down,

The peculiarities of the Duckworth-Lewis system meant the visitors were chasing three runs less than the Bulls made, in the same amount of overs, when they got their turn to bat.

The struggle continued early and while NSW lost regular early wickets in the small chase, the middle order settled and young gun Ollie Davies (26 not out) and Baxter Holt (21 not out) steered their team home.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/cricke...o/news-story/95a8aaec2611a5e8d28a734e432eb4aa

 

[Saj]

Uncapped Queensland fast bowler Mark Steketee has been called into Australia's squad for the upcoming Test tour of Pakistan, replacing the injured Michael Neser.

And another uncapped paceman from Queensland, Brendan Doggett, has been named on standby for the series.

Neser, who made his long-awaited Test debut this summer, has been ruled out due to a side strain suffered during Monday's Marsh One-Day Cup match in Brisbane.

In his place comes Steketee, who was part of Australia's extended squad for last year's tour of South Africa, which was ultimately called off.

 

[MenInG]

The man in line to become Australia’s second spinner on the upcoming tour of Pakistan has bowled just two overs with a red ball in two months, but Mitchell Swepson is unfazed by the prospect of being thrown in to replace Nathan Lyon.

The third spinner on tour, Ashton Agar, hasn’t played a first-class game this season, having come straight out of the Twenty20 World Cup and into the Big Bash before rejoining Australia’s T20 squad for the current series against Sri Lanka.

Australia’s highest-ranked white-ball spinner, Adam Zampa, did the same. He hasn’t played a first-class match for more than two years.

Swepson, Lyon’s unused concussion and COVID-19 sub for the Ashes, described the twilight zone of being in an extended Australian squad with little chance of playing as “the new normal.”

“It’s definitely a patience game,” Swepson said on Thursday.

Swepson’s preparation for the Pakistan tour has included some improvised net sessions with fellow Queenslander Marnus Labuschagne.

“We had a little bit of a break after the Big Bash finished where I was able to have some sessions bowling at Marnus and a few of the guys in the Bulls’ squad on some wickets we dusted up,” Swepson said.

A major part of the preparation was to be the recent Sheffield Shield match against NSW at the Gabba. But a low-scoring match on a seamer-friendly pitch restricted Swepson to just two overs in the first innings and none in the second as Queensland lost.

“Last week wasn’t ideal,” he said. “I would have liked to bowl a lot more overs at the Gabba but the conditions didn’t quite suit the situation of the game.”

Swepson hopes the late summer weather holds in Melbourne when he turns out for Queensland in the Shield match against Victoria at the Junction Oval on Friday for one last game before the Test series, which begins in Pakistan on March 4 with no warm-up matches.

“I’m keen to get out there on the Junction and hopefully, it’s a bit more of a spinning-style wicket we get, so I can have a good bowl out in the middle,” Swepson said. “It will do me a lot of good I think.”

Like Agar, Swepson was part of the T20 World Cup squad and quarantined with the team on the Gold Coast during November.

His only red-ball cricket of note this season has been playing for Australia A against the England Lions, where he bowled 46 overs in the second innings in December at Brisbane’s Ian Healy Oval.

“It was a bit of a batter’s wicket. We had to find ways to take wickets and I got a good long bowler there, which was great. It was the first red-ball game I’d played for quite a long time, since the Shield final (last season).”

Swepson is unsure what conditions to expect in Pakistan given the strength of their pace attack.

“We’ve had mixed reports,” he said. “Some say it will suit pace and some say it will spin.”

https://www.smh.com.au/sport/cricke...r-the-pakistan-challenge-20220217-p59xe4.html

 

[MenInG]

Aaron Finch could bat as low as five as Australia continue to tinker with their T20 strategy, which will be tweaked again for the final two international matches of the home summer due to the absence of their star all-format fast bowlers.

The T20 world champions will be without Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc for their two Dettol T20Is against Sri Lanka at the MCG, the venue they hope they will return to in eight months' time for the final of this year's T20 World Cup,

The trio have returned home to Sydney to freshen up ahead of the Test squad's departure for Pakistan later this month, with Jhye Richardson (yet to play in this series), Daniel Sams and Kane Richardson to shoulder the pace load in their stead.

"Between Starc and Cummins, they’ve had a huge workload on the back of a World Cup and a five-Test match Ashes series," Finch told reporters today.

"Josh is coming back off a bit of an injury and with all of them going to Pakistan we felt as though that was really important for them to be able to stay at home and be out of a bubble for a day or two.

"That was a no brainer."

Adam Zampa will return to the side after being managed for the third T20 in Canberra and could reunite with Ashton Agar to form a two-pronged spin attack.

Travis Head, who has joined the squad after playing in the Sheffield Shield last week, and Moises Henriques are also in the mix with Steve Smith sidelined due to concussion.

Finch will stay at the No.3 spot for Friday's fourth T20I and said he's willing to slide down further for the series finale on Sunday or even in on upcoming tours of Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

It means Agar could be given another run at opening the batting on Friday alongside Ben McDermott, with David Warner missing this series.

Aaron Finch's T20 career by batting position

Domestic and international cricket combined

Opening: Innings 284 | Runs 9,221 | Avg 35.33 | SR 140.95

No.3: Innings 11 | Runs 211 | Avg 19.18 | SR 122.67

No.4: Innings 16 | Runs 267 | Avg 17.80 | SR 123.04

No.5: Innings 20 | Runs 519 | Avg 39.92 | SR 147.03

No.6 or 7: Innings 5 | Runs 148 | Avg 37.00 | SR 151.02

"I'm pretty flexible with where I can bat in the order," said Finch. "Potentially five in the next couple of games, but the coach (Andrew McDonald) isn't too excited about that prospect.

"It's just something that we'll talk through when we sit down and discuss what we what we want going forward out of the next couple of games.

"We'll throw up all those kind of options.

"There's a lot of talk about (strategy) behind the scenes between myself and the coaching staff.

"You're never set on anything just yet – we're still keeping our options open and that's why we're also trying to find out as much information about players as we can.

"We're just trying to create as many opportunities and create as much information for ourselves as we can."

The eventual return of Mitch Marsh, rested for this series, to the first-drop spot he made his own at last year's World Cup means whoever bats at three in the interim is essentially a placeholder.

Finch did suggest however they are eager to give Marcus Stoinis and Matthew Wade as much game-time batting at six and seven as they can, with the seven-specialist-batter approach that won them the World Cup seemingly their preferred method.

But their strategy is a constant work in progress as they look to match their unexpected triumph at last year's T20 World Cup when the tournament is held on Australian soil for the first time from October.

"You always tend to have an eye towards ICC events and the fact that the final is here and that it's my that's my home ground personally (is significant)," said Colac-born Finch.

"I've got some great memories here. A lot of the guys in the last World Cup squad do as well because we had the success of 2015 ODI World Cup here.

"You can think about it and dream about it. But the reality of it's a little bit (far away) still."

https://www.cricket.com.au/news/aar...ategy-world-cup-sri-lanka-pakistan/2022-02-17

 

[MenInG]

Ashes hero Travis Head faces unfamiliar terrain on a couple of significant fronts as he embarks on his next Test cricket challenge.

As is the case with his 17 teammates and the national men's team support staff, conditions that await for the three-Test tour of Pakistan beginning later this month loom as a mystery given no Australian outfit has played an international match in the Islamic republic since 1998.

But the nature of the pitches and amenities that await at Rawalpindi, Karachi and Lahore is but one unknown for Head, who had not reached school age when Mark Taylor led his men to a 1-0 series win in Pakistan 24 years ago.

The other area of unfamiliarity for Head, who crowned his recall to the Test line-up this summer by winning the Compton-Miller Medal as player of the Vodafone Ashes, will be the absence of former coach Justin Langer, who had been at the helm throughout Head's 23-Test tenure to date.

Langer was undertaking his first Test campaign as coach in the aftermath of the 2018 sandpaper scandal when Head earned his Baggy Green Cap, coincidentally against Pakistan in Dubai.

And while he was a strong supporter of his fellow left-hander who he recognised as an undoubted talent, Langer was also up front in pointing out deficiencies in Head's game, including what he saw as a disregard for the number of times Head would routinely be dismissed during a nets session.

The need for Head to tighten his technique and re-prove his suitability for Test cricket saw him lose his central contract at the end of last summer, but he grasped the challenge and was named men's Test and Domestic Player of the Year at the recent Australian Cricket Awards.

Head admits that while his relationship with Langer endured its ups and downs, he would miss working with the ex-Test opener, who resigned from the coach's role earlier this month having been offered a cursory six-month extension to his contract.

"I worked extremely well with JL (Langer)," Head told cricket.com.au.

"There's no doubt we had some challenging times, but we had some great times as well and I really enjoyed that side of things.

"I debuted in Dubai with him as coach, and I guess the standard or the expectation that's set by the coach when you first arrive is the one you tend to fall into line with from then on.

"I enjoyed JL.

"We definitely had our moments but what coach and players don't have those?

"He's someone who worked me extremely hard to get the best out of me, and I've become a better cricketer for it.

"But it's certainly going to be different over the next few weeks."

Although he's not played under interim coach Andrew McDonald, who has stepped up from his assistant's role to replace Langer on the Pakistan campaign, Head knows much more about his second Australia coach than he did about his first when elevated to Test ranks in 2018.

They were opponents when Head made his Sheffield Shield debut against Victoria as an 18-year-old in 2012, and then teammates at South Australia when McDonald made the move west two years later.

They even opened the batting together for the Redbacks in a domestic one-day cup match against Tasmania in 2014, and Head says he's heard "really good things" about playing under McDonald, who is currently overseeing the men's T20 squad.

Head is hopeful his inclusion in that squad for the current Sri Lanka series – although he is yet to play a game, having returned to Adelaide for last week's Marsh Sheffield Shield match against Victoria – might pave the way for a more regular berth in Australia's white-ball set-up.

Having been regarded as better suited to the limited-overs formats when he first arrived on the international scene in 2016, Head has not donned coloured clothing for Australia in more than three years.

The 28-year-old is unsure if he'll get an opportunity in the final match at the MCG on Sunday, but if he does he'll be looking to stake a claim in the white-ball squad for the three ODIs and one T20I that follow the Tests on the Qantas Tour of Pakistan.

"I've spent a long time out of the white-ball team, so it will be nice to be back around that group, and then to hopefully have an impact on the series in Pakistan," he said.

In preparation for Pakistan, Head has sought insights on the sorts of pitches and bowling plans he might encounter from long-time Redbacks teammate Jake Weatherald, who turned out for the Quetta Gladiators in last year's Pakistan Super League tournament.

However, after finishing as leading scorer in the Ashes (357 at 59.50) and dominating at Shield level over the preceding year, Head is not looking to make changes to his batting technique or approach despite his only experience of Test cricket outside Australia coming in the UAE in 2018 and England the following year.

"I've heard some mixed things," Head said when asked about his expectations for Pakistan.

"They've got some really good fast bowlers, they've got some really good spinners, so whatever conditions we come up against it's just trying to adapt to that.

"And I think every tour I've been on, that first four or five days we get in camp beforehand is really important to bed down a blueprint of how we're going to go about it.

"That will be assessing the conditions to see what we're going to come up against, but going in with a clear mind also helps and that means not having any pre-conceived ideas or pre-determined plans.

"I think the unknown is the exciting part.

"Test cricket away from home is where you're truly tested, and having done that in England and finding just how difficult it can be ... it's the way you respond to the challenge of travelling that probably makes you the cricketer you are.

"You look at someone like Smithy (Steve Smith) who goes to India and plays as well as he has anywhere, and then there's players from the past like (ex-Australia pair) Michael Clarke and Matthew Hayden who go on tours and just dominate.

"It raises them to a whole new level.

"That's obviously the challenge, but I'm not trying to chase that challenge or do something that I know I'm not capable of doing.

"I'll have a really good, sound game plan, talk to the coaches, talk to the experienced guys who maybe know the conditions a bit more and try and lean into as much knowledge as a I can to prepare myself."

Qantas Tour of Pakistan 2022

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan, Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Nawaz, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Zahid Mahmood

Australia squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner. On standby: Sean Abbott, Brendan Doggett, Nic Maddinson, Matthew Renshaw

March 4-8: First Test, Rawalpindi

March 12-16: Second Test, Karachi

March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore

March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi

March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi

April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi

April 5: Only T20I, Rawalpindi

 

[Firebat]

Carey takes a rare break ahead of testing Pakistan tour

In a bid to prepare himself for his maiden overseas Test campaign, recently installed Australia wicketkeeper Alex Carey will enter terrain almost as alien as whatever awaits in Pakistan, where the national men's team have not toured since last century.

After a gruelling summer during which he was hastily called up as Tim Paine's replacement in the Vodafone Ashes from where he went directly into a BBL 'bubble' with the Adelaide Strikers, Carey has spent the past week at a beachside retreat with his family.

The 30-year-old father of two has been playing top-level cricket virtually without a break since the Marsh Sheffield Shield kicked off in Adelaide five months ago, and in that time has racked up six Shield appearances, five Test matches, five Marsh One-Day Cup games and three BBL fixtures.

That's in addition to three outings with his SA Premier Cricket club Glenelg, and countless training sessions since returning from the mid-year limited-overs campaign in the Caribbean, where he captained Australia to a series win.

It's scarcely surprising therefore that, come the conclusion of last Tuesday's Marsh One-Day Cup match in Adelaide where he led South Australia in a five-wicket loss to Victoria, Carey was desperate to begin his rare mini-break before joining fellow Test squad members in Melbourne next week.

"There's no more games of cricket for me until we get to Pakistan," a visibly relieved Carey told cricket.com.au.

"I'll just spend this week with the family, heading down south, staying away from everyone to minimise contact and then jump on the plane to Melbourne and then Pakistan.

"I'll do some running and probably find time to have a catch and a hit throughout the next week, but a lot of it will be family time ahead of the next couple of months.

"And just put my feet up – hopefully take my mind totally off cricket for five or six days."

When Carey does return from a deserved sabbatical on SA's Fleurieu Peninsula, he will be joined in Melbourne by Redbacks teammate Brendan Doggett, who has been called up as a standby player for the Pakistan tour after fellow fast bowler Mark Steketee was elevated to the 18-man touring party.

Read more: https://www.cricket.com.au/news/ale...our-of-pakistan-spinners-glovework/2022-02-20

 

[MenInG]

An Australian Test side with a new coach, an inexperienced captain and not a single series win overseas in six years will face one of their greatest challenges when they tour Pakistan next month.

And making the assignment that much more difficult for Pat Cummins' team will be the element of the unknown, with no Australian side having toured there since 1998, and only five Tests played in the country since international teams began returning there in 2019, a decade on from a terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team of 2009.

Those are the opinions of a couple of Test batting greats, Mark Waugh and Greg Chappell, who also offered up the likelihood of differing threats for Australia's batting group, in the form of both reverse swing and spin when the three-Test series gets underway next Friday, March 4.

Waugh is the most recent Australian to have notched three figures in Test cricket in Pakistan, his third-innings 117 having helped Mark Taylor's side to a draw in the third Test in Karachi on that '98 tour, and ultimately a landmark one-nil series win – Australia's only triumph in the subcontinental nation in the past 60 years.

Waugh celebrates his century in Karachi // Getty

And while acknowledging it is almost a quarter of a century since he toured there, the 128-Test veteran remains well placed to assess the types of pitches a Test tour of Pakistan has traditionally thrown up.

"I always thought the wickets in Pakistan, they're not like Indian wickets – they don't break up, and they're not as dusty," Waugh told cricket.com.au. "They don't have a lot of grass on them but they're quite hard, and reverse swing is as much, if not more of a danger than spin.

"In my era they had Mushtaq (Ahmed) and Saqlain (Mushtaq), and a few other bits-and-pieces spinners, but I always thought the quick bowlers were equally as dangerous, if not more so, in Pakistan, with reverse swing and pace through the air.

"So it's certainly different to India – it's not as spin-oriented."

Recent statistics support Waugh's view. As cricket.com.au reported last month, in the five Tests Pakistan have hosted since late 2019, fast bowlers have taken 89 wickets at an average of just under 30 compared to 48 wickets from spinners at an average nudging 40.

Waugh also called out the quality of Pakistan's left-arm paceman Shaheen Shah Afridi, who he believes will cause Australia's left-handers – in particular David Warner – problems with his angle of delivery, pace and ability to move the ball away.

"I don't think Warner's looked quite as comfortable against quick bowling in recent times – Mark Wood definitely unsettled him, and Shaheen Afridi will be a big test for him," he said.

"It's a different angle and for him it's a little bit like a right-arm quick coming round the wicket – do you play the ball, or do you leave the ball?

"Generally a right-arm seamer over the wicket is going to angle across the wicket so he's probably more confident whether to leave or play the ball, but when you've got the left-armer from that different angle, he's probably not as comfortable. Shaheen Afridi's got the ability to angle in and take the ball away from David Warner, so he does pose that question.

"Then if one goes straight on, he's bringing bowleds and lbws into play. So it's a different challenge, definitely."

Chappell toured Pakistan for a three-Test series in 1980, making 235 in the drawn second Test in Faisalabad followed by a pair of half-centuries in another draw in Lahore.

That series, won one-nil by Pakistan, was dominated by spin; Australian left-arm orthodox tweaker Ray Bright took 15 wickets while the hosts' spin pair, Iqbal Qasim (16) and Tauseef Ahmed (12) collected 28 between them.

Four decades on, Chappell believes the wickets produced will likely be contingent on what Pakistan considers to be the best way to beat Australia who, despite their most recent away series win coming back in February 2016 in New Zealand, have recently become the ICC's top-ranked Test nation.

"I've played on some really good, bouncy wickets in Pakistan, but I've coached India there (in January 2006) when they've produced some slow, turning wickets, so it could be a mixed bag," the former Australia captain said.

"It really depends on what they're trying to do. They'll probably see (pace bowling) as Australia's strength, with the weaknesses for Australia being the second spinner, and how well we play spin.

"I think they're more likely to produce conditions that will be conducive to spin and try to put pressure on us that way, and blunt our pace attack a bit."

Both former players agreed that the foreign and largely unknown touring aspects of Pakistan, both on the field and away from it, will also factor into what presents as one of the most significant challenges an Australian Test side can face.

"You've got an inexperienced captain, a new coach, and you're up against a quality side, so it's going to give us a good indication of where we sit," Waugh said. "I think (Pat) Cummins' captaincy is going to be tested out a lot more than it was in Australia this summer.

"England were poor (in the four-nil Ashes defeat), there's no doubt about it. We were good, but they didn't offer much of a challenge.

"It's going to be much more challenging in Pakistan, where a lot of our players have never been before.

"It's not the easiest country to tour, there'll be a lot of security, they're going to be quite insulated in their hotels, and it's a good quality opponent."

Added Chappell: "It's a huge test. It's a challenging place to play cricket for Australians because of the on-field conditions, but more so off the field, and particularly in the current environment, there's not many places where you can get away and relax, so it'll be fairly full-on.

"A lot of the guys have spent a lot of time in India in recent times, but it's a different tour to India – it's not as open as India is – so it'll be challenging for them both on and off the field, and if Pakistan play as well as they can play, it'll be a big challenge."

https://www.cricket.com.au/news/pakistan-preview-tests-australia-mark-waugh-greg-chappell/2022-02-21

 

[MenInG]

Indian-born Australia's assistant coach Sridharan Sriram will not be travelling to Pakistan with the Aussies for their historic tour of the country.

Sriram has been associated with the Australian team as spin bowling consultant for more than three years. Cricbuzz has reported that Sriram will not be accompanying the Aussies to Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Cricket Australia (CA) has told the publication that they have been in talks with former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori to take up the position on an interim capacity but it is highly unlikely that a deal will be reached in time

It must be noted that Justin Langer also resigned from the head coach position recently and Andrew McDonald will serve as the interim head coach position on Pakistan.

Australia will play three Tests, three ODIs and one T20I from March 4 to April 5.

https://cricketpakistan.com.pk/en/n...ndian-assistant-coach-wont-travel-to-pakistan

 

[ExpressPacer]

Indian-born Australia's assistant coach Sridharan Sriram will not be travelling to Pakistan with the Aussies for their historic tour of the country.

Sriram has been associated with the Australian team as spin bowling consultant for more than three years. Cricbuzz has reported that Sriram will not be accompanying the Aussies to Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Cricket Australia (CA) has told the publication that they have been in talks with former New Zealand captain Daniel Vettori to take up the position on an interim capacity but it is highly unlikely that a deal will be reached in time

It must be noted that Justin Langer also resigned from the head coach position recently and Andrew McDonald will serve as the interim head coach position on Pakistan.

Australia will play three Tests, three ODIs and one T20I from March 4 to April 5.

https://cricketpakistan.com.pk/en/n...ndian-assistant-coach-wont-travel-to-pakistan

PCB should put forward Mushy or Saqlain as free of cost replacement coaches. Lyon could definitely learn a thing or two from Saqi. Who in the world is this random Indian guy anyway

 

[redmaverik84]

PCB should put forward Mushy or Saqlain as free of cost replacement coaches. Lyon could definitely learn a thing or two from Saqi. Who in the world is this random Indian guy anyway

A simple google search will tell you who this random guy is. Prolific domestic batsman who bowled left arm spin, played for India without much success. He was more a part time spinner in his prime, surprised to see him last so long as a spin bowling coach. There must be something about him I suppose..