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Pakistan vs Australia | 2nd Test | Abu Dhabi | 16-20 Oct, 2018 | Pre-Match Thread

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Abdullah719

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Some changes expected for Pakistan.

First of all, Imam-ul-Haq is out. Either Fakhar Zaman or Usman Salahuddin will probably replace him. Fakhar could open, but common sense would dictate that Azhar should open the innings. Hafeez will obviously retain his spot.

With regards to the bowling, it'd be surprising to see Wahab again. Hasan Ali or even Mir Hamza might get a go. Sadly there's no other spinner in the squad (Shadab is not a Test class spinner) so Bilal and Yasir will probably form the spin attack.
 
Azhar(Fakhar is low on confidence, don't burden him now )
Hafeez
Haris
Asad
Usman
Babar
Sarfraz + *
Bilal
Yasir
Abbas
Hamza(Hassan won't be effective, at least Hamza is taller and he'll be hungry on his debut ).
 
Azhar
Fakhar
Hafeez
Haris
Asad
Babar
Sarfraz
Bilal
Hasan
Yasir
Abbas
 
Azhar Ali should open.... there is no point him coming in later and completely bringing the innings to a standstill, he can do tuk tuk to his hearts content as an opener if he lasts that long.
 
Azhar(Fakhar is low on confidence, don't burden him now )
Hafeez
Haris
Asad
Usman
Babar
Sarfraz + *
Bilal
Yasir
Abbas
Hamza(Hassan won't be effective, at least Hamza is taller and he'll be hungry on his debut ).

Agree with XI just think middle-order should be
Haris
Babar
Asad
Usman
 
1. Fakhar
2. Azhar
3. Hafeez
4. Haris
5. Asad
6. Usman
7. Sarfraz
8. Bilal
9. Yasir
10. Abbas
11. Hamza

Hamza and Usman get a try. Might as well play Fakhar.

I defended Azhar down at three, but if he's going to mostly defend like that, just make him opener. Especially if Asad and Haris are performing, Azhar isn't needed middle order.

Haris got his century but needs to bat faster once set, especially since he's coming out at four. Asad the same, but redeemed himself second innings and wasn't as bad as Haris or Imam.
 
Attack: Stuart MacGill’s advice for Australia’s bowlers against Pakistan

FORMER Australian leg-spinner Stuart MacGill has one message for the current bowling group: attack.

It took Australia 164.2 overs to bowl Pakistan out in the first innings, while the home side declared the second-innings six wickets down after 57.5 overs.

Taking away the two first-innings run outs, Australia’s attack managed just 14 wickets between them at a strike rate of 95.22 per scalp.

By comparison, Pakistan needed just 74.43 balls per wicket during their frustrating draw.

And while MacGill believes it is the visitors who will take the ascendancy into the second Test, the former wrist spinner says Australia’s attack must get tighter and look to take wickets rather than tying down an end.

“We need to have a bit of a look at the strike rate of our main bowlers, not just our spin bowlers,” MacGill told foxsports.com.au.

“It’s all very well to go for a couple of runs an over, low economy rates, use up heaps of overs, if you’re helping somebody else to take the wickets.

“But if there’s nobody else in the team taking wickets and striking at a reasonable rate than you’re wasting your time.

“And I do think that we need to encourage all of our bowlers – I know this was a very flat pitch – to attack the batsmen a little bit more, or every single ball you bowl you have a purpose.

“The purpose shouldn’t be to stop them scoring unless it’s a view to getting them out.

“Across the Test our strike rate throughout the Test match was over 90 and that’s not really moving the game forward.

“It was a flat pitch, but Pakistan’s was under 80. It was around 20 balls per wicket less and that’s telling and probably why they were on top.

“If you’ve got a guy just running in bowling dots that’s cool, provided somebody’s up the other end taking wickets for you which is what happened in the first innings for Pakistan.

“We’re in a bit of a holding pattern for a bit and our attack could probably be a bit more tight nit, have a little bit more purpose and that would also help out Jon Holland.

“I think we’ve got the goods, I’d just like to see them being a little bit more proactive.”

https://www.dailytelegraph.com.au/s...k=077158e8dd9ea4e0ea2bcd03ae950bfd-1539551354
 
Dessert oasis: Aussies shocked by stunned by green pitch ahead of second test

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WHEN the Australians arrived in Abu Dhabi for the second test against Pakistan the last thing they expected was to see a pitch more closely resembling an English green seamer.

The square at Abu Dhabi is renowned for being even flatter than Dubai, where the Aussie bowlers were forced to toil on a lifeless, dry track in the first test.

While Peter Siddle returned tidy match figures, Mitchell Starc struggled in the hot conditions, to take 1-90 in the first innings and bowling just six overs in the second for figures of 0-18.

A flashback to the Abu Dhabi pitch in 2014, when the Aussies last played there, makes the sight of grass even more baffling.

The surprise conditions will likely cause more selection headaches for the Aussies, who are weighing up whether to rest spearhead Mitchell Starc.

The left-armer was unable to replicate the reverse swing generated by Pakistan paceman Mohammad Abbas who claimed seven wickets for the match.

Australia’s determination to win a Test series in Asia for the first time since 2011 is likely to swing selectors towards backing in Starc.


Selectors, however, must surely have one eye on the upcoming home summer against India where Starc will be key to Australia’s chances.

Should Starc be rest, the Australians could include Queenslander Michael Neser or rely more on the medium pace of Mitchell Marsh, should the pitch offer more assistance to the quicks.

It remains to be seen, however, how grassy the wicket will be come the start of the match.

https://www.foxsports.com.au/cricke...k=077158e8dd9ea4e0ea2bcd03ae950bfd-1539553488
 
Doubt the pitch will remain grassy when the match commences.
 
Azhar and Hafeez looks good opening pair. Azhar has very good temperament but I dont know what happened to him. I really missed stability of Misbah the Captain. Sarfi is too mercurial.

Why not give test captaincy to Hafeez for an year. In test matches, experience matters a lot. We all know he will fail in SA, but its also very unlikely that Sarfi will succeed. Include any other wk in tests. Give rest to Sarfi from test for an year.
 
1. Hafeez
2. Azhar
3. Haris
4. Shafiq
5. Babar
6. Usman
7. Sarfaraz
8. Bilal
9. Yasir
10. Abbas
11. Hamza

Changes are Azhar to open for injured Imam and Usman Salahuddin in the middle order and Mir Hamza for Wahab.
 
1. Azhar Ali
2. Mohammad Hafeez
3. Haris Sohail
4. Babar Azam
5. Usman Salahuddin
6. Asad Shafiq
7. Sarfraz Ahmed
8. Bilal Asif
9. Yasir Shah
10. Mohammad Abbas
11. Mir Hamza
 
Another batsman Usman who will bat at a snails pace which will waste valuable time Fakhar looks the best option.
 
Mitchell Starc ready for Abu Dhabi decider

Mitchell Starc has declared himself fighting fit for the second Test against Pakistan, with the Australian pacemen to take a leaf out of Mohammad Abbas' playbook for the series finale in Abu Dhabi.

Starc's big first-innings workload in punishing conditions in the drawn first Test following a long layoff due to injury prompted the usual concern, but the left-armer said he was feeling fresh two days out from the series decider.

Along with pace partner Peter Siddle and fellow quicks Michael Neser and Brendan Doggett, Starc let rip in the nets during the squad's main training run ahead of the second Test where reverse swing is again expected to be a major factor.

Abbas was the most effective bowler in Dubai with seven wickets for the match including a devastating haul of 3-0 in eight balls having earlier been written off by the likes of Fox Cricket commentator Mark Waugh for his lack of pace.

Starc says Australia have taken note of the wiry paceman's methods, and the fields set by Pakistan.

"(We were) taking notice of some of their field placements, particularly Abbas when he was getting that ball to reverse," Starc told cricket.com.au.

"He's very consistent and he bowled really well in the first innings, was pretty successful and again in the second innings.

"Obviously he's not very fast but he's very consistent in where he was putting the ball and challenging our defence all the time.

"Some of the fields they had to the quicks when it was reversing we took notice of. He was very consistent and patient over where he was bowling and waited for the batsmen to make errors.

"We were pretty good for the most part, we stuck to our plans (but) it's definitely something we can take out of the way he approached his fast bowling."

While Abbas was the game's standout quick, Starc was pleased with how he and Siddle toiled in Pakistan's first innings.

Typically deployed as a strike weapon, Starc has accepted his usual attacking instincts won't cut it in the Middle East.

"From a fast bowling point of view, we knew we couldn't bowl like we would in Australia – we had to take the ego out of it and the aggressiveness with our bowling out of it, really play a patient and persistence game," Starc explained.

"Right from the start of the tour I knew I had to change my role a little bit in terms of the way I go about my bowling, aggressive lines and lengths and try to blast guys out, you can't really do that here on wickets that are so low and have no bounce.

"I had to be a bit more economical, build pressure not try to take wickets all the time, just really know when to attack and when to build pressure from one end.

"No doubt that will be the same for the fast bowlers in this Test match."

Having toiled on a Dubai pitch almost entirely bereft of greenery, the Australians were surprised to find a well-grassed wicket at the Sheikh Zayed Stadium on Sunday.

Recent history would suggest the track will be far from the green seamer Australian Test sides have struggled on in recent Ashes series abroad and it's expected that curators will give the Abu Dhabi track a significant haircut ahead of the first ball on Tuesday.

"It might be completely different tomorrow when they cut the grass off," Starc continued. "If we were playing on it today, the fast bowlers would be pretty happy with the covering of grass.

"A lot of us expect that grass to be gone by tomorrow and probably even less come game day.

"We're ready for whatever they throw at us and will try to back up from a good fight in that first Test."

https://www.cricket.com.au/news/mit...st-pakistan-abu-dhabi-siddle-pitch/2018-10-15
 
Mir Hamza should have been given opportunity in England , not here. That is not fair on him.
 
The pressure of losing the series might unfortunately be too much for Pakistan. And if Australia gets to bat first, then heads will drop. Sarfraz is already a mediocre captain and he will have no answer on how to dislodge a set partnership.

Time Paine should come up to bat at 4 and allow Mitch Marsh to bat at 6. At 6, Marsh has the license to play aggressively which is his strength. At 4, you are basically telling Mitch that he has to score a 100 and that is too much of a responsibility right now for him. Agar should also play for Australia. Much better bowler than Holland and miles better batsman too. Don't know why Holland played in the first test.
 
Green grass on wicket in UAE means nothing, all it will do is keep the pitch from crumbling and offer less assistance then the 1st test.
 
There will be overcast condition in Abu Dhabi. Aussies are going to end this match in 3-4 days
 
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