Pakistan's hopes of avoiding a 3-0 whitewash against Australia in tatters after they end Day 3 of SCG Test on 68/7, a lead of 82 runs

[Marooned]

First innings Pakistan had no pressure. SO they were able to hit their way out. With a decent target to set Pakistan will be under whole lot of pressure to strike a balance between offense and defense.

Pakistan just don't believe they can win vs Aus. That's exactly how minnows think.

If we get a sniff in the game, we self sabotage

 

[J-Essence]

Babar if he consistently plays against top sides, his average will get lower and lower

Agree

 

[Savak]

First innings Pakistan had no pressure. SO they were able to hit their way out. With a decent target to set Pakistan will be under whole lot of pressure to strike a balance between offense and defense.

Playing and performing under pressure of expectations and hope is what differentiates top teams from the bottom rubbish.

 

[zaidihusain]

Batting collapse from nowhere in test cricket has been a forte of Pakistan team. This was such a good opportunity to set a target of 250-300 but except Abdullah everyone else had soft dismissal. Looks like they were giving catching practice in slips. No body tried to build the innings by scoring runs or staying at the wicket.

 

[jackofallrounder]

Curtains for Imam and Shakeel for sure. Shafique and Babar are king of soft runs and will stat pad against weak teams. Shaheen may not have it in him to play all formats and be a consistent top performer. Only Shan, Rizwan, and Jamal look international quality. Mir and Khurram were decent and Hassan also bowled well. That’s all for the tour.

 

[MANU ROY]

I am just remembering the guy who said Babar Azam has got into a bad habit of scoring a century in every other match

 

[J-Essence]

Wonder if Sarfraz fans will be hoping Rizwan fails so they can say told you so, or will they back him so Pakistan can win.

This is a bigger test than what Pak is facing in Aus.

Agree with you. This is a virus infection that is killing itself.

 

[MANU ROY]

Was the final session played in Sydney or Cape Town

 

[Ahmed216]

First innings Pakistan had no pressure. SO they were able to hit their way out. With a decent target to set Pakistan will be under whole lot of pressure to strike a balance between offense and defense.

Pakistan hold the distinction of being the only side that is always under pressure regardless of game situation

 

[J-Essence]

Curtains for Imam and Shakeel for sure. Shafique and Babar are king of soft runs and will stat pad against weak teams. Shaheen may not have it in him to play all formats and be a consistent top performer. Only Shan, Rizwan, and Jamal look international quality. Mir and Khurram were decent and Hassan also bowled well. That’s all for the tour.

Agree but overall i liked agha too.

 

[MANU ROY]

Curtains for Imam and Shakeel for sure. Shafique and Babar are king of soft runs and will stat pad against weak teams. Shaheen may not have it in him to play all formats and be a consistent top performer. Only Shan, Rizwan, and Jamal look international quality. Mir and Khurram were decent and Hassan also bowled well. That’s all for the tour.

agha did well

 

[jnaveen1980]

Pakistan just don't believe they can win vs Aus. That's exactly how minnows think.

If we get a sniff in the game, we self sabotage

Pakistan had the best conditions to bat on day 1 looking at the current state, Extreme dryness in the last 36 hours has started opening up cracks. May be Pakistan should have posted a total in the vicinity of 400 in the first dig. 14 run lead was insignificant. Let us not forget Australia also capitulated in the backend losing 5 wickets for 10 runs. Pakistan should push towards 150. Seemingly new ball is the best time to score against. If the target is only around 120 they will knock off 70 to 80 in no time against new ball.

 

[Marooned]

I am just remembering the guy who said Babar Azam has got into a bad habit of scoring a century in every other match

When I 1st saw the thread, I thought it must be from 2 years back when babar was actually performing

Then I saw the date and concluded Fakhar just had a psychosis episode.

 

[jattafridi]

Third class batting performance

Waiting for real cricket Pakistan Vs New Zealand t20i series

 

[RidiculousMan]

Pakistan survived the day. Big moral victory this.

It's just the mentality. Nothing else. Any other mentally apt team would've won this Test Match.

I guess it's something to write some about that Pakistan were more competitive this time around and didn't lose any games by an innings.

 

[Marooned]

Pakistan had the best conditions to bat on day 1 looking at the current state, Extreme dryness in the last 36 hours has started opening up cracks. May be Pakistan should have posted a total in the vicinity of 400 in the first dig. 14 run lead was insignificant. Let us not forget Australia also capitulated in the backend losing 5 wickets for 10 runs. Pakistan should push towards 150. Seemingly new ball is the best time to score against. If the target is only around 120 they will knock off 70 to 80 in no time against new ball.

You have a point about 1st innings but Nah I don't think 1st innings batting can be the chief talking point here. It's this collapse right here

You can't be 68-7 on ANY pitch. Period.

 

[7sins]

Last hope willbe Rizwan and Jamal but it's over done 3-0 is coming awful chicken mentality players

 

[Seen Sheen]

Pakistan just don't believe they can win vs Aus. That's exactly how minnows think.

If we get a sniff in the game, we self sabotage

And the best indicator of that is how the captain plays - the shot Shan played summed up Pakistan's defeatist mentality. Cheapest wicket at the most critical juncture of the test match.

 

[jnaveen1980]

You have a point about 1st innings but Nah I don't think 1st innings batting can be the chief talking point here. It's this collapse right here

You can't be 68-7 on ANY pitch. Period.

Looking at how some of the balls were scooting, how some of the balls viciously turning batsmen with suspect technique and temperament are likely to commit more mistakes. Also moment you sense you have an opportunity to win you feel the pressure that too late in the day. Combination of mental and technical issues caused this capitulation. Pakistan still has an outside chance if they add another 70 to 80 runs.

 

[RidiculousMan]

Looking at how some of the balls were scooting, how some of the balls viciously turning batsmen with suspect technique and temperament are likely to commit more mistakes. Also moment you sense you have an opportunity to win you feel the pressure that too late in the day. Combination of mental and technical issues caused this capitulation. Pakistan still has an outside chance if they add another 70 to 80 runs.

Pakistan has no chance. This isn't a dangerous unfit pitch.

They needed 250 on board to challenge Australia. But they're mentally not ready. They don't have the belief that they can win in Australia.

 

[Amjid Javed]

The middle order batting on tout has been 3rd 11 village cricket level.

The likes of babar and saud have been poor on tour

 

[Swashbuckler]

Massive opportunity missed by PCT, Babar has flopped big time, even a 60-70 by him here could have taken the target to 200 which is tough on this wearing pitch. This is the best I have seen Pakistan compete in Australia, but lack of killer instinct, failure to seize big moments, failure to run away with the game on top, have made this series look one sided. Maybe mental block, but from the positions in MCG and SCG I reckon 4-5 teams in world cricket would have buried Australia.

 

[Seen Sheen]

Looking at how some of the balls were scooting, how some of the balls viciously turning batsmen with suspect technique and temperament are likely to commit more mistakes. Also moment you sense you have an opportunity to win you feel the pressure that too late in the day. Combination of mental and technical issues caused this capitulation. Pakistan still has an outside chance if they add another 70 to 80 runs.

There is nothing too demonic in the pitch. Most decent batting lineups would continue to defend and score here. You can still score in excess of 250 plus on this pitch.
Soft dismissals have killed Pakistan in this innings. Sign of timidity and lack of belief.

 

[Suleiman]

Pakistan survived the day. Big moral victory this.

It's just the mentality. Nothing else. Any other mentally apt team would've won this Test Match.

I guess it's something to write some about that Pakistan were more competitive this time around and didn't lose any games by an innings.

Yep. Half the dismissals were to nothing deliveries. Just shots played out of nervousness.

Able to hold your nerve is one of the few things that separates minnows from world class teams

 

[Seen Sheen]

Massive opportunity missed by PCT, Babar has flopped big time, even a 60-70 by him here could have taken the target to 200 which is tough on this wearing pitch. This is the best I have seen Pakistan compete in Australia, but lack of killer instinct, failure to seize big moments, failure to run away with the game on top, have made this series look one sided. Maybe mental block, but from the positions in MCG and SCG I reckon 4-5 teams in world cricket would have buried Australia.

Babar is the biggest flop and disappointment of this tour (and another major blot in his career).
His no-show (yet again in big games) is one of the biggest factors for this eventual whitewash when it should have been 2-1 either way.

 

[Seen Sheen]

Pakistan has no chance. This isn't a dangerous unfit pitch.

They needed 250 on board to challenge Australia. But they're mentally not ready. They don't have the belief that they can win in Australia.

When you appoint one of the biggest bottlers as team director then it's not a surprise that panic sets in the dressing room and on the field when the pressure is on.
Hafeez is the last person who could instill belief in his men given how many times he flopped under pressure in big games.

 

[Suleiman]

Massive opportunity missed by PCT, Babar has flopped big time, even a 60-70 by him here could have taken the target to 200 which is tough on this wearing pitch. This is the best I have seen Pakistan compete in Australia, but lack of killer instinct, failure to seize big moments, failure to run away with the game on top, have made this series look one sided. Maybe mental block, but from the positions in MCG and SCG I reckon 4-5 teams in world cricket would have buried Australia.

It’s incredibly sad. We could be 1-1 this series going into 2-1.

It was the same in England 2016 where 2-2 could’ve been 3-1 to us if we didn’t fumble after being in a strong position in 1 of those 2 tests.

Sometimes it feels better to just see the team completely outplayed rather than give the hope of winning only to lose at the end… hope I am wrong, but let’s see.

 

[hur rizvi]

They are mentally just not up for the battle. Those shots from Babar, Shan, Saud just show how mentally shot they are


Absolute lack of courage by some of these players

 

[jnaveen1980]

One innings tests are always tricky. This reminds me of 36 all out match. India took 50 runs lead. In the pink ball test they were rolled over for 36 shockingly. Same Hazlewood did the damage.

 

[Swashbuckler]

This pitch is playing like a typical SC wicket, Pak should have been at home here. Just needed to score 200 here and Aussies would have been under severe pressure. They were going just fine with the Saim-Babar partnership but suddenly for no reason went into a shell and allowed bowlers to dictate terms. They handed MCG on a platter, here they have gone one step beyond. Australia tour is cursed for Pakistan it seems, mental block is too big now.

 

[Kianig89]

Wow just wow short of words

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Talent alone is not enough, those bowling at you are talented too. He needs to go back and do some technique checks with his coach. This was horrific show so far, worst of his career.

I agree. The hyperbole by some posters was unbelievable. Calling him the best batter across formats when even a declining Warner has done more than him in recent times in all formats was clearly extreme hype over substance.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Big Josh had been relatively quiet this series. He usually bullies PAK with his accuracy and bounce

Looks like he was saving himself to land the crushing killer blow.

Pakistan will never win another Test in Australia if they can't win this.

That's assuming they still play Tests at all by the next cycle of away tours.

 

[Swashbuckler]

Babar is the biggest flop and disappointment of this tour (and another major blot in his career).
His no-show (yet again in big games) is one of the biggest factors for this eventual whitewash when it should have been 2-1 either way.

No more excuses now, he is in his 8th year in international cricket and is yet to play a meaningful knock in SENA, doesn't have to be a big 100, even a 60-70 can be matchwinning. So many times this series he could have put Pakistan in a dominant position, these cute 20s and 30s are useless. Worst thing is he is getting starts, his eye in, middling the ball, and then throwing it away just when you expect him to pull the trigger and run away with the game. Mentally weak, sorry I can never rate him ahead of Younis, Inzi, Miandad, technique and talentwise Babar may tower over others but zero mental fortitude.

 

[jnaveen1980]

This pitch is playing like a typical SC wicket, Pak should have been at home here. Just needed to score 200 here and Aussies would have been under severe pressure. They were going just fine with the Saim-Babar partnership but suddenly for no reason went into a shell and allowed bowlers to dictate terms. They handed MCG on a platter, here they have gone one step beyond. Australia tour is cursed for Pakistan it seems, mental block is too big now.

After a long time SCG looks like SCG of old. Most of the recent matches played at the SCG were played on roads.May be because they are aware pakistan has no decent frontline spinner. Heck even their part timer looked more threatening.

 

[Geordie Ahmed]

Not even surprised, that's the sad thing

It's typical of Pakistan to find creative ways to lose from good positions

I feel sorry for Jamal, he does not deserve to be on the losing side but far too many of his team mates are mentally weak

 

[Swashbuckler]

Jamal has had an all timer of a series, that too first time in Australia. Peak Imran Khan level, maybe even higher downunder. Hope he wins player of the series, and builds on this series to become a great.

 

[BouncerGuy]

Hazlewood sweeps Pakistan with four late wickets

In a wild final session that saw 11 wickets fall, Josh Hazlewood stole the show to rip through the visitors and spark euphoric scenes

In shades of the Cape Town calamity that unfolded earlier this week, Australia struck back from their own bating implosion to destroy Pakistan and set up a possible series clean sweep thanks to a withering spell from seamer Josh Hazlewood.

In a rollicking extended last session, a total of 11 wickets – 12 if the one that fell on the final ball before tea is included – tumbled for the addition of 78 runs in less than 30 overs on a pitch that betrayed no hint of such carnage in the five hours beforehand.

Having snatched an unlikely 14-run first innings lead on the back of another heroic bowling effort from rookie allrounder Aamir Jamal, Pakistan ended day three of the final NRMA Insurance Test in disarray at 7-68 and holding an overall lead of 82.

While the advantage is decidedly skinny, the evidence of that chaotic last session underscore the challenges batting presents on a dying day four track with Pakistan's first innings top scorer Mohammad Rizwan (6no) holding the key to his team finding a lead they might conceivably defend.

While the initial damage was wrought by the new-ball, it was Hazlewood's second spell at day's end that netted him the scalps of Saud Shakeel, Sajid Khan and Salman Ali Agha in the course of a solitary maiden over that had the SCG rocking in euphoric delirium.

The procession of wickets might have resembled the two-day South Africa-India Test at Cape Town which became the shortest in the game's history, but it also carried a strong whiff of Steve Waugh's memorable last-ball Ashes hundred at the same ground 21 years ago.

In a near-carbon copy of Pakistan's first innings on Wednesday, the visitors lost two wickets – opener Abdullah Shafique and captain Shan Masood – in just eight balls to be reeling at 2-1 before debutant Saim Ayub launched a nerveless counter-punch.

Saim's defiance included an audacious uppercut for six off Mitchell Starc who had begun the rot by dismantling Shafique's stumps in his opening over, but ended when trapped lbw Nathan Lyon as Australia's resurgence continued in the shadow of stumps on day where the action was back-ended.

The young opener's exit was followed by soon after by crucial wicket of former skipper Babar Azam who was neatly caught behind off renowned partnership breaker Travis Head, before Hazlewood ran amok.

Despite trailing 0-2 in the three-match NRMA Insurance Series with the Benaud-Qadir Trophy in Australia's keeping, Pakistan became the first team to hold a first-innings lead over Australia on their home patch since India at the MCG in December, 2020.

That historic India campaign also represents the last occasion Australia tasted defeat in front of their own fans, with the three-wicket win at the Gabba weeks later sealing a 2-1 series triumph.

If Pakistan are to somehow emulate their near neighbours and bitter rivals by defying Australia and history, they owe a large debt of thanks to Aamir whose first-innings tail-end runs and 6-69 with the ball today place him in rare company.

The 27-year-old, who also snared six-for in his maiden Test bowling innings at Perth last month, became the first player to score 80 or above and snare six wickets in the first innings of a Test match since legendary Australia allrounder Keith Miller managed it against West Indies at Jamaica in 1955.

Australia had appeared destined to take a first-innings lead despite disciplined Pakistan bowling that made scoring tough on an increasingly two-paced pitch as Mitchell Marsh and Alex Carey fashioned a vital sixth-wicket stand.

Joining forces after Australia's middle-order had imploded with the loss of Steve Smith (38), Marnus Labuschagne (60) and Travis Head 10, the pair put on an innings-high partnership of 84 from 138 balls, at a rate none of their teammates were able to match.

But when Carey was knocked over by the last delivery before tea from off-spinner Sajid Khan which grazed the left-hander's jumper before clipping his leg bail, the SCG descended into late afternoon pandemonium when play resumed.

Including Carey's dismissal, Australia lost a barely credible 5-10 from just 20 balls as Aamir followed up his day one batting heroics – where he pummelled 82 from 97 balls faced – with the second five-wicket haul of a Test career spanning barely two and half matches.

The carnage began in the first full over after the break when Marsh attempted to muscle Aamir over the off-side and spooned a waist-high catch to Shan at mid-off.

It was the reprise of a shot that might have cost Marsh his wicket earlier in the day when, having scored seven and with Australia still more than 100 runs in arrears, he mistimed a lofted drive from Salman Ali Agha that looked likely to be accepted by Saim.

But the debutant, who had already endured the ignominy of a second-ball duck in his maiden innings then turfing a simple slips catch off David Warner yesterday morning, was on his heels at mid-off set deep and failed to hold the low chance as he lunged forward.

Given Marsh went to the crease averaging more than 90 in the series to date, and went on to post his fourth half-century from five knocks in his resurgent summer, it loomed as a turning point in this finely balanced contest.

And as the allrounder's eventual removal 43 runs later conclusively proved, there was little that stood between him and the end of Australia's innings if Pakistan's bowlers and faltering fielders got it right.

Two balls after claiming that key wicket, Aamir claimed Australia skipper Pat Cummins who clean missed a knee-high full toss that dipped late past the inside of his bat and thudded into the knee roll of both pads only for umpire Michael Gough to deem it not out.

But the insistently incredulous bowler convinced his captain to call for a review, and technology confirmed the ball would have thudded into leg stump.

In his next over, Aamir squared up Nathan Lyon who squirted a catch to gully that Saud Shakeel juggled but ultimately held as he fell to the ground, although it took some close scrutiny from third umpire Joel Wilson to adjudicate the ball had not grazed the ground.

And it took just two more deliveries for Aamir to wrap up a remarkable spell when Hazlewood stepped away and tried to flay him behind point only for the resultant edge to be snared smartly at second slip.

From 5-289 and within touching distance of a first-innings advantage, Australia had undergone the sort of batting implosion they had hoped would remain rooted in 2023 where they were an uncomfortably common occurrence to pocket a 14-run deficit.

On the evidence provided by Smith and Labuschagne across the day's first session, when the usually fluent duo struggled to score at much above two runs per over, that lead might have been potentially greater than the small sum of its parts.

Thanks largely to Aamir's late-innings enterprise with the bat, Pakistan had piled on runs at more than four an over on day one but it was a vastly tougher proposition when their pace bowlers opted for a relentless short-pitched strategy in today's opening hour.

After Labuschagne made a sprightly start by clipping the morning's fourth delivery from Mir Hamza off his pads to the mid-wicket rope, he and Smith then played out 33 consecutive deliveries – including five successive maidens from Hamza and Hasan Ali – before their next run emerged.

At that stage, the innings scoring rate of 2.28 per over was the lowest for Australia in a Sydney Test since they were famously bowled out for 111 in 56.3 overs (at a rate of 1.96) by South Africa in the final match of their 1993-94 visit.

The sequence was eventually broken when Labuschagne pushed a single to extra cover off Hamza before Smith summarily dispatched the same bowler to the cover boundary three balls later.

The choke-hold Pakistan's seamers had exerted was broken when Sajid returned to the attack in place of Hasan, and Labuschagne immediately unfurled a couple of sweet cover drives against the spin to get Australia's innings rolling.

But Smith's frustrations at the bouncer barrage that quelled his shot-making became apparent when he requested a small piece of rubbish be removed from the expansive sightscreen at the Randwick End, prompting a five-minute delay as the item – an errant piece of electrical tape – was retrieved.

Pakistan then switched strategies by placing catching fielders in front of the wicket on the off-side with the clear intention of luring Smith on the drive, and it took just one delivery for the ploy to prove successful as the former captain bunted a head-high catch to short cover.

Since scoring his most recent Test century at Lord's last July, Smith has reached 20 in all but two of his 12 subsequent Test innings but boasts a best of 71 and averages 36 – comparatively lean by his exacting standards – in that time.

He could scarcely believe he had fallen for such an obvious trap and stood staring at the pitch for around five seconds, seemingly in the search for a reason for his lapse, before trudging off with rueful shakes of the head.

Labuschagne responded similarly when he was beaten by Salman, not deployed until more than 90 minutes into the day despite clearly being a more threatening spin option than Sajid, with the batter seemingly mystified as to how he didn't lay bat on ball.

His studied examination of replays on the SCG's big screens as he also dragged himself resignedly from the middle revealed the ball had spun sharply from the rough outside the right-hander's off stump and speared between bat and pad to tilt back leg stump.

It was a sure sign that batting will only become more challenging across the final days of this wildly fluctuating Test.

Hazlewood sweeps Pakistan with four late wickets | cricket.com.au

In a wild final session that saw 11 wickets fall, Josh Hazlewood stole the show to rip through the…

www.cricket.com.au

 

[Mainul]

What an opportunity missed by Pakistan! 250 on board , Australia should have been under serious pressure to chase 260 plus.

Yes, as lot here saying, the main reason Pakistan can't capitulate on is their weak state of mental strength. Why India can do better ? They are strong mentally. I don't think that Pakistan can win in Australia even in next 2 decades.

 

[jnaveen1980]

Jamal has had an all timer of a series, that too first time in Australia. Peak Imran Khan level, maybe even higher downunder. Hope he wins player of the series, and builds on this series to become a great.

He is perfectly suitable for these pitches. Slower version of Shami skiddy honing on the stumps mixing up with short balls.

 

[Mainul]

I do alway believe there are batsmen who r mentally strong in Pakistani domestics. Just needs to find them.

 

[Mainul]

Don't take me wrong way but Pak batters are just not good enough skill wise to play on these fast wickets. There is quite a huge difference batting in Pindi then coming to perth. Saud,Imad etc clearly look out of place. Not to mention, Pak has not groomed any proper test bowler both pace and spin. Jamal is surprise package which noone expected to deliver. Also, Jamal hype might die like most bowlers once batters get an idea.

I agree to all these lines. Pakistan lacks a pacer with consistent integrity through the career. SA has got Rabada, India has Shami . Pakistan hasnt anyone. Afridi isn't the same bowler he used to be. Still he has only chance of be that kind of bowler producing the consistency. Infact after era of two w's , shoib Pakistan failed to produce a lethal consistent pacer.

 

[Human786]

82/7

Even if a miracle happens tomorrow & Pak win , all I got to say is I see no exceptional Test worthy talent except Naseem in this group of players . There have been many players all over the cricketing World who were not brilliant but had good work ethics , discipline , mental strength & performed above their natural potential . Sadly none of these guys have it ! off topic , when 2nd innings started , they showed Shaheen chomping on a piece of chocolate & smilingly talking to Jamal who was sitting with him . This shameless person should have been playing this TEST & not being rested for the mega T20 series against Kiwi's ! All champion cricketers like Kohli , Cummins , Stark etc have repeatedly said TEST over everything & this is what I personally value btw !

 

[jnaveen1980]

I do see Naseem's name a lot. But his action is injury prone. Don't think he will last in Tests long.

 

[CrIc_Mystique]

That delivery to Ab Shafiq was thunderous....I'd challenge most batsmen in the world to negotiate/defend...leave alone score off....
all in all Pak were leading in 1str innings, golden chance to plug aus in one test in their backyard....
however, i might stil head to SCG tommorow to see if any miracle happen a ala botham-willis or laxs- rahul or some other ....at least i will cheer on my fav - Aamer Jamal - what super spirited guy!

 

[Seen Sheen]

No more excuses now, he is in his 8th year in international cricket and is yet to play a meaningful knock in SENA, doesn't have to be a big 100, even a 60-70 can be matchwinning. So many times this series he could have put Pakistan in a dominant position, these cute 20s and 30s are useless. Worst thing is he is getting starts, his eye in, middling the ball, and then throwing it away just when you expect him to pull the trigger and run away with the game. Mentally weak, sorry I can never rate him ahead of Younis, Inzi, Miandad, technique and talentwise Babar may tower over others but zero mental fortitude.

No serious and rational cricket fan can rate him above those guys you mentioned. He's only rated highly by a bunch of teenagers/T20-overdosed Gen Zs who only think cricket revolves around bashing teams at bilaterals. They are the ones who have tried to forcefully push him into this Fab4/5 thing and sadly the some of the world media got caught up in the hype.

To be honest, in my eyes, he's even below Azhar Ali who probably didn't even receive 20 percent of the hype that this guy has got. Azhar held his own against Australia and played some great test match innings for Pakistan in difficult conditions.

He has to turn his career around dramatically to even be considered in the upper echelons of Pakistani batters.

He's currently probably not even in the top 10 Pakistani batters of all time (strictly Test cricket).
Absolutely impactless player against quality opposition.

 

[Omer2002]

Curtains for Imam and Shakeel for sure. Shafique and Babar are king of soft runs and will stat pad against weak teams. Shaheen may not have it in him to play all formats and be a consistent top performer. Only Shan, Rizwan, and Jamal look international quality. Mir and Khurram were decent and Hassan also bowled well. That’s all for the tour.

Shafique was playing his first series in Australia so give him some slack. He did well looking at his overall stats could do nothing to do with todays delivery but played two loose shots in his previous two outing. Main concern was his two drops in slips as he is usually a good slipper then again Ayub dropped two dollies i heard today so nothing new in pak culture.

Saud was never going to do well here and Shaan if i recall had one decent innings. Babs was definately the let down. We cant compete with the best teams away unlike India.

 

[batandballbattle]

Mentally weak chokers. Again we have shot ourselves in the foot.
Some nice periods of play don't win you a test here. Cinical does not exist in our vocabulary.

Tomorrow is just about damage control and seeing for how long we can hold off the inevitable now, when it should have been about solidifying our claim to history.

Top sides would be eyeing up a 2-1 victory, whilst we are starting down the barrel of a whitewash. Huge huge opportunity missed.

 

[Swashbuckler]

Shaheen was a big miss. Imagine Pak with a 60 or 70 runs lead in 1st innings, match dynamics would have been entirely different. These are the kinds of games that define a player's legacy and actual worth. But he wants to rest himself and play against some B grade cricketers of NZ in a T2O series which even he will forget about the minute that series is over. Australia test tour is the biggest chapter in most players' lives and to see a youngster miss that for non-injury reasons is infuriating even for neutral fans.

So many cricket fans I know wake up at 5 in the morning to watch Boxing Day and New Year's tests in Australia, even when India isn't playing. These are prestigious games, red letter days on the cricket calendar.

 

[Rana]

Push to 150 somehow

I recon we’ve got this

 

[Nikhil_cric]

How have you estimated his intelligence in literally 20 mins of batting?

From his interviews actually. Did I say that it was from his batting?

 

[Romali_rotti]

Rizwan will have to play one heck of an innings, if Pakistan can set a target of 150, I believe they can win...

 

[hur rizvi]

Push to 150 somehow

I recon we’ve got this

Rizwan and Jamal will have to play out of their skins to ensure 150. I think they will roll over pretty quickly in the morning

Target could be under a 100

 

[hur rizvi]

Rizwan will have to play one heck of an innings, if Pakistan can set a target of 150, I believe they can win...

Problem is that Pakistan don't believe they can win anything in Australia

 

[Seen Sheen]

From his interviews actually. Did I say that it was from his batting?

Yeah as if interviews are the benchmark for intelligence.....
Anyways, intelligence matters zilch if you can't do the job you are picked to do. Shan is the biggest example; another poor performance from the most intelligent player.

 

[gazza619]

Rizwan and Jamal will have to play out of their skins to ensure 150. I think they will roll over pretty quickly in the morning

Target could be under a 100

And you expect our rubbish bowling attack to defend 150?

We bowled rather poorly to let Aussies score 299 on this track.

 

[Nikhil_cric]

Yeah as if interviews are the benchmark for intelligence.....
Anyways, intelligence matters zilch if you can't do the job you are picked to do. Shan is the biggest example; another poor performance from the most intelligent player.

By the standards of intelligence in Pakistan cricket, which are abysmally low, Shan is alright as seen from his captaincy. Much better captain than Waqar, Inzi, MoYo, Misbah who were often clueless even on their best days.

Saim is comfortably the most intelligent of the lot when you see that the other "youngsters" are Haider Ali and Abdullah Shafique.

 

[hur rizvi]

And you expect our rubbish bowling attack to defend 150?

We bowled rather poorly to let Aussies score 299 on this track.

I believe 150 could give them a fighting chance (though Aussies will be favorites) but honestly I don't see them giving target of more than 120 max

 

[oatmeal]

If Aamer Jamal can play another knock like he did in the first innings, this can be a tough target. But it will have to be from pressure. Way too early for the pitch to start crumbling

 

[Seen Sheen]

I believe 150 could give them a fighting chance (though Aussies will be favorites) but honestly I don't see them giving target of more than 120 max

When a no-hoper like Sajid is your lead spinner then even 250 might not be enough.
Salman looks 10 times better than this guy masquerading as an off spinner.

Only 200 would have given a fighting chance but that's impossible to achieve.

Won't be surprised at all if they get bowled in first 3 4 overs tomorrow.

 

[kingusama92]

I think they need 200+.

150 would have been a good fighting total with a quality specialist spinner (i.e. Lyon, Ashwin). I don't see Agha or Sajid having that type of ability to cut through the Aussies and getting them out under 150.

Just a terrible collapse at the end there probably cost them the match.

 

[UzmanBeast]

No more excuses now, he is in his 8th year in international cricket and is yet to play a meaningful knock in SENA, doesn't have to be a big 100, even a 60-70 can be matchwinning. So many times this series he could have put Pakistan in a dominant position, these cute 20s and 30s are useless. Worst thing is he is getting starts, his eye in, middling the ball, and then throwing it away just when you expect him to pull the trigger and run away with the game. Mentally weak, sorry I can never rate him ahead of Younis, Inzi, Miandad, technique and talentwise Babar may tower over others but zero mental fortitude.

There were plenty of chances for half of our side to also chip in and score runs.

I fully agree, it is frustrating to see Babar negotiate the tougher phases of the opposition bowling only to throw it away at the wrong time.

It's definitely not an issue with execution, the same dismissal to Travis Head was a gorgeous boundary to Nathan Lyon a few overs ago.

I'm happy to see that he has worked hard to fix his technique, he is much more compact now playing seam movement and I think this will serve him well on our future tours to SENA.

His pattern of dismissals does not suggest that his technique is poor. Any person with some functioning eyes would have seen his batting today, very few false shots, and he looked in good rhythm.

What is frustrating is that in this series, with some luck (as every batter needs) and some better intent, he could have had at least 3 fifties, maybe even a hundred if he got settled well.

However, I don't put his shortcomings down to him being a mentally weak player. You are not mentally weak if you have captained the team for three years, been stripped of captaincy, had a whole nation and your cricketing committee turn against you, and still worked to try and contribute for the team.

I would love to see how the top international batsmen cope with all of that and then score mountains of runs, because I don't remember it happening.

The biggest positive is that he is adapting. A phase like this is necessary, it was necessary for Babar, so that he would elevate himself to a new level. Be it technically, mentally, or fitness-wise, every batsman needs a reality check from time to time.

I would not judge Babar on this series too harshly. He was unfortunate to get absolute peaches for most of the time, some dismissals were his own fault too, but I would be more interested in how he moves on from here.

To escape a mental block is not as easy as some of the posters here claim it to be. Pick up a bat and walk out, see how difficult it actually is. It's easy to attack someone for not living up to your expectations, but at the end of the day, those are your expectations.

For someone in any mental block, you take small victories where you can. Look at all the great batsmen on commentary talking about their struggles.

Babar has to back his instincts - the longer you stay indecisive in test cricket, the sooner your wicket falls.

I hope he gets back in the rhythm that we need from him. I would also love for him to join a season of County Cricket if he needs tough conditions to score runs in. A lot of good batsmen use domestic cricket (our domestic is quite poor) to fix technical issues.

 

[Maliq_Mudasir]

Even if Pak gives a target of 200, do they have quality pacer like Josh, or a spinner like Lyon? No !

Even if some random guy comes and creates multiple chances like Josh did, do they have safe slip cordon? No !

So Pak should forget about this match and move on.

 

[gazza619]

I believe 150 could give them a fighting chance (though Aussies will be favorites) but honestly I don't see them giving target of more than 120 max

A bowling attack that constitutes of useless Sajid Khan & Hasan Ali doesnt deserve to win anything.

We always learn the hard way by picking poor international performers.

 

[Abdullah]

Yep. Half the dismissals were to nothing deliveries. Just shots played out of nervousness.

Able to hold your nerve is one of the few things that separates minnows from world class teams

I have been defending this batting line up- but today was really really bad. The way Shan Saud and Salman got out was pathetic. Has it come from Shan to try and be positive.

I know babar has had a stinker- but he has tried to bat seriously and it just has not happened- he will come out of the rut.
He has not flashed at wide deliveries at all. Today they left the gap for him to drive out of the rough, so was a little bit poor, but to the quicks at least he has not been flashing like the rest of these guys.

The last thing I want is for big changes to this batting line up as I believe it has potential and first tours to Aus are not easy, but I expected way more at least in terms of application when batting then I have seen. Babar at least has applied himself, so his processes are right. When the processes are right you may have a lean 6-8 matches but things will turn. Its the way the others have got out at points in this series which irks me the most

 

[Seen Sheen]

Shaheen was a big miss. Imagine Pak with a 60 or 70 runs lead in 1st innings, match dynamics would have been entirely different. These are the kinds of games that define a player's legacy and actual worth. But he wants to rest himself and play against some B grade cricketers of NZ in a T2O series which even he will forget about the minute that series is over. Australia test tour is the biggest chapter in most players' lives and to see a youngster miss that for non-injury reasons is infuriating even for neutral fans.

So many cricket fans I know wake up at 5 in the morning to watch Boxing Day and New Year's tests in Australia, even when India isn't playing. These are prestigious games, red letter days on the cricket calendar.

From what I have observed over last decade or so, Test cricket no longer has any real appeal to common cricket fans in Pakistan.

Also from young cricketers' perspective, when all the glamour and money is in T20s, then for the these youngsters - especially for the ones coming from humble/middle class backgrounds like Shaheen, Naseem, Shadab- it is very difficult to relate to the history and tradition of test cricket.
They observe and experience that you spend 10 times more energy in test matches and the reward (glamour and money) is no way near to what you get in LOIs.

Hence, they just can't resonate with the ''Test cricket is the ultimate format and you have to perform here to be considered a great'' sentiment.

They might give statements every now and then about the supremacy of test cricket but their actions (choosing leagues over playing first class cricket/resting in test matches to get ready for T20s) don't back up their statements at all.


As a very young kid, when I didn't even understand cricket properly, I used to be excited for Pakistan tours to Australia. Somehow I used to convince my dad to wake me up so that I could catch some action before going to school.
That love of test cricket only got deeper and firmer for me but unfortunately for the vast majority, that's not the case at all/any more.

Team's pathetic performances have also been a reason for losing a sizebale chunk of passionate fan base. Some of my friends who were keen followers of test cricket, no longer care that much about it. Most of them have not even followed the ongoing series live. They give team's abject performances as major reason for their lack of care.

That's why this series was so important; to reinvigorate people's interest in Test cricket. Golden opportunity missed - not sure Shan and Hafeez see it that way. They seem content with moral victories and brownie points.

 

[Abdullah]

There were plenty of chances for half of our side to also chip in and score runs.

I fully agree, it is frustrating to see Babar negotiate the tougher phases of the opposition bowling only to throw it away at the wrong time.

It's definitely not an issue with execution, the same dismissal to Travis Head was a gorgeous boundary to Nathan Lyon a few overs ago.

I'm happy to see that he has worked hard to fix his technique, he is much more compact now playing seam movement and I think this will serve him well on our future tours to SENA.

His pattern of dismissals does not suggest that his technique is poor. Any person with some functioning eyes would have seen his batting today, very few false shots, and he looked in good rhythm.

What is frustrating is that in this series, with some luck (as every batter needs) and some better intent, he could have had at least 3 fifties, maybe even a hundred if he got settled well.

However, I don't put his shortcomings down to him being a mentally weak player. You are not mentally weak if you have captained the team for three years, been stripped of captaincy, had a whole nation and your cricketing committee turn against you, and still worked to try and contribute for the team.

I would love to see how the top international batsmen cope with all of that and then score mountains of runs, because I don't remember it happening.

The biggest positive is that he is adapting. A phase like this is necessary, it was necessary for Babar, so that he would elevate himself to a new level. Be it technically, mentally, or fitness-wise, every batsman needs a reality check from time to time.

I would not judge Babar on this series too harshly. He was unfortunate to get absolute peaches for most of the time, some dismissals were his own fault too, but I would be more interested in how he moves on from here.

To escape a mental block is not as easy as some of the posters here claim it to be. Pick up a bat and walk out, see how difficult it actually is. It's easy to attack someone for not living up to your expectations, but at the end of the day, those are your expectations.

For someone in any mental block, you take small victories where you can. Look at all the great batsmen on commentary talking about their struggles.

Babar has to back his instincts - the longer you stay indecisive in test cricket, the sooner your wicket falls.

I hope he gets back in the rhythm that we need from him. I would also love for him to join a season of County Cricket if he needs tough conditions to score runs in. A lot of good batsmen use domestic cricket (our domestic is quite poor) to fix technical issues.

This is a good post- and echoes what I meant in terms of how Babar looked at the crease and his dismissals compared to others

 

[MenInG]

Highlights of Day 3

 

[Seen Sheen]

I think they need 200+.

150 would have been a good fighting total with a quality specialist spinner (i.e. Lyon, Ashwin). I don't see Agha or Sajid having that type of ability to cut through the Aussies and getting them out under 150.

Just a terrible collapse at the end there probably cost them the match.

Yes,the likes of Ashwin Jadeja would have wreaked havoc on this day 4/5 pitch. Ashwin would have constantly targeted the rough patch and adjusted his speeds to threaten both the outside and inside edge.

Even an Abdur Rehman would have been bankable on this pitch.

Sajid can't even land it consistently at the right spot. The spin comes after; you first have to land the damn thing at a line and length where it becomes threatening!

 

[FearlessRoar]

It is as if the SCG curator heard the criticism that it had become a batting paradise and opted to turn conventional wisdom on its head.

The pitch raised eyebrows on day one of the New Year’s Test when a couple of deliveries from Australia’s quick’s stayed low, bouncing several meters in front of wicketkeeper Alex Carey.

Josh Hazlewood and Mitchell Starc were both perplexed by the lack of carry, while former Australian captain Tim Paine voiced his disgust on SEN.

“The wicket, it just looked terrible again,” Paine said on Friday morning.

“I don’t know what’s going on there. They were bowling balls on day one of a Test match and it was rolling. I can’t believe that, for day one of a Test match in Australia, the ball was rolling along the ground.”

This season’s Sheffield Shield contests at the iconic venue have been a mixed bag, with West Australia playing on a near-perfect deck in November before Tasmania was rattled by a dry surface that seamed sideways in December.

The SCG, a venue that traditionally favours spin, has never possessed the reliable bounce of the Gabba or the WACA Ground. But after curators re-laid the Bulli soil last year, it was hoped the pitch would provide a more engaging contest between bat and ball.

“If I could talk technically, this pitch is drier than a teetotaller’s Christmas,” former Australian spinner Kerry O’Keeffe told Fox Cricket on Friday morning.

“It’s so slow, we don’t measure the pace of it with a speed gun, we use an hourglass.”

Hazlewood, who took three wickets in an over shortly before stumps to swing the Test match back in Australia’s favour, said it is clearly a testing pitch to bat on. He declared Australia will be aiming to restrict Pakistan to setting a target below 130.

“It is a strange one,” he told Fox Cricket at stumps.

“It has not fallen apart, but it is doing quite a lot of that good length. It is just patchy, I would say. As we have seen with the wicket, (batting) is quite tough. Anything under 130 would be quite ideal.”

 

[RidiculousMan]

When you appoint one of the biggest bottlers as team director then it's not a surprise that panic sets in the dressing room and on the field when the pressure is on.
Hafeez is the last person who could instill belief in his men given how many times he flopped under pressure in big games.

One man coming in the dressing room doesn't suddenly change the mentally of players one way or another. If you see Rizwan he's always been a fighter. Now you know Jamal is too.

The weak mentality of players is built in for most before they even debuted in international cricket. It's a personal thing for an individual but in so many ways a reflection of the way players as people are brought up in Pakistan.

 

[The Scorer]

With Agha Salman and Jamal both able to bat they can be genuine late order all rounders. The should be pencilled in for No 7 and No 8. Salman should have come on to bowl earlier he looks better than Sajad Khan who is a mediocre spinner.

 

[sweep_shot]

Pakistan threw it away. They took a lead of 14 runs but didn't manage to run away with it.

Pakistan should try to set a target of around 200 minimum.

 

[Szd_khan75]

And the best indicator of that is how the captain plays - the shot Shan played summed up Pakistan's defeatist mentality. Cheapest wicket at the most critical juncture of the test match.

Totally agree Shan gifted his wicket in both innings the skipper should not be a weak link in the team shafique shakeel hassan hamza sajid have to go.

 

[Cric_lover4487]

Yes,the likes of Ashwin Jadeja would have wreaked havoc on this day 4/5 pitch. Ashwin would have constantly targeted the rough patch and adjusted his speeds to threaten both the outside and inside edge.

Even an Abdur Rehman would have been bankable on this pitch.

Sajid can't even land it consistently at the right spot. The spin comes after; you first have to land the damn thing at a line and length where it becomes threatening!

How many games Sajid get to play anyway? He will again be benched after this match. Why Salman Agha preferred over him?

 

[jnaveen1980]

Pakistan in a nothing to lose situation. They should give everything to make a match of it. Who knows. Strange things happen.

 

[Savak]

Pakistan in a nothing to lose situation. They should give everything to make a match of it. Who knows. Strange things happen.

Not against this Australian team. They are not going to fail with the bat twice. They will attack and put the bowlers on the defensive

 

[Buffet]

Just play positively in morning and you never know. Don't give up , game is not done yet.

 

[Buffet]

Pakistan should have posted 400 plus in first inning, but then even to get to 300 required depending on tails. Babar and Co. had to bat big in first inning when it was easiest to bat.

 

[Szd_khan75]

I would stick with ayub,babar rizwan,agha.Jamal going forward Pakistan attack is shaheed,Nadeem,Jamal,abrar,agha