"We've taken 20 wickets, which we haven't done in Australia for a while, that's the box ticked in terms of runs": Shan Masood

[BouncerGuy]

Pakistan's Test Captain Shan Masood during the presentation ceremony:

“Like I said before, we have to look at the bigger picture. The smiles indicate that there were a lot of positives. We can easily sort of be like, “What if we did this? What if we did that?” That’s all part and parcel of the game. I thought there were a lot of positives. But if you give a quality side like Australia a sniff, which we did, maybe sometimes with the ball, maybe sometimes with the bat yesterday, maybe in the field, if you drop someone in form like Mitchell Marsh, we might not have been chasing 237 today. But mistakes happen. In terms of the bigger picture, this is the way we want to play Test cricket and play Test cricket in these conditions, fighting till the end and where the result is possible for us. I think that’s something we have to take forward as a team.”

“Like I said, it’s a reflection of four days. The game kept turning. Sometimes it would go Australia’s way, sometimes ours. We were fortunate to win the toss and had the best of the bowling conditions. But then, when we were leading with the bat and me and Abdullah had a good partnership, Pat Cummins came in with that spell, and that’s why he’s one of the best bowlers in the world. And then again, with the bat in the second inning, Steve Smith and Mitchell Marsh’s partnership put us back again. But I think from our guys, like from the bowling. We’ve taken 20 wickets, which we haven’t done in Australia for a while. That’s the box ticked. In terms of runs, everyone got good starts. There were some nice fifties, but in Test cricket against quality sides, you want to get the hundreds, and you want to get the match-winning hundreds, so there is a lot to work on. But, like I said, this is the blueprint with which we want to play our Test cricket. And hopefully, we’ll keep doing that.

“Like I said, they’re ruthless. You want to convert the fifties into hundreds, and that’s what we have to do as a batting unit. Make sure we get those hundreds because they have some world-class bowlers in their ranks. And if you give them a sniff, if you don’t convert your fifties into hundreds, you might not have enough runs on the board.”

“I mean, again, it’s the world Test championship. Every Test match counts, and that’s our focus. I’m very happy with how we played the game. It’s just about those finishing touches and winning the crucial moments like the Australians did in this game.”

“I just want to mention the groundsmen; I think they did a wonderful job, and this is one of the better Test pitches that we’ve played on. There was something for everyone, and we’re really glad that we got to play such an exciting Test match.”​

 

[Suleiman]

Fought hard this game. Like the 300 Spartans.

Unfortunately we have some spineless batsmen in the team that need to go. They are the prime culprits in our first innings collapse.

Show Imam and Saud the door. Both are very tame and soft players.

Shafique has potential but is a bottler. He had the biggest deficit amongst all batsmen. If he even scored 50 in the second innings it wouldn’t matter because he was at -76 after dropping Marsh.

Send him back to domestics and tell his domestic coach to always play him in slips so he learns. Don’t let him back in until his catch rate improves.

Babar is a far cry from whom he once was too. Shan outshone him this series.

 

[sam_ahm]

There are two ways to look at this result from Pakistan's perspective. One way is obviously with disappointment because they came close to pulling off a rare test win in Australia. The dropped catches have cost them dearly, probably cost them the match.

The other way is to take the positives, because after a long time I saw Pakistan playing really good cricket against Australia in Australia. They were right up there until the last session started so I think as a team this is a step forward for Pakistan, albeit a small one. As Shan is saying, taking 20 wickets is a good sign too.

 

[castortroy]

Proper minnow mentality when referring to taking 20 wickets.

16 defeats in a row in Australia.

It's going to be 17 after the next test match so are the pak think tank still going to hold on to "positives"

 

[Human786]

He speaks well & that is a sign of a organized mind - not talking about his English btw !

 

[kingusama92]

They did a lot better than expected.

Although, I wouldn't word it like Shan did because they still lost from a good position. Once you're in the match and almost on top of the opponent, you need to go for the kill. They messed it up.

If we take a macro look, the team was already up against it due to the conditions and then its bowling got decimated with injuries. To come this close in a Test match is a plus.

 

[ravisurya]

Well done Pakistan. Put up a good fight and did better than anyone expected.

 

[JAV12341]

There are no positives when you’ve lost 17 test matches in a row in Australia . Take a leaf out of Indian tram where they smashed the Aussies in their own backyard and win multiple tests.

That’s why bumrah and Co are goats.

This Pakistan team is shoddy to say the least and need to blood in some attacking players ie saim ayub

 

[Devadwal]

Yes it was good test match . Pakistan should have won the way Pacer were bowled but catching and batsman bottle the test match .

 

[ravisurya]

There are no positives when you’ve lost 17 test matches in a row in Australia . Take a leaf out of Indian tram where they smashed the Aussies in their own backyard and win multiple tests.

That’s why bumrah and Co are goats.

This Pakistan team is shoddy to say the least and need to blood in some attacking players ie saim ayub

If you look at the way Indian team is performing in South Africa and in general in tests under Rohit-Dravid, you ll realise that they are mediocre and this team management has pushed the Indian test team back into the 90s and they are only capable of winning in India. Infact this Pakistan team will likely beat the current Indian team in SENA conditions.

 

[shortbread]

Had fortunes been more favourable and Pakistan became a progressive, educated, economically stable country, this is the sort of captain that'll be leading the side. The nation is a long way off from achieving the former, but at least in Shan we can be proud to have a articulate, positive and capable captain.

Fed up of decades of ' We were unlucky but boys played well'

 

[Abdullah]

There are no positives when you’ve lost 17 test matches in a row in Australia . Take a leaf out of Indian tram where they smashed the Aussies in their own backyard and win multiple tests.

That’s why bumrah and Co are goats.

This Pakistan team is shoddy to say the least and need to blood in some attacking players ie saim ayub

You are being deluded. First point is Shan and this team has NOTHING to do with the previous 15 losses.
You can not come into this series with just one innings of warm up batting and expect our batters to run amok vs this bowling attack.
Heck guys like Root come one month early with England, play 5 test matches and they still have 0 consistency in Australia (and 0 hundreds in 27 test innings)
To win in Australia you need a plan which INCLUDES build up and acclimatisation time.
I expected a much better showing in this game compared to last and again in the next game compared to this one.

Also India in those series rarely played Australia's strongest eleven, had a limited overs leg before a longer test series so had much more time to acclimatise to the conditions.

This game has been totally positive aside from the catching and Babar's batting. The trajectory for this group is promising. Out batting is good and will improve

 

[Abdullah]

You are being deluded. First point is Shan and this team has NOTHING to do with the previous 15 losses.
You can not come into this series with just one innings of warm up batting and expect our batters to run amok vs this bowling attack.
Heck guys like Root come one month early with England, play 5 test matches and they still have 0 consistency in Australia (and 0 hundreds in 27 test innings)
To win in Australia you need a plan which INCLUDES build up and acclimatisation time.
I expected a much better showing in this game compared to last and again in the next game compared to this one.

Also India in those series rarely played Australia's strongest eleven, had a limited overs leg before a longer test series so had much more time to acclimatise to the conditions.

This game has been totally positive aside from the catching and Babar's batting. The trajectory for this group is promising. Out batting is good and will improve

And we have proved we can also take 20 wickets with a far from first choice bowling attack!

 

[Abdullah]

Proper minnow mentality when referring to taking 20 wickets.

16 defeats in a row in Australia.

It's going to be 17 after the next test match so are the pak think tank still going to hold on to "positives"

Its not minnow mentality at all. It's standard practice to say this after a loss and does make sense.

See my post above

The previous defeats have nothing to do with Shan Masood

 

[MANU ROY]

If you look at the way Indian team is performing in South Africa and in general in tests under Rohit-Dravid, you ll realise that they are mediocre and this team management has pushed the Indian test team back into the 90s and they are only capable of winning in India. Infact this Pakistan team will likely beat the current Indian team in SENA conditions.

Dravid defensive mentality ruining Indian team

 

[alihasnain861]

well honestly if they would have gone with aggression, result would have been different.

 

[Kianig89]

Mr. Shan at the end of the day it's another defeat no matter how you interpret it

 

[riddu]

idiot captain should have removed abdullah from slips

 

[Buffet]

Twice Pakistan had chance to totally take the game.

120 odd for only 1 wicket. Some application there and Pakistan could have taken a lead of 100 plus.

Aus was 16/4 - No intensity entire day after a catch drop. Game could have been won there.


Rest of them was a good fight, but it was just a good fight. Pakistan bottled this test to be honest. Not one but two times they were so far ahead in game.

Having said that, this was probably the best display from Pakistan in Aus in the last 25 years. Not good enough to avoid a loss again, but Pakistan punched above their weight and Aus must have been worried many times in this test. Normally, it's just one sided game all the time.

 

[Markhor]

idiot captain should have removed abdullah from slips

That's the big decision Shan got wrong.

After the 1st inns drop he should've moved Shafique.

These one percenters like ensuring the right fielders are in the right place can swing a Test. And so it proved.

 

[Anupam]

Proper minnow mentality when referring to taking 20 wickets.

16 defeats in a row in Australia.

It's going to be 17 after the next test match so are the pak think tank still going to hold on to "positives"

Pakistan is basically a minnow in Australia though. Losing 16 tests in a row is no joke. Putting any sort of fight is good enough for this Pak team at this point.

 

[Major]

Forgodsake, dont look for silverlinings after losing a series.

 

[Major]

Twice Pakistan had chance to totally take the game.

120 odd for only 1 wicket. Some application there and Pakistan could have taken a lead of 100 plus.

Aus was 16/4 - No intensity entire day after a catch drop. Game could have been won there.


Rest of them was a good fight, but it was just a good fight. Pakistan bottled this test to be honest. Not one but two times they were so far ahead in game.

Having said that, this was probably the best display from Pakistan in Aus in the last 25 years. Not good enough to avoid a loss again, but Pakistan punched above their weight and Aus must have been worried many times in this test. Normally, it's just one sided game all the time.

No.

The best display by pakistan in australia was 2010. They were bowling well and playing good cricket.

Our batters kept bottling the games

 

[ahmadharis1]

The fact that we made it this close is an achievement, because lets be honest we were never really in this game, dropped catch or not

 

[shaz619]

Appreciate the eloquence Shan, but this is way too much English, even for a native.

On the subject matter, you’re rubbish and we can take the one or two positives as a minor victory.

 

[Shoaib Akhtar 100 MPH]

This game was more about pakistan gifting Australia the win rather than them outplaying us.

It was more the other way round with poor lapses in the field especially along with the batting unit not converting their statrts.

The bowling was impressive considering its not a first choice attack.

Aamir jamal has made a name for himself and its up to him to put in the hard yards to bowl 140ks plus and bat with enterprising ability like in the first innings on this test.

Mitch Marsh is a good batting template for him to follow.

I reckon if Abrar is available in the sydney test and we get a score on the board and take our chances we should win the last test.

Hopefully Saim gets a chance at sydney with Imam being out of touch.

 

[greatest]

The problem with Pakistani teams of late is that that they keep on panicking and losing Tests against top sides especially overseas. Matches which should have been won are lost due to our silliness or lack of grit. And then we praise our performance saying that we competed well, were the better team etc etc.
On our last visit to England we lost the first Test by 3 wickets when we were in the driving seat. On the last tour to South Africa we also competed well and end up losing all the Tests. Today at the MCG was the same story.

We should get out of this minnow mentality and take ownership of our faliure to win matches, lacking match awareness and the killer instinct.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Shan needs to stop with these so called motivational plus points, as though he's some sort of cheerleader.

Facts are Pakistan in all 4 inns of the game shot themselves in the foot. Until Pakistan stop doing so they will keep losing

 

[CricketCartoons]

Seems this captain has set the bar so low, that he counts it as an achievement to bat 100 overs, or to take 20 wickets. Something which good teams do almost always.

 

[Shoaib Akhtar 100 MPH]

Seems this captain has set the bar so low, that he counts it as an achievement to bat 100 overs, or to take 20 wickets. Something which good teams do almost always.

Based on the limited resources available we put ourselves in a position to win but abdullas costly drop and the ridiculous umpiring decision to overturn Rizwans not out was the key factor of the loss.

The benefit of doubt in theory is with the Batter but the aussies have long decisions go in their favour.

The corrupt ICC need to remove umpires call. if the ball is hitting the stumps its out and if it isnt its not. simple

 

[greatest]

Based on the limited resources available we put ourselves in a position to win but abdullas costly drop and the ridiculous umpiring decision to overturn Rizwans not out was the key factor of the loss.

The benefit of doubt in theory is with the Batter but the aussies have long decisions go in their favour.

The corrupt ICC need to remove umpires call. if the ball is hitting the stumps its out and if it isnt its not. simple

20 odd years ago India was not the team they are today, but when they won against Australia at home in that famous 2001 series and drew 1-1 in Australia in 2003 which was Waugh's farewell series, their captain didn't say that we should be happy if we can compete with them. Under Ganguly they not only won that 2001 series but also pushed Australia hard in Australia. Australia had to play out of their skins to save that last Sydney Test.
Our captain should also have this same attitude and should not be content with just being competitive and having limited resources, etc. If you claim to have the best batter and the best fast bowler in the world then go for the kill.

 

[sweep_shot]

Pakistani bowling was great last Test.

I think this is the best they have bowled in Australia since that 2009-2010 series.

 

[emranabbas]

20 odd years ago India was not the team they are today, but when they won against Australia at home in that famous 2001 series and drew 1-1 in Australia in 2003 which was Waugh's farewell series, their captain didn't say that we should be happy if we can compete with them. Under Ganguly they not only won that 2001 series but also pushed Australia hard in Australia. Australia had to play out of their skins to save that last Sydney Test.
Our captain should also have this same attitude and should not be content with just being competitive and having limited resources, etc. If you claim to have the best batter and the best fast bowler in the world then go for the kill.

reality is Pakistan isn't good enough to beat Australia, and probably won't be in near future either
doesn't matter what the captain says or not its not going to change the fact.
but we can say Pakistan had put up a very good fight compared to previous tours to Australia which is a positive thing

i don't see the need of comparing Pakistan with India, what ganguly virat or whoever said whatever has nothing to do with pakistan

 

[greatest]

reality is Pakistan isn't good enough to beat Australia, and probably won't be in near future either
doesn't matter what the captain says or not its not going to change the fact.
but we can say Pakistan had put up a very good fight compared to previous tours to Australia which is a positive thing

i don't see the need of comparing Pakistan with India, what ganguly virat or whoever said whatever has nothing to do with pakistan

We can definitely learn from other teams who have raised their game, teams who were once struggling like us.

 

[Shoaib Akhtar 100 MPH]

20 odd years ago India was not the team they are today, but when they won against Australia at home in that famous 2001 series and drew 1-1 in Australia in 2003 which was Waugh's farewell series, their captain didn't say that we should be happy if we can compete with them. Under Ganguly they not only won that 2001 series but also pushed Australia hard in Australia. Australia had to play out of their skins to save that last Sydney Test.
Our captain should also have this same attitude and should not be content with just being competitive and having limited resources, etc. If you claim to have the best batter and the best fast bowler in the world then go for the kill.

I dont disagree with you with regards to shan being content with just competing. My point was abdullas dropped catch of Marsh and overturning the non conclusive rizwans not out decision in favour of australia played a significant role in the result of the game.

As regards to india 20 odd years ago they made dust bowl turning pitches for their bowlers in home conditions which they are allowed to do to overwealm the aussies who were not use to those conditions.

we had a far superior side compared to the indians and the Aussies Continuously outright refused to tour pakistan to face us in our home conditions.

Saqlain, Mushtaq Ahmed, Shoaib, Wasim, Waqar on our tracks would be unstoppable but sadly this never materialised.

That definitely leaves a Black mark on their legacy.

 

[zaidihusain]

Pakistan's away test record against Aus has drastically changed since 1999 test series and the major reason is they have failed to draw single test match in Aus. Pak has won 4 test matches in Aus and drew several test matches before 1999 series.

Below are some test matches in which Pakistan came very closed but still lost. These are the missed golden opportunities and honestly some still hurts.

1999, 2nd Test Match, Hobart: Lost by 4 wickets after reducing Aus to 126/5 in a chase of 369
2010, 2nd Test Match, Sydney: Lost by 36 runs chasing only 176 due to usual collapse and famous dropped catches by Kamran Akmal
2016, 1st Test Match, Brisbane: Almost managed to chase because of blinder by Asad Shafiq but still lost by 39 runs
2023, 2nd Test Match, MCG: Lost by 79 runs

 

[greatest]

I dont disagree with you with regards to shan being content with just competing. My point was abdullas dropped catch of Marsh and overturning the non conclusive rizwans not out decision in favour of australia played a significant role in the result of the game.

As regards to india 20 odd years ago they made dust bowl turning pitches for their bowlers in home conditions which they are allowed to do to overwealm the aussies who were not use to those conditions.

we had a far superior side compared to the indians and the Aussies Continuously outright refused to tour pakistan to face us in our home conditions.

Saqlain, Mushtaq Ahmed, Shoaib, Wasim, Waqar on our tracks would be unstoppable but sadly this never materialised.

That definitely leaves a Black mark on their legacy.

I agree with you but Pakistan even got humiliated in Sharjah where we can only manage 50 odd runs in two innings. Btw, I'm not sure we would have dominated Australia even in home conditions. We lost the 1998/99 home series to Australia as well. Also during that time Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, S. Africa and England too had series wins in Pakistan.
India did drew 1-1 in Australia in 2003/04. And in 2001 the series which India won 2-1 at home were close games.

I'm not taking away anything from Pakistan's improve show at the MCG, it's just that we need to be more ruthless. This Australian side is not as strong as the teams of the past. Even the pitches are a bit slower now. A good team can beat them even at home, unfortunately nowadays except the big 3 all the other teams are below Test standard.

 

[Buffet]

I think statements like we took 20 wickets or batted 100 overs are good for morale boosting when talking to players. It's perfectly good to say that to players.

Telling this to media just looks weird unless you are a minnow. Pakistan is an average team but not a minnow so I don't think everyone is going to like these statements made in Media.

 

[Shoaib Akhtar 100 MPH]

I agree with you but Pakistan even got humiliated in Sharjah where we can only manage 50 odd runs in two innings. Btw, I'm not sure we would have dominated Australia even in home conditions. We lost the 1998/99 home series to Australia as well. Also during that time Zimbabwe, Sri Lanka, S. Africa and England too had series wins in Pakistan.
India did drew 1-1 in Australia in 2003/04. And in 2001 the series which India won 2-1 at home were close games.

I'm not taking away anything from Pakistan's improve show at the MCG, it's just that we need to be more ruthless. This Australian side is not as strong as the teams of the past. Even the pitches are a bit slower now. A good team can beat them even at home, unfortunately nowadays except the big 3 all the other teams are below Test standard.

I remember seeing a shane warne interview regarding the sharjah test. he said it was like 50 degrees and the strangest conditions one off or somethng along those lines.

Playing a test series in sharjah is totally different to playing at home as home tests make a player so i disagree that the aussies would of beaten us at home.

South Africa have won a series in india and drew many tests with them, England have won 2 or 3 series in India, west indies have won 7 or 8 series, New zealand have a drawn series in india. etc.


If we look statistically pakistan is a power house test nation with a 52.21% winning ratio after playing 455 games and winning 148 Test matches and drawing 166 tests.

Compared to india who have played a mamath 573 games winning 177 and drawing 222 games a win ratio of 49.43.

A difference of playing a huge118 extra test matches compared to pakistan and winning just 29 more tests many of which are on home turf.

The ODI format reads Pakistan playing 961 matches winning 508 matches a win ratio of 52.86
India have played 1041 matches winning 547 matches with a win ratio of 52.54 playing an extra 80 ODIs

 

[greatest]

I remember seeing a shane warne interview regarding the sharjah test. he said it was like 50 degrees and the strangest conditions one off or somethng along those lines.

Playing a test series in sharjah is totally different to playing at home as home tests make a player so i disagree that the aussies would of beaten us at home.

South Africa have won a series in india and drew many tests with them, England have won 2 or 3 series in India, west indies have won 7 or 8 series, New zealand have a drawn series in india. etc.


If we look statistically pakistan is a power house test nation with a 52.21% winning ratio after playing 455 games and winning 148 Test matches and drawing 166 tests.

Compared to india who have played a mamath 573 games winning 177 and drawing 222 games a win ratio of 49.43.

A difference of playing a huge118 extra test matches compared to pakistan and winning just 29 more tests many of which are on home turf.

The ODI format reads Pakistan playing 961 matches winning 508 matches a win ratio of 52.86
India have played 1041 matches winning 547 matches with a win ratio of 52.54 playing an extra 80 ODIs

Pakistan used to be a powerhouse in world cricket. We were only behind West Indies and Australia and our home record was phenomenal. But since the late 90s that dominance is gone. We have lost a lot more. It all started in 1995 when we lost a Test Series at home against Sri Lanka. In fact in the last decade we have done well in the U.A.E as compared to home. If we go with overall stats then West Indies Test record is not that bad either.

Anyways, I got your point. But the reality is that we haven't been good at home as we used to be.

 

[sweep_shot]

Pakistan used to be a powerhouse in world cricket. We were only behind West Indies and Australia and our home record was phenomenal. But since the late 90s that dominance is gone. We have lost a lot more. It all started in 1995 when we lost a Test Series at home against Sri Lanka. In fact in the last decade we have done well in the U.A.E as compared to home. If we go with overall stats then West Indies Test record is not that bad either.

Anyways, I got your point. But the reality is that we haven't been good at home as we used to be.

Pakistan's transition started after 2003 World Cup. They never really returned to the pre-2003 heavyweight powerhouse status.

Pakistan couldn't replace legends like Saeed Anwar, Wasim, Waqar, Saqlain etc.

 

[Shoaib Akhtar 100 MPH]

Pakistan used to be a powerhouse in world cricket. We were only behind West Indies and Australia and our home record was phenomenal. But since the late 90s that dominance is gone. We have lost a lot more. It all started in 1995 when we lost a Test Series at home against Sri Lanka. In fact in the last decade we have done well in the U.A.E as compared to home. If we go with overall stats then West Indies Test record is not that bad either.

Anyways, I got your point. But the reality is that we haven't been good at home as we used to be.

I agree but we need to play more tests at home.

 

[greatest]

I agree but we need to play more tests at home.

Yes, can't agree more!
But unfortunately we are not interested in Test Cricket.

 

[Amjid Javed]

Shan may as well come out and say that Pakistan is in phase 1 of 5 phases process of rebuilding Pakistani cricket.

Use the slogan "trust the process"

Plenty of losers use it on other sports

 

[Shoaib Akhtar 100 MPH]

Yes, can't agree more!
But unfortunately we are not interested in Test Cricket.

The PCB need to get their priorities straight but we have a constant merry go round of chairman, selectors and others who loot us and are involved for Non cricketing reasons.

 

[MenInG]

Need 20 wickets and some big hundreds now as well!

 

[MenInG]

So did we learn anything from the Australia series?

Shan speaking after Bangladesh whitewashed us in a 2-match Test series in Pakistan

“I mean, extremely disappointed, especially when you start the home season, something we’ve all been very excited about. We waited 10 months for this opportunity. The story has been a bit of the same, like, Australia. We haven’t learnt our lessons"

“I think now it’s time where we’ve realised that where we thought we were playing good cricket in Australia and not finishing games. That’s something that we really need to work on,”

“I think two opportunities were here in both test matches where we could have bowled their side out, especially in this game, when they were 26 for 6, we let them back in the game, and that’s something that under my tenure happened consistently over four Test matches,”.