Australia eye Pakistan Test victory
Australia will look to cap a brilliant year with a golden home summer by beating Pakistan in a three-Test series starting in Perth on Thursday as David Warner looks to bow out of the longest format on a triumphant note.
Having won the World Test Championship, retained the Ashes and earned a recordextending sixth World Cup title, Pat Cummins’ side have the chance to celebrate with home fans against a team they have whitewashed in their last five home series.
Australia head coach Andrew McDonald said the hosts will field their strongest side, which means a welcome return for spinner Nathan Lyon, who will chase his 500th Test wicket after injury ruled him out of the last three matches of the Ashes.
Warner, however, may be the biggest headline of the series as he looks to defy his detractors with big runs ahead of a planned swan song in the series finale in Sydney.
Warner’s place in Australia’s white-ball teams is assured after a prolific World Cup but his spot in the Test squad has been on shaky ground in recent years due to declining output.
His selection for the first Test triggered a scathing column by former teammate Mitchell Johnson, who questioned whether Warner deserves a “hero’s sendoff” in Sydney five years on from “Sandpaper-gate”.
One of Australia’s greatest openers, Warner can put the debate to bed with a big score at Perth Stadium but failure to do so would put pressure on selectors to fast-track a successor.
Pakistan arrive with a new skipper in Shan Masood and a familiar backdrop of tumult as they look to win a first-ever series in Australia and a first Test since 1995. Masood inherited the captaincy after Babar Azam stepped down as all-formats skipper in November in the wake of their failure to make the World Cup semifinals.
Already missing exciting quick Naseem Shah through injury, paceman Haris Rauf enraged the Pakistan Cricket Board by opting out of the series to focus on playing T20 franchise cricket with the Melbourne Stars.
A knee injury to leg-spinner Abrar Ahmed has depleted the squad further, ruling him out of Perth and putting him in doubt for the rest of the series in Melbourne and Sydney.
Anchored by an unbeaten 201 from No 3 Masood, Pakistan had a solid tour match against an invitational XI in Canberra last week but staff were left fuming over the slow Manuka Oval wicket. However, the docile conditions are highly unlikely to be repeated in Perth this week.
“That was the slowest pitch a visiting team could ever play on in Australia,” Pakistan team director Mohammad Hafeez said in Perth. “Maybe it’s tactical but we’re ready for it. We’re not using it as an excuse.”
With Babar able to focus purely on his batting and Masood in welcome form, the famously unpredictable South Asians have some hope of producing the 400-run innings generally needed to pull off a win in Australia.
However, without their strongest bowling line-up, taking 20 wickets against a team riding high with confidence after a trophy-laden year may prove beyond them.