Testing times
‘Pakistan face tough series’
Touring South Africa is one of the most searching examinations a Test batsman is likely to face, former swashbuckling opening batsman and fleeting Pakistan captain Aamer Sohail says.
Sohail, who is in the country as a commentator in the Mzansi Super League, has firsthand experience of the conditions his countrymen are likely to face in the three-Test series starting in Centurion on December 26.
“It is quite difficult. It is a challenging series.
“You will get different conditions at different grounds.
“You really have to adjust every time and if you don’t have the proper technique as a batsman you’ll struggle and you’ll soon be out of form and on these surfaces your misery actually expands‚” Sohail‚ whose Test career spanned 1992 to 2000, said.
He strongly advised the Pakistan batsmen not to come into the series undercooked.
The only preparation they will get is against an SA Invitation XI in a three-day game in Benoni from December 19.
How much meaningful preparation they get there remains to be seen.
Matches in Benoni can be prone to the elements‚ while the pitch has its own way of abbreviating games.
“The Pakistan batsmen have to come into the series well prepared.
“If they are not they’ll quickly have to come to terms with the pace and bounce‚” Sohail said.
Certainly, their openers will have to go about their business with far more application that has been the case over the past 10 Tests.
In that period Pakistan’s opening batsmen put on 50 on only four occasions.
That includes two century opening stands and a mammoth 205 first-wicket partnership between Imam ul-Haq and Mohammad Hafeez against Australia.
Fakhar Zaman opened the innings with Hafeez in the second Test of that series, but Imam has been restored to the side since.
As much as they will need resilience at the top of the order‚ the tourists will also have to dig in lower down.
In their previous series in SA the contribution of the lower middle order has proved crucial in the outcome.
Sohail says the tourists are slightly better endowed in that area than the hosts‚ suggesting the team that posts more than 300 in the first innings is likely to dominate.
Pakistan, however, have been wildly inconsistent in that department in their past 10 Tests.
“Our batting is improving and obviously it gives you a lot of confidence, but if you’re talking about who’ll start favourites‚ you’d have to give it to South Africa,” Sohail said.
Pakistan skipper Sarfraz Ahmed on Thursday urged his teammates to play without fear during their tour.
Pakistan head into the series after losing 2-1 to New Zealand in the United Arab Emirates last week, but Sarfraz said he still had high hopes of earning a good result in SA.
“Conditions in SA are tough, with bouncy and seaming pitches, so anyone who plays without fear and with a big heart will succeed,” he said.