Misbah wants better plan for Australia tours

Pakistan’s hope of hosting international matches suffer another setback after Windies refuse to tour country

Pakistan’s Test captain Misbah-ul-Haq yesterday urged the country’s cricket authorities to plan extensively for future tours to Australia to end a long losing streak.

Pakistan’s Misbah-led team were beaten 3-0 in a Test series last week, their fourth successive whitewash in Australia since 1999.

The defeat prompted former Australia captain Ian Chappell to advise Cricket Australia (CA) to consider before inviting Pakistan again on future tours. “CA have got to start saying ‘listen if things don’t improve we will stop with the invites. You can’t bowl, have conservative field placings and field sloppily and expect to play decent cricket in Australia,” Chappell said.

Misbah said Pakistan should prepare their teams before tough tours to Australia. “The most important thing is to prepare a good team for the Australia tour, which is always tough,” Misbah said. “We go there after five or six years and most of the players are not used to it, which is tough on them.”

Pakistan were drubbed 3-0 in Australia in 1999, 2004 and 2010. On their last tour, they also lost five one-day matches and a Twenty20 international.

Misbah said the Pakistan Cricket Board should send teams to Australia on a regular basis.

“Tours to Australia, South Africa and England need proper planning, like we did before the England tour and results were good,” said Misbah of his team’s 2-2 drawn series in England last year.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s hopes of hosting international matches suffered another setback after the West Indies refused to compete in a short two Twenty20 match series.