Pakistan have named their squad to face Australia in three Tests this summer, marking Shan Masood's first series as red-ball captain.
Less than a week into the job, Masood was handed the reins following Babar Azam's decision to step down from captaincy of all three formats after Pakistan's disappointing World Cup campaign.
It was one of many changes of leadership undertaken by the Pakistan Cricket Board this week, with Shaheen Shah Afridi getting the T20 captaincy, Mohammad Hafeez replacing Mickey Arthur as team director and Wahab Riaz stepping in as chief selector, filling the role left by Inzamam-ul-Haq.
Pakistan squad: Shan Masood (c), Aamer Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Nauman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Afridi
CA.
Australia v. Pakistan. Tests.
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Donny
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Australia's First Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Lance Morris, Steve Smith, Mitch Starc, David Warner.
Considering Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon will be the bowling attack, gotta wonder why they named Boland AND Morris, in the 14 man squad. In the unlikely event of playing 4 quicks, I suppose they'd go with Morris because the Test is in WA.
Considering Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon will be the bowling attack, gotta wonder why they named Boland AND Morris, in the 14 man squad. In the unlikely event of playing 4 quicks, I suppose they'd go with Morris because the Test is in WA.
Donny.
It's a game. Enjoy it.
It's a game. Enjoy it.
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Donny
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"Travis Head has been reappointed Australia’s Test vice-captain ahead of the men’s international summer, but Pat Cummins otherwise sprang no surprises in naming the XI for the first NRMA Insurance Test against Pakistan.
Head, fresh off a match-winning hand that fired the Aussies to World Cup glory last month, has been named as co vice-captain alongside Steve Smith, though Smith will remain the first option to take the captaincy reins in Cummins’ absence.
It comes as Cummins confirmed an XI for tomorrow’s Test against Pakistan in Perth that was largely as expected, while the visitors have picked two debutants.
There is just one change to the most recent side that played in the Ashes finale in August at The Oval, with the fit-again Nathan Lyon returning in place of Todd Murphy.
Australia XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
Pakistan XI: Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Aamir Jamal, Khurram Shahzad"
CA.
Head, fresh off a match-winning hand that fired the Aussies to World Cup glory last month, has been named as co vice-captain alongside Steve Smith, though Smith will remain the first option to take the captaincy reins in Cummins’ absence.
It comes as Cummins confirmed an XI for tomorrow’s Test against Pakistan in Perth that was largely as expected, while the visitors have picked two debutants.
There is just one change to the most recent side that played in the Ashes finale in August at The Oval, with the fit-again Nathan Lyon returning in place of Todd Murphy.
Australia XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
Pakistan XI: Imam-ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Aamir Jamal, Khurram Shahzad"
CA.
Donny.
It's a game. Enjoy it.
It's a game. Enjoy it.
K wrote:Let's just hope for pitches that are fair to bowlers. Oz pitches for most of the past decade have been a national disgrace.
In the last 21 Tests played in Australia, there have been results in 18 and just 3 draws.
As to the 3 draws, all were in Sydney and all were a direct result of lost time because of rain:
- last January, South Africa hung on to draw after following on, mainly because about 2 and half days of cricket were lost to weather. Thus, from the CricInfo report on that match:
- in January 2022, England hung on to draw (9 wickets down). The match was set up for Australia by a dominant pair of batsmen - Special K and SPD BradSmith put on 125 of Australia's 416 in a 4th-wickdet partnership and, between them, scored 204 of Australia's runs, virtually half of that total. In the other 3 innings, neither side got to 300. England slumped to 4/36 in their first dig. Australia were 4/86 in their second innings, beflore Special K and Cam Green put on about 180 of Australia's 6/265. England reached 9/270 for the draw. If more than 47 overs play had been possible on day 1 or there had not been further rain disruptions on days 2, 3 and 5, there would certainly have been a result.Australia ran out of time in a truncated match, where four straight sessions across days three and four were washed out. Forty-nine overs were also lost to rain and bad light on the opening two days to continue a run of rain-affected matches at the traditional SCG New Year's Test.
- in January 2019, only 276 overs were bowled across 5 days. The first two days were clear. On the 3rd day, about 15-20 overs were lost due to bad light and rain. Just 25 overs were possible on the 4th day and the final day was abandoned without a ball being bowled. In effect, India was unable to press for victory because it was a 3-day Test.
I've previously posted statistics about the numbers and proportions of Tests drawn across various countries. In summary, they demonstrate that your assertion about Australian Test wickets is incorrect - there are more results in Australia, proportionally, than anywhere else - and the differences are significant.
I've also previously pointed out that, in general, there are many more results in modern Test cricket than there were in the past because new rules mean that many more overs are able to be bowled and (but for weather) bowled in every Test.
Sometimes bowlers dominate Test matches. Sometimes batsmen do. That's what makes Tests interesting.