KARACHI, 4 October — “It will be Australia not Pakistan which would be under pressure in next month’s ‘home’ series in Colombo and Sharjah” believe former Pakistan greats Javed Miandad and Intikhab Alam. “Everyone knows that Pakistan goes into the series after a bad patch and without several senior players. Australia on the other hand will be under pressure to live up to their reputation of being the World Champions,” Miandad noted.
“I believe that Pakistan’s best chance of upsetting Australia in the series is to exploit their tag of being the “underdogs”,” he stated.
“Because if we want to beat this Australian side we not only have to depend on performances on the field, but also how we fare against them in psychological warfare,” he added.
Miandad recalled that India had beaten a full strength Australian side last year by preparing pitches suited for their spinners and by playing mind games throughout the series with Australian captain Steve Waugh. “At this level, it is not just about cricket. It is also about exploiting certain weak areas in your opponent’s camp. Pakistan face Australia in three Tests in Colombo and Sharjah from Oct. 3.
It has made eight changes to the side, which has performed below par in recent weeks in one-day tournaments in Tangiers, Nairobi and Colombo. With a new coach and manager, Pakistan is also without seniors Wasim Akram, Saeed Anwar, Inzamamul Haq and Yousuf Youhanna. “With Steve Waugh returning to the side after a long period, it would be interesting to see how the players respond to him as captain,” he added.
The 44-year old Miandad who featured in several memorable battles with the Australians in his 124 Tests’ career said that Pakistan required to believe in itself and play to exploit the weaknesses in the opposition’s camp. “I don’t like this talk about Pakistan having new players in the team and that they have the best opportunity to establish themselves in the side. Except for Rana Naveed all the others have played before for Pakistan and they are not totally inexperienced. We need to boost their morale and make them realize they are the best and have been selected because of their caliber.”
Veteran Steve Waugh has returned to the Test side after he and twin Mark Waugh were dropped from the one-day squad earlier this year with Ricky Pointing taking over as captain.
“The Australians definitely are a very good and professional side but they are not unbeatable. If we play according to our strength. Show consistency in our selection and planning in the series, we can do well,” Intikhab said. Though generally there has been lot of disappointment in the cricket circles with Pakistan’s recent form and attitude of some players, but yet there is a feeling that Pakistan best chance of doing well is to exploit the clear divide in the Australian line-up due to the presence of two different captains.
“Obviously loyalties are divided in the Australian camp. And this showed up in the Champions Trophy semifinal. The Sri Lankans deserved to win as they had planned everything to perfection including preparation of a slow and turning wicket,” said former Test player Rashid Khan.
“We should also insist on having slow and low bounced wickets, as we have two quality spinners,” he added.
Youhanna disappointed
at missing Test series
Yousuf Youhanna on Saturday said he was extremely disappointed to miss the Test series against Australia due to a shoulder injury, but vowed to make a comeback as soon as possible.
“It is very disappointing for me to miss this series. I have always enjoyed playing against Australia they have such a quality bowling line-up,” Youhanna said from Lahore. “I wanted to play this series because of its importance. While it is disappointing that it is being played in Colombo and Sharjah and not in Pakistan, but the fact that it is being held is a good thing,” he stated. The lynchpin of Pakistan’s batting lineup has been forced to sit out because of a shoulder injury that has dodged him for the last month.
The board chairman has now referred him to the PCB doctor, Tauseef Razak who will study his I report and take a decision on his rehabilitation program. Youhanna said he had every intention of making a comeback to the team and as soon as he was allowed to resume batting he would play a few domestic games.
He remained optimistic that Pakistan could do well against Australia and wished good luck to the youngsters in the side.
