MELBOURNE: After crashing to a 170-run defeat here at the MCG, Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf is promising a better performance from the visitors in the second Test starting on Sunday in Sydney. And he has found at least one strong supporter of a possible Pakistan fight back in none other than Shane Warne — the legendary Aussie spinner.
“Pakistan lost here but I expect them to come back strongly in Sydney,” said Warne. “I’m sure they would do much better there.”
Yousuf, who saw his team surrendering tamely in the run-chase on the final day, agrees.
“We lost here but we are looking forward to the next two Test matches. The series is not finished yet. Hopefully, we will be trying harder the next match,” said the skipper who top scored with 61 on the final day of the first Test when Pakistan were bowled out for 251 while chasing an improbable 422 to win the match. Yousuf said that he was in a positive frame of mind when play resumed on Wednesday, giving his team a ’70 per cent’ chance of winning the match. But he admitted Pakistan’s hopes were ‘killed’ by a magical first over from Mitchell Johnson, the Aussie left-armer who is 2009’s most successful bowler.
“I was 70 per cent confident maybe we will win, because 251 in 90 overs was possible,” he said. “But the first over put us under pressure. Johnson’s first over killed us.” Johnson was on a hat trick after removing Umar Akmal and Misbah-ul-Haq off consecutive deliveries in the first over of the final day.
Later spinner Nathan Hauritz exploited the spin and bounce offered by the MCG track to hand Pakistan their tenth successive Test defeat to Australia since 1999.
Yousuf said that Pakistan had allowed Australia to take control of the match through some poor fielding and below par bowling on the first day of the Test. “In the first innings we didn’t bowl in the right areas and our fielding was quite poor,” he said. “We dropped a couple of catches and both the openers made 90-plus. We were shaky with bat and ball. If we had got them for 300 and gotten 250 ourselves, it would have been a different game.”
However, Yousuf was not entirely unhappy with his team’s performance at the MCG.
“There are positives from here, in some performances, especially Mohammad Aamer in the second innings,” Yousuf said. “He pitched the ball in the right areas and that’s why he took five wickets. Umar and Misbah both batted well in the first innings as well but we have all areas to improve in.”
Yousuf indicated that Pakistan are seriously considering playing two spinners in Sydney but said that the final decision will be taken after inspecting the wicket at the SCG.
“We haven’t seen the wicket in Sydney yet. But if it’s the same wicket then we will hopefully play two spinners there.”
Yousuf hoped that the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) will take his SOS seriously and will put senior batsman Younis Khan on the next flight to Sydney.
“Obviously Younis is a very experienced player and a very good player. He’s got a 50 average in Test matches. We miss him a lot, he is a very crucial No. 3. We already told them to send him, so they will decide now. They have not decided yet so I don’t know when he is coming. I have spoken with him and he is willing to play.”
Younis is currently on a sabbatical from international cricket but has shown his willingness to return to the Test after having a chat with Yousuf on the phone earlier this week.
