HOBART: Pakistan will be playing for much more than regaining their lost pride when they take on Australia in what is a dead rubber here at the picturesque Bellerive Oval on Thursday.
Mohammad Yousuf’s men will have a point to prove in the final Test after having lost the second match in Sydney last week from a winnable situation. Many critics rejected the tourists as a bunch of men with little self-belief after they squandered a solid 206-run lead to lose the Sydney Test by 36 runs.
Pakistan is hoping that the return of Mohammad Aamer, the young pacer who missed the Sydney Test because of a groin problem, will boost their attack. Aamer, who will replace fast bowler Mohammad Sami, is one of the four changes Pakistan have made for the third Test with out-of-form Misbah-ul-Haq making way for Shoaib Malik. Faisal Iqbal has been dropped as Pakistan has opted for opener Khurram Manzoor to play at the crucial No. 3 position.
Young wicketkeeper Sarfraz Ahmed will make his debut after vice-captain Kamran Akmal was dropped after a poor showing behind the stumps in the second Test in Sydney.
“We have made some changes,” said Mohammad Yousuf, the Pakistan captain. “We have given a lot of chances to Misbah. Now we play Malik. He can bowl too,” he added.
“We have given Kamran some rest. Sarfraz will be our wicketkeeper. He is a good young player.”
Yousuf hoped that the changes would finally help Pakistan “solve all areas” and win their first match of the series.
“We are not playing good cricket on the last days. In Melbourne we couldn’t do well on the last day. Same thing happened in Sydney. There have been problems in some areas and we have to solve them so we can start winning.”
Yousuf said that Pakistan’s solid showing on a tour match in Hobart last month will give them added confidence.
No team has ever beaten Australia at the Bellerive Oval — Ricky Ponting’s home ground — and on current form it won’t be wise to bet on the inconsistent tourists to end the home team’s unblemished record here.
But ask the Pakistanis and they will tell you that anything is possible.
“I think we can do it,” Pakistan coach Intikhab Alam told Arab News. “We came close to beating them in Melbourne and almost beat them in Sydney. I’m confident we will go all the way here.”
Pakistan is desperate to avoid a defeat here. If they fall again it will be their 12th consecutive loss and fourth 3-0 whitewash against the Aussies in a row. They haven’t beaten the Aussies in 15 years.
Yousuf believes that his boys are capable of playing good cricket. “I can’t say anything about winning or losing but I can tell you are going to play good cricket here,” he said on Wednesday.
Australia, meanwhile, have been boosted by the return of prolific opener Simon Katich, who missed the Sydney Test because of an elbow injury.
Local fans are hoping that Rickey Ponting, the Australian captain, will return to form on what is a flat wicket at the Bellerive Oval.
Ponting has scored just 80 runs in the series so far and is now under pressure to regain his form.
The man of the moment for Australia right now is opener Shane Watson, who has scored 579 runs at 72.37 in five Tests this summer. He is playing his first Test in Hobart where he started his first-class career in 2000-01.
Experts are expecting the Bellerive Oval wicket will be full of runs though it traditionally assists swing bowlers, which means Pakistan pacer Mohammad Asif can shine here.
Ponting, however, believes that the bowlers will have to work hard here. “It looks like a pretty good wicket now, a fair bit drier than it has been over the last couple of days,” he said. “As the state games have been this year, they’ve been pretty good batting wickets and it’s been pretty hard to bowl sides out, so I’d imagine this might be the same.”
Nestled on the eastern shores of the Derwent River, Bellerive Oval witnessed a thriller in 1999-2000 when Pakistan last played a Test here. Adam Gilchrist and Justin Langer rescued Australia from 5 for 126 to chase down 369 against Pakistan.
Pakistan: Imran Farhat, Salman Butt, Khurram Manzoor, Mohammad Yousuf (captain), Umar Akmal, Shoaib Malik, Sarfraz Ahmed (wicketkeeper), Mohammad Aamer, Umar Gul, Danish Kaneria and Mohammad Asif.
Australia: Shane Watson, Simon Katich, Ricky Ponting (captain), Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke, Marcus North, Brad Haddin (wk), Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Peter Siddle and Doug Bollinger.
