In Pakistan's defence

Instead of focusing on spineless performance in first innings, the defiance of the second innings can be celebrated

If ever there was a foregone conclusion of a Test, it was when Misbahul Haq led his men out into the Brisbane sun at the Gabba on Thursday.

The stats were as damning as damning can be. Pakistan have never won a series in Australia, the last time they even drew one was back in 1979 — since then they had lost seven in a row. They hadn’t won a Test match there since 1995, currently on a nine-match losing run. In 33 matches Down Under, Pakistan had won just four.

Underneath the stats, horrific memory further hammered home the point. The embarrassment of being dismissed for 72 while chasing 564 at Perth 2004. The humiliation of an innings defeat at Perth 1999, despite Ijaz Ahmed’s defiant century. The incredible meltdown that saw Pakistan dismiss Australia for 127 and then take a 206-run lead yet end up on the losing side at Sydney 2010.

https://twitter.com/CricketVideo/status/810482495611244545

And this doesn’t even include the Gabba. Oh God, the Gabba — the horrors Pakistan have witnessed at the ground. In four matches there, Australia have won three — twice by 10 wickets and once by an innings and 126 runs. The only match that ended in a draw was thanks to rain; Australia had taken a 353-run first innings lead and had Pakistan on 82-3.

The first innings lead on those four occasions for Australia were 221, 353, 366 and 208. Not once were Pakistan in the game at the halfway stage.

In all senses of the word, these eleven men were lambs being brought to the slaughter. Steven Smith’s men were going to chew up this side — only recently crowned the best in the world — and spit them back out, and there was nothing anyone could do about it.

What a knock! Asad Shafiq's 10th Test century and his first against Australia #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/kyeBeolgx3

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 18, 2016

The only hope — for all drowning men clutch at straws — was to win the toss and bat before the pitch quickened up and it started to swing under lights. That hope was soon lost. All that was left were hollow words, said out loud for comfort rather than with any conviction — Australia are inexperienced, Australia are out of form, Pakistan are more settled, Pakistan were recently number one.

Pakistan may be touted as unpredictable by everyone who has ever seen a cricket ball, but in Australia they are anything but. A deficit of 287 followed as Pakistan were dismissed for 142 in reply to Australia’s 429. Sarfraz Ahmed was the only batsman to outscore Australia’s usual number eleven Nathan Lyon’s 29. Seven wickets fell for 24 runs. It was all so predictable, it was all so depressing.



The knives were already being sharpened back home after the 2-0 whitewash in New Zealand. Now they were gleefully shoved into every crevice. ‘Experts’ and ‘pundits’ gave their two cents to anyone who would listen, insisting that only they knew the answer to the mystery that the greatest cricketing minds in the world hadn’t unlocked.

OK Wahab, fair enough! Pakistan need 130 runs to win...

LIVE: https://t.co/avB8xPHSHV #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/MDKlkje5v3

— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 18, 2016

Pakistan were shockingly poor in the first innings at Brisbane; there can be no arguments about that. But no team — bar perhaps South Africa — has been able to hold its own in away Tests over a sustained period for a long while now. Pakistan are not the only team to have struggled in Australia — no Asian team has ever won a series there. India have won just five out of 44 Tests in Australia, losing eight series in 11.

Australia themselves are like a fish out of water when they come to Asian shores. In 73 matches against Pakistan and India, they have won just 19. They were recently whitewashed 3-0 in Sri Lanka and not that long ago were humiliated 2-0 by Pakistan in the UAE, where the hosts broke record after record in the two-Test series.

India were clueless in England during their 2014 tour, while England are now clueless in India.

In short, few players these days are equipped to perform in unfamiliar conditions and even fewer sides are looking to invest in players that aren’t great at home, even if they are not so shockingly poor in away games.

DROPPED! @asadshafiq1986 given a lifeline by @CAComms' captain @stevesmith49 off @mstarc56 https://t.co/ze8GB5hOlA #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/eaRj3a4vfz

— Tribune Sports (@ETribuneSports) December 18, 2016

Teams are now playing more and more to their specialised strengths and in doing so are ignoring aspects that are becoming increasingly weak. The hosting country tries to exploit whatever these weaknesses may be — the bouncing ball for Pakistan, spinners for Australia and poor pacers for India to name a few — while highlighting their own strengths. India’s recent series against South Africa and the tracks Pakistan faced in New Zealand showed as much.

The dichotomy between home and away performances increases even further due to the players coming in from the domestic circuit. A player like Misbah would never have made it to the very top in Australia due to his preference of playing spinners; Kevin Pietersen’s inability to play left-arm spinners would have been brutally exposed in the subcontinental domestic circuit.

https://twitter.com/CricketVideo/status/810476164661669890

Domestic Pakistan batsmen who are good at playing the shorter ball would almost never make it to the top due to the lack of bouncy pitches at home. Instead, players like Sarfraz Ahmed and Misbah thrive. Similarly in Australia, being a spin-specialist is an almost useless selling point for a batsman.

For a number of reasons, this gap between home and away teams is here to stay; if anything it will only increase with time.

Instead of blindly criticising the team for their performances in alien conditions against perhaps the meanest hosts in the world, perhaps these mitigating circumstances must be kept in mind. Perhaps instead of focusing on the spineless performance in the first innings, the defiance of the second innings can be celebrated. Perhaps, just perhaps, not all is lost.