Pounding at Perth

Australian tours have never proved easy for Pakistan. The last time Pakistan won here, in a Test, was in 1995. Since then there has been a painful drought. Even our best teams have had to face humiliation Down Under. One of our strongest touring parties — led by Wasim Akram, and including proven stars like Saeed Anwer, Inzamam ul Haq, Ijaz Ahmed, Abdul Razzaq, Waqar Younis, Shoaib Akhtar and Saqlain Mushtaq — in 1999 had suffered a whitewash in Tests, apart from disgraceful defeats in a tri-nation one-day series. So when a relatively newer Pakistan team, led by a new captain Shan Masood, embarked for what is doubtlessly the toughest cricket venue in the world, the expectations were already pretty low.

So pretty much in line with what was being anticipated, Pakistan lost the first Test, at Perth. The margin of defeat — 360 runs — was, however, something that Pakistan think tank would have wanted to see minimised, given that the team had experienced stars like Babar Azam, Sarfaraz Ahmed and Shaheen Shah Afridi in its midst. The collapse — for 89 runs — in the second innings was particularly shameful, as well as the fact that the match finished within four days. For the rest of the two Tests, frankly speaking if Team Pakistan manage to avoid a whitewash it will be quite an achievement. Let’s hope Team Director Mohammad Hafeez’s belief that the team has the ability to win a Test match Down Under come true.

A word on Nathan Lyon who has become just the third Australian and eighth player in the history of cricket to take 500 Test wickets — during the Perth Test. The 36-year-old off-spinner joins greats like Shane Warne and Glen McGrath as the most successful bowlers in the Australia’s 146-year cricket history. Kudos to Nathan Lyon!

Published in The Express Tribune, December 19^th, 2023.

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