Australia v Pakistan: build-up

[Zainub]

Tea Western Australia 2nd XI 158 & 154/6 lead Pakistan 257 by 55 runs

Pakistan got themselves into a strong position in the warm-up game against Western Australia 2nd XI. Western Australia were struggling at 6 for 154 in its second innings after Pakistan took a 99-run lead. Earlier in the day, Pakistan were dismissed for 257 with Younis Khan finishing on 142. Justin Coetzee collected 5-66 and Matthew Petrie 4-26 for the home side.

[Milo]

Not the greatest start for their batsmen. The openers both failed again as they plumetted to 20-6. Youhana and Younis trying to rebuild. Its' now 44-6 chasing 90 odd to win. They will regret leaving Taufeeq at home. I expect Inzi to be at the wicket very early in all the tests.

PS: Playing 14 and consequently giving some batsmen one knock is pointless.

[Beny]

Kaneria is the surprise packet for me. 7 wickets on the WA pitches.

[Maranello]

Really Beny? I'm curious, what did you or other Aussie fans know about him? And why would it be hard for a leggie to get wickets in WA? (are they playing at WACA or elsewhere?)

My feeling is that he was flattered in this innings, bowling to the reserves team, batsmen who do not play wrist-spinners that often. Kaneria is good and definitely is the best young spinner around in world, offie or leggie. He is no Warne or Qadir though, not much variety in my mind... though he is 21-ish, a very young age for a spinner.

[Maranello]

Agree Milo, truly atrocious batting. 3 ducks by the only three openers we brought - they sure are missing Taufeeq, and good! Serves the selectors right for overlooking Pakistan's third best batsman, and the best Test chap for a long while. The middle order bats have not done too well either - how they will fare against McGrath & Co?

Inzamam and Youhana and the rest of the middle order (Malik etc) can shine, but need the openers to give good starts, this was the key to India's success last year.

[Beny]

Most wickets in WA resemble the WACA. I've never seen it turn that much. Sure there is bounce but seven wickets in an innings...

[Beny]

I'm also shocked at the Pakistani batting. I hope they improve before the first match. At the momment their getting murdured by guys who arent even getting a go in the WA side.

The bowling has been ok. It's the batting that is a worry and I'm sure Woolmer would be bitting his fingernails at the momment.

[vvvrulz]

Yeah absolutely, how many ducks were in that scorecard.. sheesh !

But tour matches aren't everything to go by..

[Zainub]

Western Australia wins by 10 runs. Definitely not the sort of start I (or any Pakistan follower for that matter) would have been hoping for, and didn't I tell you from the very beginning that batting of ours was a concern? A major one too. We send in as many 10 recognized batsmen in our second innings and yet we couldn't chase down a target of 94 runs, yes there was no Inzi but its frightening fact still that Farhat, Hameed, Youhanna, Khan, Akmal, Kamal, Malik, Razzaq and even Afridi all had a bat and yet non of them could get to even 50 against a second XI side, with the highest score being just 41 by Youhanna. I'm trying though not to get too disappointed, the bowling was a positive we can take out of this match, and Khan's 140 odd in the 1st innings too was something everyone else should look to emulate. I'm wondering though what sort of wicket it was, we don't see 40 wickets falling over a course of less than 3 days very often. There is no way I'm putting this loss down to the wicket, but surely there must have been something extra in there for the bowlers. Hopefully we’ll do better next time.

PS: what's with this lad by the name of Justin Coetzee, 5 for 23 in the 2nd innings and 5 for 66 in the first?

Originally Posted by Cricket Info

Woolmer: Loss against WA 2nd XI not a "big blow"
Bob Woolmer, the Pakistan coach, said he was concerned by the performance but it was not a "big blow". "It showed the limitations of some of our young batsmen and our senior batsmen as well, so we've got a lot of work to do in the next few days," he said. "I think it's a reality check for all the players who now have to start working a bit harder than they were." Pakistan will have a chance to find some form in lead-up matches against the Chairman's XI at Lilac Hill and Western Australia before the first Test at the WACA on December 16. Justin Langer will lead the Chairman's XI against Pakistan in a side that includes the former Test bowlers Tony Dodemaide and Geoff Lawson at Lilac Hill on Tuesday. Langer, playing his first non-international of the summer, has been chosen alongside Western Australia regulars Murray Goodwin and Mike Hussey. Dodemaide, the WACA's chief executive, and Lawson, an ABC radio commentator, are the guest players while Dominic Thornely, who made 261 for New South Wales against Western Australia last month, has been drafted in for the annual festival match.

Cricket Australia Chairman's XI Justin Langer (capt), Beau Casson, Tony Dodemaide, Ben Edmondson, Murray Goodwin, Michael Hussey, Geoff Lawson, Marcus North, Chris Rogers, Luke Ronchi, Dominic Thornely, Peter Worthington.

Originally Posted by Dawn

Woolmer has plan to tire out Aussie bowlers
PERTH, Dec 2: Pakistan coach Bob Woolmer has a game plan for his team's three-Test series against Australia - play with some attacking flair in an effort to tire out the home team's bowlers. The Australian pace trio of Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Michael Kasprowicz, and leg-spinner Shane Warne have combined well in the last two months to beat India 2-1 and New Zealand 2-0 in Tests. "The only way I can see of beating them is getting their four bowlers really tired, as then they can't bowl so well," former South African coach Woolmer said on Thursday. "But you need to be playing with some attacking flair to knock them off their line. The Australians have shown that (with the bat) and done it to everyone else, so we would like to reverse that and do it to them." Woolmer said he believes Pakistan can match Australia in the series beginning on Dec 16 in Perth. "It is more about just getting in before we start trying to dominate, but we know it is not going to be easy, we know that," said Woolmer. "We are up against a team playing at the peak of their powers but I see no reason why we can't play at that level." The second Test begins on Dec 26 in Melbourne and the third on Jan 2 in Sydney. -Agencies

Originally Posted by Dawn

Kaneria: looking forward to competing against Warne
....(extract from match report of the tour game)But the bad news for Australia is that Kaneria has a secret delivery which he said he was keeping for the Test series. Kaneria, who has taken 87 wickets from 20 Tests, said the extra pace and bounce in the Western Australian Cricket Association pitch where the first Test will be played later this month would help his bowling as he shaped up for a battle with world-record wicket-taker Shane Warne. "I am very happy. I got some wickets and that will boost my confidence more for the Test match coming up on the 16th," he said. "I am looking forward to the series because I will be competing against the world's best spinner."

On the front of the Hayden-Akhtar war of words, The News has reported Hayden as saying "he [shoaib] has got a point in some ways - Justin is certainly form player at the moment. Equally, to put some perspective on it, the whole of this is an intriguing beat-up for the Test series. Neither of us are really trying to play the game too much at this stage" Read the full story here

[Realcharm]