***Official*** Pakistan in Australia 2023/24

[Starfighter]

This got ugly for Pakistan real quick

It was ugly from the first over

 

[TheJediBrah]

The trick here is going to be to not play for spin

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

Jamal reminding me of Shardul a bit now that he's got the nerves out of the way.

Come on now Shardul is twice the bowler

 

[ataraxia]

13 minutes for 31 runs, he's going for it

 

[TheJediBrah]

**** me that's a T20 shot

 

[Starfighter]

What was that? Warner just absolutely takes the piss against Pakistan, and it comes off every time somehow.

 

[Gnske]

Test cricket is dead by the way

 

[Shady Slim]

fitting in the extreme that warner's getting to go out bashing out of their depth touring attack on a flatty lol

 

[Starfighter]

Bowl outside off you plonker.

 

[duffer]

Test cricket is dead by the way

all hail the bash

 

[quincywagstaff]

Can't wait for Warner to ton up and the media to react by saying he's "proved his critics wrong", when the issue was always outside Australia and his long-term mediocrity and being an automatic selection despite that.

I mean I guess the media will have to talk about that as there's nothing else really interesting about this match or series.

 

[Starfighter]

Well that was a truly awful session.

Pakistan seem to be experts at setting themselves up like this. They insist that their best bowler plays every international, then he gets a potentially debilitating knee injury. They rush him back for a tournament, he bowls poorly, and since then has been lacking in pace. Their other better bowler gets a shoulder injury, and they let him go play some two-bit T20 league anyway, and he misses the World Cup and this tour. Then they ignore options who might have been better and scrape together some detritus, and even then manage to make an illogical selection (Khurram looks okay as a line and length bowler, but Jamal has done nothing and Ashraf should not even be in the squad). To top it off their only experienced, if diminished, bowler bowls absolute crap and they keep up the usual fielding standard.

I'd like to win, but against teams that aren't England or India I'd like to also see some competitive cricket. Even as bad as the Pakistan squad was on paper they've managed to select one of the worse combinations (on the basis of what? That one tour match?) and then start off very badly. It's like they don't take it seriously, but what can you expect from a board run as unprofessionally? They don't take test cricket or first class cricket seriously.

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

These stat padders play against Pakistan to build their average only. They know they can bash them as much as they want and build up records. NZ is our only good friend.

 

[King Kane]

Disappointing first session from Pakistan, no wickets and allowing Warner to engage flat track bully mode.

Looks like it could be a long couple of days in the field for them.

 

[Starfighter]

These stat padders play against Pakistan to build their average only. They know they can bash them as much as they want and build up records. NZ is our only good friend.

If they were actually stat padders they'd invite your guys over a lot rather than finding every excuse not to play them. That said I think even the Bangladesh pace attack would have bowled better than Pakistan in that session. Possibly significantly better.

 

[AndyZaltzHair]

If they were actually stat padders they'd invite your guys over a lot rather than finding every excuse not to play them.

Afraid of the goat

 

[Starfighter]

Anyway I can see why Rauf decided to sit this one out. I don't think he'd ever be a good test bowler, frankly his control is pretty terrible, but the bowling attack would at least have a bit of acid to it. Instead it's a similar level of control but low 130s. But they should have been looking at guys who have some kind of decent FC record while being faster than Hamza.

 

[quincywagstaff]

Can't wait for Warner to ton up and the media to react by saying he's "proved his critics wrong", when the issue was always outside Australia and his long-term mediocrity and being an automatic selection despite that.

Heh, headline on The Age begins with "Warner answers critics...".

Everybody knows he's a great home bat on these types of pitches, it's outside Oz that was the issue.

He scored more runs in that session than in any overseas Test innings since 2017.

 

[Starfighter]

Heh, headline on The Age begins with "Warner answers critics...".

Everybody knows he's a great home bat on these types of pitches, it's outside Oz that was the issue.

He scored more runs in that session than in any overseas Test innings since 2017.

It's not only that outside of Australia was the issue, it's that he was failing against any remotely threatening bowling at home too.

This Pakistan attack does not come under that title, it's been so bad so far it's almost beyond belief.

 

[Starfighter]

Shaheen is too wide on the crease given he's not swinging it. It means when he gets the right line it's angling in and can be defended in a way Warner's comfortable with.