Wasim Akram, a former legendary bowler, has offered his thoughts on Pakistan’s performance in the warm-up before the much-anticipated first Test against Australia in Perth.
During a recent interview with a regional sports publication, Akram made clear that it could be too soon to make any firm conclusions from the Canberra warm-up.
“Canberra is too early. OK, the captain got 200 … they got some runs, so there’s a bit of confidence. (But) new management, new captain. It will take time, especially at the first Test match in Perth. We know the pitch is very bouncy, different pitch altogether from Canberra. It’ll be a big Test for this team,” Akram said.
In a four-day practice match against the Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra, the national squad was captained by Shan Masood, the recently appointed captain of Pakistan in Test cricket.
Masood demonstrated his leadership qualities by hitting a stunning 201* in the opening session, forcing the team to declare at 391 runs with nine wickets remaining.
As a result of PM’s XI’s impressive batting outburst in reply, which saw them score 367 runs while losing just 4 wickets, the game was tied.
The left-hand batter is set to captain the Men in Green in a three-match Test series against Australia, led by Cummins, scheduled to kick off on December 14th in Perth.
Pakistan squad: Shan Masood (c), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Afridi
Australia squad: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (captain), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland, Cameron Green, Lance Morris
Australia tour schedule:
1st Test – Australia vs Pakistan – December 14-18: Perth Stadium
2nd Test – Australia vs Pakistan – December 26-30: Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG)
3rd Test – Australia vs Pakistan – January 3-7: Sydney Cricket Ground (SCG)
