SYNEDY, Australia: Mohammad Hafeez, the team director for Pakistan, voiced his astonishment and disappointment regarding the strategies employed by Australia as they gear up for the three-match Test series commencing on December 14 in Perth.
In discussions with the Australian media, Hafeez conveyed his surprise at the practice match pitch’s characteristics, labelling it the slowest encountered by a visiting team in Australia.
“To be honest we tick most of the boxes as a team but obviously really surprised and disappointed with the pitch we received for practice match in Canberra. It was the slowest pitch on which we can ever play as a visiting team in Australia. But as a team we are very happy with the preparations we had, most of the boxes are ticked and we are absolutely ready for the exciting challenge coming ahead for us,” Hafeez said.
When questioned about whether he raised the issue with Cricket Australia regarding the arrangements, Hafeez responded, “Everyone knew it. There is no point in repeating it over and over again. The disappointment was really high as we were not expecting these kind of arrangements but it may be their tactics but we are ready for that,” he said.
“We are here to beat Australia and not just compete,” he added.
Australia’s coach Andrew McDonald pointed out that Pakistan had been training on low-bounce surfaces, particularly in Canberra. He aims to take advantage of this by exposing them to the challenges of a bouncy Perth pitch.
“They’re coming from lower surfaces (Canberra) in their prep – so hopefully we can expose them on a bouncy surface,” he said. “No doubt, that’s an advantage.”
