Pakistan and Australia go at it in the first of two Test matches on Sunday with the opening match of the pair coming from Dubai. Short series like this are never really ideal but it should ensure a competitive opener with both teams knowing that they can secure a share of it if they win this game.
Both outfits have a busy period of action coming up, indeed Pakistan are in the middle of theirs having recently played in the Asia Cup but there can be no looking too far ahead if they want to get the most out of these matches.
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Pakistan
We have not seen Pakistan in action in Test cricket since the early part of the English summer where they were able to secure a draw in a two match series against England. They had conditions that probably brought out the best in their attack back then and while they are used to the pitches out in the UAE I’ve never been truly convinced that they are ideally suited to them.
As ever with Pakistan you get the feeling that their success or otherwise will be determined by how well they go with the bat. If they can bat for long periods then you would think they will have the bowling attack to get the job done but if they don’t give their bowlers anything to go at they could be in a bit of trouble.
Australia
With India to come in Australia later in the winter, the tourists could be forgiven for looking beyond this series but they will want to take on India with some confidence, belief and momentum behind them and with that in mind they need to take these two games seriously. There is a chance for players to force their way into the side for that series so that should make them competitive.
Whenever Australia play in Asia the first thing you wonder is if their batting will be able to stand up to the spin that is going to be bowled at them. Pakistan refused to play any half decent spinners in the warm up match which was pretty ridiculous so we will be taking it on face value that the Aussies will combat the spin although the evidence in recent times suggest they will struggle.
Team News
Pakistan have left out Mohammad Amir for this match while Shadab Khan has been ruled out through injury. That all means that Yasir Shah is likely to take on a greater workload. Mohammad Hafeez has also been recalled.
Australia will give debuts to Marnus Labuschagne, Aaron Finch and Travis Head for this match while Peter Siddle gets the nod as the second seamer. Steve Smith and David Warner remain out through their sandpaper-gate suspensions.
Dubai International Stadium
There have been 11 previous Test matches on this ground with Pakistan having a pretty decent record here with six wins to just three losses with a couple of draws in that time too. Australia’s only match on this ground came four years ago and they lost that by 221 runs. As with most wickets in the sub-continent the pitch is usually good for batting to begin with but then as they game goes on spin will come into it more and more.
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Betting
I always think these two match Test series are hard to bet on because the first innings of the whole thing is so significant so I’m not really going to push the boat out. I will however act on my suspicion that the Australian batting will struggle in these conditions.
Yasir Shah should enjoy bowling at this Australian batting line up and I’m surprised he only has a performance line of 130.5pts. That will need seven wickets to cover completely but we have seen he is a more than capable batsman so it might be that we only need six, we could only need five if he hangs around with the bat. Australia struggle with the bat in Asia and with Shadab Khan out it can be Yasir Shah who benefits.
Tips
Back Y.Shah’s Performance – Over 130.5pts for a 4/10 stake at 1.83 with Betfair
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