T20 WorldCup 2010

Australia vs Pakistan – Boxing Day Test – Preview

Australia, News, Pakistan | December 25, 2009 at 10:46 am

Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne, December 26-30, 2009

Match starts at 23:30 GMT

Ground Reality and Pitch: Melbourne Cricket Ground or the MCG as it is more popularly known, is a premier cricket ground located in Yarra Park in inner Melbourne. The MCG, which is the largest stadium in Australia, is traditionally known to host the Boxing day Tests. This ground hosted its first Test as early as March 1877 when England took on Australia. This was the same ground where Sunil Gavaskar and Chetan Chauhan had walked off the field, unhappy with a leg-before decision. Another unpleasant incident to take place at the MCG was the underarm bowling by Trevor Chappell during the ODI against New Zealand in 1981. It was also at this ground when Muralitharan was no-balled for chucking during a boxing day Test. The MCG pitch is generally considered to be a true wicket which aids the batsmen and the bowlers on an equal proportion.

Temperatures: Min-14C Max-24C | Forecast: Partly Cloudy
Team Updates:

Australia: Although the Australians would be riding high after their 2-0 victory against West Indies, the outcome of the matches was much closer than what the results indicate. West Indies came very close to beating Australia in two Tests but faltered at the end to let the home team grab the series. The Aussies batters, though consistent during the series, were made to battle hard and earn their runs against the Windies. In comparison, the bowlers did a better job although they were taken for quite a few by the hard-hitting West Indians. The positives for the Australian team would be the fact that the middle order has looked solid with Hussey, Clarke and Haddin performing consistently and the bowling, while not too glamorous, has shown that it has the fire power to bowl out the opposition twice. The concerning factor for the Aussies would be the fitness of Ricky Ponting, who might not be part of the Boxing Day Test after injuring his elbow during the 3rd Test against the West Indies. In Ponting’s absence, Phil Hughes might get an opportunity to play. In the bowling department, the Aussies would be missing the services of Ben Hilfenhaus, who has failed to recover from his knee problem while Nathan Hauritz, who is suffering from a groin injury, is also a doubtful starter. His absence may pave way young leggie Steven Smith.

Pakistan: While the Australians played a closely contested series against West Indies, the Pakistanis luckily escaped losing 1-2 to New Zealand in a series that was the ideal advertisement for Test cricket. Pakistan, while losing the first match by a narrow margin, came back well to beat the Kiwis in the second. The third match almost went New Zealandâ€™s way but for the rains which came down and saved Pakistan from defeat. Inconsistency has always been the problem for the Pakistan team and same was the case when they took on the Kiwis. Apart from Umar Akmal, who was the star for Pakistan, scoring 379 runs in 3 matches, including a century on debut and 3 fifties, the rest of the batting failed to deliver on a consistent basis. When it comes to bowling, Pakistan have always been at their best and it was no different against New Zealand. Mohammed Asif staged his international comeback in style, picking up 19 wickets in the series while Danish Kaneria, with his leg spin, troubled the Kiwis while scalping 13 wickets. While Pakistan would be a lot more happier after Umar Gul survived an injury scare and was declared fit by the doctors, their concern would be the availability of Kaneria, as the leggie has injured his finger.

Head to Head:
Pakistan have played 29 Tests against Australia in Australia. While they have only 4 victories against the home team, Pakistan have lost 18 matches. 7 matches ended up as draws.

Numbers Game:
1: The number of centuries scored by Mohammad Yousuf against Australia. He has scored 393 runs against Australia in Australia which includes a century and two fifties.

20.75: Michael Clarke’s Test average against Pakistan in Australia. He has played 3 matches against Pakistan in which he has scored 83 runs, his highest score being 35.

Sound Bytes:

Australia always play tough cricket and at times they try to pressurise their opponents with their banter and sledging habits. But we are prepared for this treatment: Mohammad Yousuf, confident that his side would not be affected by the Australian tactics.

He’s a very tough bloke and cricketer and I think you’d probably have to cut his arm off for him to miss a Boxing Day Test match: Michael Clarke, confident that Ponting would play in the first test.

Teams:

Pakistan (From): Imran Farhat, Salman Butt, Faisal Iqbal, Mohammad Yousuf(c), Misbah-ul-Haq, Umar Akmal, Kamran Akmal(w), Mohammad Aamer, Umar Gul, Saeed Ajmal, Danish Kaneria, Abdur Rauf, Fawad Alam, Khurram Manzoor, Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Sami, Shoaib Malik

Australia (From): Simon Katich, Shane Watson, Ricky Ponting(c), Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Marcus North, Brad Haddin(w), Mitchell Johnson, Nathan Hauritz, Doug Bollinger, Peter Siddle, Phillip Hughes, Clint McKay, Steven Smith