Dubai: Australia and Pakistan will aim to shrug off their recent setbacks in the two-Test series, beginning at the Dubai International Stadium from Sunday.
More than a test of skills, it will be a psychological battle for both the teams to ride over current pressures and perform at their best.
For Australia, it is their first Test since the infamous South Africa tour that ended in their captain Steve Smith and vice-captain David Warner getting banned following the ball tampering scandal.
Pakistan, meanwhile, are reeling under pressure of having performed poorly in the Asia Cup and the impact of having lost heavily twice to their arch rivals India.
‘Host’ team Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmad has put on a brave and confident face during the pre-match press conference when Gulf News asked Sarfraz as to whether his team has been able to overcome the impact of poor showing in the Asia Cup.
“Asia Cup is gone, it is past now. We are not thinking about the Asia Cup at all. We are thinking of the Test series. I think the team morale is very high. We are here now with a different frame of mind and hopefully, we will do well in the Test series.”
Tim Paine, who stepped into the Smith’s role as captain too put on a positive outlook. When asked whether it was a testing time for the team during the last few months and if this series will usher in a new beginning, Paine said: “I think what happened was unfortunate but we have to move on. We are fortunate enough to getting back together after what happened, it’s a great opportunity for some new players, new group of players, new coach, but still the Australian team hasn’t changed.”
Exuding confidence, Paine even announced the playing XI before the match. The first Test will see three players Marnus Labuschagne, Aaron Finch and Travis Head making their debut. It will be third time in the past 10 years that Australia will enter a Test match with three debutants in the XI after they did in Johannesburg in 2009 and in 2016 in Adelaide, both against South Africa. “It’s really exciting when you have three guys making debut in the next couple of days. It’s a little bit of a new era but we are hopeful that the guys who were involved will be back in the next six or eight months.”
The Australian teams, in the past, have often been found wanting about adapting to the conditions in UAE and the subcontinent type wickets here. Replying to a query about how the team finds the conditions and the wicket here, Paine said: “The pitch look like as we expected, pretty good for batting and hopefully take spin later in the game. It’s exactly what we expected and what we prepared for and as for the condition — there won’t be an issue for us. It’s pretty hot but we have been here for two weeks so we have prepared well for all the conditions. Heat hasn’t been too much of a factor.”
Sarfraz is hoping that the series will be played in the right spirit. Paine was even seen shaking hands with Sarfraz. After the July T-20 Tri nation series final in Zimbabwe, Australia’s all-rounder Glenn Maxwell had ignored Sarfraz’s offer for a customary end-of-the-game handshake which led to huge backlash on social media with Pakistan fans criticising Maxwell for his action. “We have no issues. We actually talked about it just before the press conference. We have no issues to shake hands. It is a very good sign,” said Sarfraz.
