Storyline: Pakistan’s problems with Australia are legendary. Written by Haris Munir, Abu Dhabi.
The rivalry between Pakistan and Australia in Test Cricket has been an exciting one with stars from both sides fighting numerous individual and team battles over the years. However, when it comes to statistics in 59 test matches, Pakistanis find themselves having one of highest loss percentages (47%) against Australia in the purest form of cricket.
To complete the statistic, Pakistan has won only 24% of their encounters with the Kangaroos and have drawn 29%. However, South Africa has been the most disliked opponent; the loss percentage for Pakistan rises to 52% in 23 tests. Australia is only second to South Africa when it comes to determining lowest performance levels for Pakistan in Test Cricket arena.
There have been fewer better sights than watching Lillee and Thompson bowling to Miandad and Zaheer or Imran running in to trouble. Border or Waqar firing in against Mark Waugh. Akram going after Steve Waugh. McGrath and Warne challenging Anwar and Inzamam. Or Akhtar steaming in against Ponting. And that list is certainly not exhaustive.
Irrespective of the final outcome of the game, an avid cricket fan would love to witness any of the individual encounters mentioned earlier. At the end of the day, and for generations to come, the team results matter more to determine the dominance of one team over the other.
Although Pakistan has been a fertile land when it comes to producing cricket legends–and some of those names mentioned earlier may have won some of the individual battles–but they didn’t translate into team victories on most occasions. The statistics dwindle further when we start analyzing Pakistan test performances in Australia. The timing of this article fittingly coincides with the first test match at the Gabba, Brisbane, where Pakistanis will find themselves in a spot against the aggressive Aussies.
Pakistan didn’t win a single test match in Australia during the last three series played down under–from 1999-00 to 2009-10. They suffered three consecutive whitewashes at the hands of the Kangaroos.
Being a Pakistani cricket fan I am again nervous about the result of the upcoming test series.
Is it about the wickets with high-clay content, weak domestic structure, quality of the opposition, defensive captaincy or something else? If these poor results are due to any of those reasons, then how come the same Pakistani team could manage test victories in England, New Zealand, and South Africa during the very same period? Why is it only Australia which travelling Pakistani team couldn’t beat even once?
These are the sort of questions I asked myself as a teenager when there was a similar trend in ODIs against South Africa in the late 90s. I could see Pakistan with their self-confidence hit rock bottom whenever they played against the Proteas.
Be it the one-day triangular series in South Africa in 1998, the 1999 World Cup match, or the 2003 and 2007 ODI series at home, Pakistan just couldn’t cross the finishing line even after getting close. It had become a routine when Pakistan managed to snatch defeat from the jaws of victory–playing against South Africa who “choke” during big games, especially in the World Cups.
However, the situation changed when Pakistan started to turn it around gradually. To me the conversion of state of mind from being submissive to controlled aggression began with the ODI game against the African side in Sharjah. The injured Shoaib Akhtar decimated the opponents like a dangerous roaring lion while defending a modest total. This video on YouTube has over 5m views:
Pakistan ended up beating them not only in that match but also taking away the title (Coca Cola Cup) by beating the same team in an enthralling final. It took an inspired performance from Waqar Younis (4/63), who was making a comeback in the tournament which also involved India. It was a dream come true for a frustrated cricket fan, like me, as I watched the final live and still remember the satisfaction attached to that victory. “We can’t beat South Africa.”The link to the scorecard can be found here.
The ups and downs were still there, but Pakistan started competing at par with the Proteas in ODIs. As far as the bilateral series were concerned, the drought ended when Pakistan managed to win in South Africa under Misbah-ul-Haq in November 2013 by 2-1.
“Beating Australia in Australia in Test Cricket “is certainly a tougher ask than beating “South Africa in ODIs.” However, the approach and self-confidence required to achieve the feat isn’t much different in the two scenarios.
In these situations of repetitive failures against one opponent, there were always individual brilliances that almost took Pakistan there. However, a comeback innings by one of the opposing batsmen or the usual Pakistani batting collapse took the result back to square one.
There is not a worse feeling as a fan when your team is on its way to a comfortable victory and, suddenly, the game changes. Not only has your team has ended up losing the game, but the series and your trust, too. Last time Pakistan won a test match in Australia was 21 years back and that, too, in a dead rubber as the series was already taken away by the Kangaroos.
To strengthen the argument, here is a brief summary of the two instances when Pakistan had the upper hand by competing with Australia to its potential. But out of nowhere gave up the match when it mattered most. These matches are from the recent history of Pakistan visiting Australia from 1999-00 to 2009-10:
Pakistan in Australia (1999-00): Second Test Match at Hobart: Pakistan lost by 4 wickets.
Pakistan had already lost the first test by 10 wickets despite reaching a reasonable total in the first innings. Hundreds by Slater and Mark Waugh ensured a substantial lead for Australia to achieve the desired result without much hassle.
Second test match was imperative for Pakistan to keep the series alive and avenge the recent 1999 World Cup final loss from the World Champions.
Pakistan’s ability to come back in the test match resulted in setting a reasonable target of 369 runs, which looked improbable at one stage when Gilchrist and Langer were stranded at 126-5. It took innings of his life by Gilchrist, playing only his second test match to partner with Langer, to win it for Australia and spoil it for the guests.
We were shocked as my class fellow and I were heading onwards the library of my school discussing cricket on the way and expecting a famous Pakistani victory before we came to know of the result.
Pakistan not only lost the test match but also the series. Australia thumped the dominance in the third test match at the WACA in Perth by completing the whitewash courtesy a double century by Ponting, who was silent throughout the series. This was an innings victory for one of the greatest test sides of all time. The situation would have been entirely different had Pakistan stepped onto WACA field with 1-1 rather than 2-0. Here’s the link to the scorecard:
Pakistan in Australia: 2009-10: Second Test Match at SCG, Pakistan lost by 36 runs.
This was certainly the closest Pakistan came to victory, but still lost the game and the series to leave the fans disappointed. An exceptional Pakistani victory was on the cards until Australians were allowed to come back into the game multiple times. A comfortable victory seemed the most probable result after bundling out Australia for a meager 127, thanks to Asif’s genius (6/41) and scoring 333 to take a substantial first innings lead. However, the weak psychology again took over, the confidence in the abilities shattered, and uncertainty prevailed for Pakistan and Micheal Hussey fought hard, thanks to Umar Akmal who dropped him more than once.
Despite Hussey’s heroics a target of 176 wasn’t a tough one. But, no, it was tough for the Pakistani batsmen who had again lost the mental battle to Nathan Hauritz, who took a five-for to win it for Australia–the game and the series.
This wasn’t the first time that Pakistan had lost the battle of nerves in the second test match of the series down under. The devastated body language of the Pakistanis also meant that Australia would seal a third consecutive whitewash against Pakistan in their own backyard as Pakistan also lost the third match by 231 runs in Hobart.
The link of the scorecard is here.
As I write this very article, Pakistanis are again finding it hard to handle the aggression after three days of first test match against the flawless Aussies. This may not be the same invincible Australian team that had knocked Pakistan down in the earlier series. For Pakistan, this Kangaroo side may still be too hot to handle with the likes of Smith, Warner, Khawaja, Starc and Hazlewood at their best.
We have to wait and watch whether the serene and calm Misbah can turn it around again to add another first to his illustrious test captaincy career. But it might be a repeat of the earlier test series of Australian summer. He is the most appropriate man for the job as it was under his captaincy that ensured whitewash against Australia in UAE a couple of years earlier.
Misbah and team certainly possess the conventional Pakistani flare to surprise the Aussies in their own backyard–to reaffirm the stamp of unpredictability by again spoiling the predictions of cricket analysts/fans, like me.
(Note: Pakistan came up short.)
