Pakistan will be touring Australia for three World Test Championship matches. But in the past 28 years, they have not beaten the hosts in a single Test match, let alone a series win. Even the strongest of the Pakistani side ever played in 1999 were whitewashed. All this highlights our bowlers, who haven’t been able to take quick upfront. So is bowling a major concern for Pakistan’s failures in Australian tours?
The tour of Australia is one of the toughest places to play Test cricket. Before late 2018, only two teams out of eleven Test-playing nations won the series there; England and South Africa. From late 2018 onwards, India became the first Asian side and third overall to beat the Aussies in their backyard. Twice.
We investigate why the Green Team failed to win even a single match from a two-plus match series in the past three decades.
Why Bowling is the biggest reason for Pakistan’s failures in Australian tours?
We know how Pakistan’s batting and fielding can be. But for a team known for producing the best-class bowlers in the world, this is one major concern for the failures in the Australian shores.
The national team’s last series in 2019 saw them suffer their worst series ever. Their bowling average of 89.92 is easily their worst, losing the series twice by an innings.
Below is the bowling chart for PAK in Australia since 1995;
| Series Year | Innings | Runs Conceded | Wickets | Average | Runs per Over |
| 1999-2000 | 5 | 1715 | 36 | 47.63 | 3.74 |
| 2004-2005 | 6 | 1878 | 37 | 50.75 | 4.20 |
| 2009-2010 | 6 | 1925 | 46 | 41.84 | 3.42 |
| 2016-2017 | 5 | 2034 | 33 | 61.63 | 4.25 |
| 2019-2020 | 2 | 1169 | 13 | 89.92 | 4.10 |
Looking at the chart, there’s a clear issue with the bowling. Not a single tour from 1999 onwards saw Pakistan take 50 or more wickets.
The better performance came in the 2009-2010 tour where they had a much better average than their 1999 counterparts. They even bowled the host out for 127 in the Sydney match, their lowest since 1995. Mohammad Yousuf’s men had a golden opportunity to win a match in the country. They were asked to chase 176. They lost the match by 36 runs after getting bowled out for 139.
How bowlers can bring their “A” game to Australia?
The last tour in 2019 was a disaster. The team saw Mohammad Amir take retirement from Test cricket in July with the fresh World Test Championship soon to begin. This left the team with young faces in Shaheen Afridi, who was just a year old in Test cricket, Naseem Shah and Mohammad Musa, complete newbies, Mohammad Abbas, who never played in the country before and Imran Khan Snr, a one-test experience in AUS shores.
The only experienced bowler was the star spinner, Yasir Shah. Though Yasir himself had a horrible time in the 2016 tour. He averaged 84 in that series and averages 89 overall in the country.
Also Read: Why so hyped about Haris Rauf not playing Test cricket?
Need proper grooming in First Class
Both Naseem and Musa made their First-Class debuts in late 2018 and were with the team in 2019 without proper grooming. Their inexperience in the red ball made them vulnerable. The problem is that our current is too focused on Twenty20 cricket. Understandably, leagues help earn more money personally but talking about the traditional format of the game requires solid hard work.
Naseem is a good example; after not so good start in the Test, he was dropped after the 2020 New Zealand series. By that time, Naseem averaged 42 with 20 wickets in nine matches to his name. However, since his comeback in 2022, he took 31 wickets in eight games with an improved average of 28.
Another example is Hassan Ali, who was dropped from the team in all formats after the 2019 World Cup but worked himself exceptionally hard in the Quaid-e-Azam trophy, earning his place back. Eventually, he becomes the third-highest wicket-taker in 2021. He’s got a good line and length. But currently, he lacks pace, which makes him easier to target.
Pakistan’s failures in Australian tours: A look at the current Bowlers
Starting with Mir Hamza, who has an impressive record in FC with 106 games with 400+ wickets at an average of 22. This would probably make him a more experienced bowler. But in his short career, with two games only, he managed only two wickets and hasn’t found that much success. Yet.
While in Australia you normally don’t get that much swing offered, a proper line and length backed with good planning can be vital and this tour could be make or break for Mir.
A similar can be said with Khurram Shehzad, a bowler who experienced 45 FC matches averaging 29 with 136 wickets to his name.
Both Khurram and Mir were top two wicket-takers in the Quaid-e-Azam Trophy this year but found little to no success in the Prime Minister’s XI practice match at Canberra.
Faheem Ashraf is another good example of grinding in domestic cricket. His average of 30-ish with both bat and ball in FC is very decent for an all-rounder. One factor he holds is having a good pace and likes bowling on a hard deck.
There’s Wasim Jnr but in nine FC games, his bowling average is just 33 with batting not much in consideration. The same can be said about Aamir Jamal, bowling ave of 32 and batting of 20. But both Wasim and Jamal can be very effective with the older ball as they can generate some amount of reverse swing.
Also Read: Why Mohammad Abbas could not make a comeback?
What about Spinners?
Abrar Ahmed had a start to remember in his short career so far and while he averages only 31, he will eventually get better in time to come. His sharp googlies are a good key to surprise batters, something Yasir Shah lacked in his career. Unfortunately, he was ruled out of the first Test due to discomfort in his knee.
Sajid Khan, called as a cover-up to Abrar for the first Test, has 234 wickets in 66 FC matches. He is a decent off-spinner remembered for his brilliant 8-42 against Bangladesh in the 2021 game. What he lacks is a good pace to keep the opposition in check. His slow deliveries give batters some time to adjust before playing their shots, making Sajid look very ordinary.
Another First Class hard worker who is just six wickets away from 400 FC wickets. Nauman Ali was with the Pakistan team for some time from 2021 onwards—a left-arm spinner who’s also a handy batter. Nauman could be a surprise if he performs well.
One important thing to remember is that spinners hardly had success in Australian conditions. Only five bowlers have taken 100+ wickets there and all are Aussies with no surprise that the late Shane Warne leads the table with 319.
Pakistan’s best bowlers were Danish Kaneria (24 at 40 Ave), Mushtaq Ahmed (22 at 31 Ave) and Iqbal Qasim (21 at 29 Ave). The first two were leg spinners with excellent variations. This prompts viewers that Abrar with his variations can somewhat succeed in bowling there. having one good spinner is enough to play.
Possible Best XI
With Abrar ruled out of game one, which will be played in Perth, it will be better to play with all four fast bowlers. Perth is one of the fastest wickets in the world and fast bowlers will enjoy it.
As for the rest of the games, If Abrar recovers, he should play both at Melbourne and Sydney. Both wickets have little assistance to the spin bowlers which requires no margin of error.
Here’s what the best XI for the national team could be:
| 1st Test (at Perth) | 2nd and 3rd Test |
| Imam ul-Haq | Imam ul-Haq |
| Abdullah Shafique | Abdullah Shafique |
| Shan Masood (Capt) | Shan Masood (Capt) |
| Babar Azam | Babar Azam |
| Saud Shakeel | Saud Shakeel |
| Sarfaraz Ahmed/ Mohammad Rizwan (wk) | Sarfaraz Ahmed/ Mohammad Rizwan (wk) |
| Agha Salman | Faheem Ashraf |
| Faheem Ashraf | Abrar Ahmed/ Nauman Ali/ Sajid Khan |
| Hassan Ali | Hassan Ali |
| Shaheen Afridi | Shaheen Afridi |
| Mir Hamza | Mir Hamza |
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