Pakistan team director Mohammad Hafeez has expressed his surprise and disappointment over the tactics employed by the hosts Australia during their preparations for upcoming three-match Test series, starting from December 14 in Perth.
While talking to Australian media, Hafeez expressed his astonishment at the nature of the pitch provided for practice match, describing it as the slowest he has ever encountered as a visiting team in Australia.
“To be honest we tick most of the boxes as a team but obviously really surprised and disappointed with the pitch we received for practice match in Canberra. It was the slowest pitch on which we can ever play as a visiting team in Australia. But as a team we are very happy with the preparations we had, most of the boxes are ticked and we are absolutely ready for the exciting challenge coming ahead for us,” Hafeez said.
When questioned about whether he raised the issue with Cricket Australia regarding the arrangements, Hafeez responded, “Everyone knew it. There is no point in repeating it over and over again. The disappointment was really high as we were not expecting these kind of arrangements but it may be their tactics but we are ready for that,” he said.
“We are here to beat Australia and not just compete,” he added.
Meanwhile Australia’s coach Andrew McDonald has said that Pakistan had been practicing on surfaces with lower bounce, specifically in Canberra, and he hopes to exploit this potential vulnerability by exposing them on a bouncy Perth pitch.
“They’re coming from lower surfaces (Canberra) in their prep – so hopefully we can expose them on a bouncy surface,” he said. “No doubt, that’s an advantage.”
