Pakistan v Australia second Test, day four
AUSTRALIA'S humiliation is complete as a clinical Pakistan smash through another feeble batting performance to secure a 373-run victory in the second Test in Abu Dhabi.
AUSTRALIA'S rebuilding mission has been sent back to square one as captain Tim Paine declared the next few weeks will be a batting shootout in the Sheffield Shield.
After a merciless slam-dunking by Pakistan, a bitterly disappointed Paine said it felt like his side had gone one step forward and two steps backwards on this tour with opposition teams too easily pinpointing Australia’s chronic weakness for batting capitulations.
"It’s bitterly disappointing, no doubt. We had some momentum from the first Test, started really well here and then from 5-57 it went a bit pear-shaped to be honest all over the field," said Paine.
"It’s hard to swallow. We weren't up to it.
"To come out and do that this Test is like taking one step forward and two steps back. It’s really frustrating.
"There’s no doubt this (collapses) has been happening for too long for the Australian cricket team, not just our Test team but probably domestically there’s a lot of collapses throughout our batting group and I think a lot of it can be technical.
"Some guys will be mental and other guys will be tactical or your plans not being right for certain bowlers. There’s no shying away from the fact we have a hell of a lot to do on our batting and it’s this team and it’s through the whole country.
"Clearly it would be a pretty exciting time to be a batsman around Shield cricket at the moment if you’re scoring 100s, there’s no doubt about that.
"There's opportunity for everyone and the batting group that are here are also a part of that."
No one gave Australia any hope of upsetting Pakistan in the UAE, and nothing can take away from the character Langer’s chargers showed in their brave Great Escape in Dubai.
But Usman Khawaja’s knee injury, soreness to Mitchell Starc and the alarming form drop of the Marsh brothers has conspired to wash away much of the inroads that had been made in the UAE desert as Australia slumped to its worst ever loss to Pakistan and fourth worst in all Tests – with two of those ignominious submissions coming this year.
After already blooding three debutants in this series, Australia is facing more major surgery with selectors forced to again look at urgently addressing the glaring batting capitulations which had them lose 10-60 in Dubai and be bowled out for 145 and 164 in Abu Dhabi inside four days.
Mass changes are unlikely given the need for some semblance of continuity, but Matthew Renshaw will return to grade cricket in Brisbane today, and Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell and virtually any domestic batsman who shows gumption in the opening rounds of the Sheffield Shield must come into serious contention.
Australia resumed on day four at 1-47, but Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Aaron Finch and Tim Paine were all dispatched for a combined seven runs in five overs as 130km/h destroyer Mohammad Abbas ran riot with a 10-wicket haul.
Shaun Marsh is under the most searing pressure after averaging just 3.5 against Pakistan and failing to pass 40 in his past 12 innings.
Brother Mitchell is faring little better, averaging just 7 in this series.
Mitchell deserves more time as vice-captain and Shaun may receive a lifeline if Khawaja struggles to prove his fitness for the first Test, but the bottom line is Australia was relying on the brothers to be the pillars of the batting order in the UAE and they combined for 44 runs from eight innings between them.
Shaun averages 35 in 34 Tests and Mitchell 26 in 30 matches – both unsustainable records for a team trying to rediscover consistency with Steve Smith and David Warner banned following sandpapergate.
There are headaches aplenty for Langer, but the silver lining is his instincts on Khawaja in Asia, Aaron Finch the Test cricketer, Paine the captain and Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head the agents for culture change, have been reinforced.
Labuschagne top-scored for Australia yesterday with 43 and the fact he has bettered his previous score every time he’s walked to the crease is an encouraging sign.
His topping of the bowling averages for Australia and finishing second behind Nathan Lyon on the wicket-taking list with 7 is an enormous bonus for a top six that has looked one-dimensional for too long.
Head is yet to prove himself but his fighting 72 in the first Test and his energy and versatility in the field mean he’s worth persevering with.
Finch and Khawaja are the only absolute locks – but even with them there are complications.
Will Khawaja be fit for the first Test against India as he heads for knee surgery?
Can Finch be backed in as an opener in home conditions or will he need to be shifted to the middle-order?
Starc battled soreness in both Test matches in the UAE and the pressure is on selectors and medical staff to correctly manage his way through the white ball cricket over the coming weeks to ensure he’s cherry ripe for the opener in Adelaide.
With the batting line-up in such disarray, Australia have nothing if not their world class bowling attack.
The fact Australia had Pakistan on the ropes at 5-57 on day one of a series-decider makes their stunning capitulation particularly depressing.
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Originally published as Pakistan v Australia second Test, day four
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