Pakistan vs Australia: Warner wants better pitch for second Test

Pakistan scored 476-4 declared and 252-0 in its two innings in the first Test against Australia bowlers who couldn’t achieve any success on a lifeless track.

Published : Mar 10, 2022 13:23 IST

Australia opener David Warner said he hopes for an improved pitch for the second test in Karachi.
Australia opener David Warner said he hopes for an improved pitch for the second test in Karachi.
lightbox-info

Australia opener David Warner said he hopes for an improved pitch for the second test in Karachi.

Australia opener David Warner said he hopes for an improved pitch for the second Test in Karachi after the visitor could claim only four Pakistan wickets in the series-opening draw on Rawalpindi’s docile wicket.

“I just want a game where you can actually create 20 chances,” Warner said Thursday. “It’s something that’s going to be exciting and entertaining for the crowd.”

Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja has acknowledged that drawn games are not a good advertisement for Test cricket and Pindi Cricket Stadium’s wicket was described by Australia batter and vice captain Steve Smith as a “dead wicket.”

READ:

Pakistan scored 476-4 declared and 252-0 in its two innings against Australia’s three frontline fast bowlers and even veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon couldn’t achieve any success on a lifeless track.

Australia also responded solidly with 449 all out, but the majority of left-arm spinner Nauman Ali’s six wickets resulted from bad strokes by the Australia batters.

“When he (Lyon) was hitting that rough, it wasn’t doing anything, was just pretty much going straight on slow off the wicket,” Warner said. “There wasn’t any variable bounce, which you generally do see on worn wickets.”

Raja said Pakistan has planned low-bouncy tracks for Australia’s first tour to Pakistan since 1998, keeping in mind Pakistan’s strength against a tough opponent.

ALSO READ:

Pakistan’s two Test fast bowlers Hasan Ali and all-rounder Faheem Ashraf were ruled out due to injuries they had picked up during the Pakistan Super League.

Fast bowler Haris Rauf tested positive for COVID-19 ahead of the first Test and Pakistan had to go in with only two fast bowlers — Shaheen Afridi and Naseem Shah.

Ashraf has recovered from a hamstring injury but was ruled out of the second Test starting Saturday after testing positive for COVID-19 on Wednesday soon after the teams arrived in this southern port city from Rawalpindi and underwent testing.

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment