PERTH: Pakistan Men’s Team director Mohammad Hafeez on Monday expressed his disappointment over the slow wicket in Canberra for Pakistan’s four-day practice match against the Australian Prime Minister’s XI.
The four-day match was played at Manuka Oval last week and ended in a draw after the last day was called off due to bad weather.
Addressing the media after Pakistan’s first practice session in Perth, Hafeez said, “I was surprised and disappointed at the four-day match surface offered at Canberra. It was a slow wicket that might be part of Australia’s strategy, but we are still fully ready for the series.”
Hafeez also stated that the Pakistan team is ready for the Test series challenge against Australia and vowed that they are not here to compete but to beat Australia.
Hafeez stated, “This Pakistan Test team is well settled and they have done well for the country in the past. It is heartening to see that these guys are excited to take on challenges and doing well in Australia will be a top priority.”
On the excitement to face Australia, Hafeez expressed confidence in beating the home team and said that Pakistan have enough talent to do that.
“We have ticked most of the boxes in our training. Everyone on the team is excited to showcase their ability and eager to win. Unfortunately, Abrar Ahmed is unfit but everyone else is fit and ready to take on Australia.”
Hafeez also talked about Nathan Lyon’s return to Australia’s Test team.
“Lyon is a great bowler. He has won Test matches for his team but we generally play off-spin well and we have scored a lot of runs against him in the last few series. I hope our batters will do well against him in this series as well.”
The first Test match between Pakistan and Australia will start at Perth Stadium on 14 December.
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