October 03 Thursday 2002
Pakistan bank on spin to plot an Aussie coup

COLOMBO: Under-strength Pakistan will be guided by the success of their Asian rivals India and Sri Lanka as they attempt to spin out Australia in the first Test starting here on Thursday.

Both India and Sri Lanka used spin to defeat the world champions in their previous home series, and Pakistan hope the Australians will be equally vulnerable against wily off-spinner Saqlain Mushtaq and leggie Danish Kaneria.

Both slow bowlers will take the field even on the damp Tamil Union ground wicket with captain Waqar Younis sharing the new ball with speed king Shoaib Akhtar and all-rounder Abdul Razzaq. 

Younis has not forgotten that Australia crumbled for 162 against Sri Lanka in the Champions Trophy one-day semi-final here last week with Muttiah Muralitharan and his spinning partners picking up seven wickets.

"I believe the wicket will dry out giving both Saqlain and Kaneria a chance," said Younis. "If there is a chink in Australia's armour, it is spin." 

Pakistan are more worried about their depleted batting resources in the absence of the seasoned trio of Saeed Anwar, Inzamam-ul Haq and Yousuf Youhana.

Anwar, like Wasim Akram, opted out of the series for unspecified reasons, while both Inzamam and Youhana were sidelined with injuries. 

That has left newly-appointed vice-captain Younis Khan the most experienced batsman in the side and he has played only 20 Tests. None of the other specialist batsmen have played more than six. 

Left-handed Taufiq Umar will open the batting with either Imran Nazir or Imran Farhat with Misbah-ul Haq, who has played just one Test, and Hasan Raza, who has played two, expected to shoulder the middle-order.

Pakistan could miss the hard-hitting batting and leg-spin bowling of Shahid Afridi, who was surprisingly axed by the selectors after the Champions Trophy.

Its the gaping hole in the middle that Australia's dreaded pace attack, led by Glenn McGrath, will exploit in the hope of gaining the early advantage in the three-Test series.

"There is a lot of pressure on the young ones coming into Test cricket," said McGrath, the spearhead with 389 Test wickets.

"If we get on top of them early, we may keep them down for the whole series."

But the battle-hardened Aussies were wary of Pakistan's uncanny ability to bounce back when least expected.

"When they are going well, they are really going well, but when they are going bad, they are really going bad," McGrath said.

"There's no middle ground which makes them quite a dangerous team." 

Australia's bid to sweep the series could be thwarted by uncertain weather, that ruined the two finals of the Champions Trophy between India and Sri Lanka on Sunday and Monday.

The late arrival of the monsoon means that rain is usually around the corner. A heavy downpour on Wednesday morning warned teams they may have to keep one eye on the skies.

The series was shifted to neutral venues in Colombo and Sharjah after Australia declined to tour Pakistan due to security concerns. 

Australia (from): Steve Waugh (capt), Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting, Mark Waugh, Damien Martyn, Darren Lehmann, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Nathan Hauritz, Brett Lee, Jason Gillespie, Glenn McGrath, Andrew Bichel.

Pakistan (from): Waqar Younis (capt), Taufiq Umar, Imran Nazir, Imran Farhat, Younis Khan, Misbah-ul Haq, Hasan Raza, Faisal Iqbal, Abdul Razzaq, Rashid Latif, Shoaib Akhtar, Saqlain Mushtaq, Danish Kaneria, Mohammmad Sami, Mohammad Zahid, Rana Naveed-ul Hasan. 

Umpires: Steve Bucknor (West Indies) and Srinivas Venkataraghvan (India). Match referee: Clive Lloyd (West Indies).