DUBAI: Australia’s new vice-captain Josh Hazlewood has questioned Pakistan’s decision to field an ‘A’ team against the Australians without a specialist spinner, a move that has the pace ace believing the hosts might be “scared” ahead of the two-Test series.
In their sole tour match before the first Test begins in Dubai on Sunday, Australia on Tuesday declared their first innings on 4-494 from a whopping 170 overs.
While the Pakistan A pace attack had international experience in Rahat Ali and Wahab Riaz, there was no frontline spinner in the XI, meaning the slow bowling duties were left to part-timers Iftikhar Ahmed and Asad Shafiq.
In a series that is expected to be dominated by spin, Pakistan named three spinners in their initial Test squad and then added a fourth option in the form of veteran all-rounder Mohammad Hafeez.
“I think you can look at it a couple of ways,” Hazlewood told Cricket Australia’s (CA) website on Tuesday.
“Maybe they’re a little bit on the shy, timid side by not playing a spinner and they’re trying to hide them obviously from us and go down that road,” he said.
“But I think if you were them, you’d play nearly your best spinners and try to bowl us out twice and create some doubt in our batsmen’s minds that way. They’re maybe a little bit scared, not trying to show us any spin but we’re going to face a lot of (spinners) in the nets.”
Without the threat of a full-time spinner, Australia’s batsmen filled their boots at the ICC Academy ground.
Pakistan A won toss
Pakistan A 1st Innings 278 all out (Abid Ali 85, Nathan Lyon 8-103)
Australia 1st Innings
U Khawaja c Asad b Iftikhar 36
A Finch c Rizwan b Waqas 54
S Marsh b Iftikhar 94
M Marsh c Asad b Waqas 162
T Head not out 90
M Labuschagne not out 39
Extras (b 4, lb 12, nb 3) 19
Total (4 wickets, 170 overs) 494 dec
Yet to bat: *†T Paine, M Neser, M Starc, N Lyon, J Holland, M Renshaw, B Doggett, A Agar, P Siddle
Fall: 1-82, 2-104, 3-311, 4-417
Bowling: Rahat 22-2-73-0; Waqas 24-6-66-2; Wahab 19-3-41-0 (nb 2); Iftikhar 65-17-149-2 (nb 1); Asad 33-3-128-0; Shan 7-0-21-0
Pakistan A 2nd Innings
Shan Masood c S Marsh b Holland 41
Sami Aslam c Head b Neser 12
Abid Ali c Labuschagne b Lyon 52
*Asad Shafiq c Paine b Holland 69
Iftikhar Ahmed st Paine b Holland 45
Usman Salahuddin c Finch b Holland 4
Saad Ali c Paine b Holland 5
†Mohammad Rizwan not out 8
Wahab Riaz not out 2
Extras (b 12, lb 11) 23
Total (7 wickets, 85 Overs) 261
Yet to bat: Waqas Maqsood, Rahat Ali, Saud Shakeel, Aamer Yamin, Umaid Asif, Agha Sabir
Fall: 1-53, 2-55, 3-139, 4-213, 5-235, 6-248, 7-257
Bowling: Starc 10-2-34-0; Lyon 20-1-54-1; Neser 12-2-30-1; Holland 25-6-79-5; M Marsh 10-1-19-0; Labuschagne 7-0-20-0; Head 1-0-2-0
Result: Match drawn
Umpires: Shozab Raza and Ahsan Raza (Pakistan)
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