There is little question that Pakistan can beat Australia, says head coach Hafeez

Pakistan will hope Shaheen Afridi can bowl himself again into type and his batting team-mates can rebuild confidence in a two-day tour match earlier than attempting to save lots of the check collection towards Australia in Melbourne.

Shan Masood’s group was trounced by 360 runs within the opener in Perth on Sunday, falling to a fifteenth check defeat in succession on Australian soil.

While the house facet will take pleasure in an prolonged break and light-weight preparations earlier than the standard ‘Boxing Day’ check on the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Pakistan will attempt to construct momentum in a follow match towards a Victorian XI from Friday.

The hastily-arranged contest was not a part of the unique schedule, nor will it have top notch standing, however Pakistan wants additional outing within the center, coach Mohammad Hafeez stated.

Down on tempo and managing solely two wickets in Perth, spearhead Afridi was upstaged by debutant seamers Khurram Shahzad and Aamer Jamal, who had 12 dismissals between them.

On a treacherous pitch, Pakistan’s batsmen completed off a forgettable check by being skittled for 89 in its second innings.

“Well, we couldn’t execute our skills well,” stated coach Mohammad Hafeez.

“We made plans for the team, but unfortunately we couldn’t execute them well. That’s not an excuse. The guys wanted to, but they never applied themselves, to be very honest.”

Pakistan will hope the pitch on the Junction Oval might be much like the one offered on the MCG, having performed its first tour match on a tepid deck in Canberra – hardly the most effective preparation for Perth’s quick and bouncy wicket.

The group is anticipated to face a number of Australians with check expertise, together with Victoria skipper Peter Handscomb, opener Marcus Harris and Will Pucovski.

Pakistan selectors could also be grateful to have a specialist spinner accessible, with none match for the Perth check. Left-arm spinner Noman Ali is again within the combine after recovering from a lower finger.

Without larger contributions from their senior gamers – Masood and Babar Azam amongst them – Pakistan could wrestle to stop the dropping streak from stretching to 16 in Melbourne, for all of Hafeez’s combating phrases.

“I’ve seen during the preparation the amount of talent these guys have,” stated the coach.

“There is no doubt they can beat Australia here in Australia.”