Pakistan players acclimatised to the Australian conditions in the four-day warm-up game against Prime Ministers XI last week. However, as per Pakistan’s Director of Cricket Mohammad Hafeez was not happy with Cricket Australia providing a slow pitch at Manuka Oval, Canberra instead of the usual pitches that favour the pacers.
"That was the slowest pitch a visiting team could ever play on in Australia," Hafeez told the reporters in Perth. "As a team we are really happy with our preparations because we ticked most of the boxes.
"Everyone knew (about the pitch in Canberra), so there was no point of saying it again and again and raising the issue with Cricket Australia. The disappointment was really high because we weren't expecting these kinds of arrangements. Maybe it's tactical but we're ready for it. We're not using it as an excuse, we're absolutely ready for the challenges coming up."
In the warm-up game, Masood stood out of the lot as he scored an unbeaten double century while no other batter could score a half-century. Hafeez said that Masood fits well into the captaincy role having done it for his County sides Derbyshire and Yorkshire. He backed the left-handed to do well in the Test series starting December 14.
"For me, seeing Shan become captain is no surprise. He was always ready for this role, and when you get this sort of opportunity, it shines. He's a superb player, and as a leader, he's got a great rapport with the players and a great relationship with the whole team. His experience as a captain and what he's learned over the years, especially the couple of years he's played county cricket...his management skills have come to the fore even more. What's important is this is a confident unit that's here and Shan is playing his role very well,” the 43-year-old said.
In the absence of Haris Rauf and an injured Naseem Shah, Pakistan's bowling attack looks inexperienced. But Hafeez is confident of the team performing well in the coming few weeks.
"This Test team is very settled. They've all done a great job for Pakistan cricket. Everyone is excited to take the challenge. Performing in Australia would be great for them. We are here to beat Australia, not just to compete. As a team, we believe we have great talent within the team who can win in Australia. The guys are really hungry to perform in Australia. They wanted to take that excitement and challenge in the right spirit. The message the team conveyed is that they want to beat Australia this time, he added.
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