The Chairman of the Pakistan Management Committee, Zaka Ashraf, held a meeting with the national cricket squad on Saturday before the third and final test against Australia. Australia had already won the first two matches, including the recent Boxing Day Test at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, which they won by 79 runs, securing an unassailable 2-0 lead in the three-match series.
The Chief Executive Officer, Salman Naseer, was also present at the meeting with the Pakistan team. During the Melbourne Test, Zaka Ashraf commended the players’ fighting attitude, which boosted their morale ahead of the final test. He emphasized the importance of motivating the younger players in particular.
At the meeting, Team Director Mohammad Hafeez told Ashraf that the team should have been transported to Australia at least three weeks before the first Test to be in sync with the tough conditions. He also stressed the importance of improving the domestic cricket setup and suggested that a longer camp would have been more appropriate for the team.
Pakistan captain Shan Masood informed Zaka Ashraf and Salman Naseer that certain players had complained about not being compensated for domestic matches. He emphasized the importance of resolving this issue and stated that everyone had been compensated.
In the Boxing Day Test, Pakistan had pushed towards the target of 317 runs with a partnership between Salman Ali Agha and Mohammad Rizwan. However, the final five wickets were lost for 18 runs in 40 balls once Rizwan departed.
Despite all of their mistakes and some crucial marginal umpire decisions in Australia’s favour, Pakistan were in a better position by the evening of the fourth day than it had been during the Test. The fact that they fell short by only 79 runs in a game in which they made so many unforced errors will make this a difficult defeat to swallow. This was Pakistan’s best chance of winning a Test match in Australia since 2010.
Pakistan’s chances of qualifying for the 2021 and 2023 World Test Championship Finals were dashed, despite having some great red-ball cricketers in their squad. Babar Azam and his team have finished outside the Top 2 in both WTC cycles played thus far and started the 2023-25 cycle with a two-match series win over Sri Lanka but lost back-to-back matches against Australia in unfamiliar conditions.
