Abu Dhabi: Australia are set to wait until the morning of the second Test to name their XI despite a prediction from the opposition captain that the pitch would play similarly to that witnessed in the first Test in Dubai.
Captain Tim Paine had earlier revealed the tourists were considering playing a third quick – one of Brendan Doggett or Michael Neser – at the expense of left-arm spinner Jon Holland because of the surprising covering of grass on the wicket at Sheikh Zayed Stadium.
Question time: Tim Paine (left) says the Australians are yet to decide on their final line-up for the series decider.Credit:AP
Much of the grass present on Sunday had been trimmed by the time Australia trained at the ground on Monday afternoon, but even still the Australian camp wasn’t ready to name a side, opting to wait until match morning, perhaps with a view to taking another look at how the pitch was progressing.
Grassy decks are not the standard fare in these parts and Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed acknowledged as much when he spoke on Monday, suggesting there wouldn’t be much in it for the seamers, much like in Dubai when Australia batted for more than four sessions to save the Test.
"At the moment it looks like there could be a little bit of moisture on the pitch but almost a full day is still remaining," Sarfraz said.
"If you see tomorrow, the pitch looks like a different pitch. It looks like a similar pitch [to] Dubai."
Paine was leaving his options open.
"We've got some really good options if we do decide to change but if not, we're fully confident in the side that played the last Test as well,” Paine said.
Sarfraz announced that the Pakistanis had made two changes to their 12-man squad. One-day wonder Fakhar Zaman is a chance to make his Test debut after being included to replace opener Imam-ul-haq, who has a broken finger.
Paceman Wahab Riaz has meanwhile been dropped after an ordinary showing in Dubai, replaced in the 12 by uncapped young leg-spinner Shadab Khan.
Left-arm quick Mir Hamza, who was 12th man in the first Test, is also in the mix to play in Abu Dhabi. One option the Pakistanis have would be to promote Azhar Ali up the order to fill the gap left by Imam.
Paine said the Australians had been buoyed by their resistance in Dubai and were eyeing a first series win in Asia since 2011.
"We want to win every series we are involved in," Paine said.
"We are focusing on what we do and if we can do well for five days then we have a really good chance of winning it.
"We are reasonably confident. After the last few days we got a little bit of relief and a little bit of mileage, so we know if we play our best cricket we have got a chance to win this Test match.
"We are coming into this Test with a bit more momentum and guys know what to expect a bit more in these conditions.”
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