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Watch: Pakistan's creative 'marble' strategy to tackle Perth's bounce ahead of 1st Australia Test
Pakistan have devised a very unique and out of the box technique which they feel will help them against Australia.
Pakistan's much-awaited Test series against Australia is yet to begin but the Perth pitch, on which the series opener will be played has already become a hot topic of discussion. Test matches at Perth may not be played at the WACA anymore, but the Optus Stadium has done a good job of matching its predecessor in terms of bounce and pace. Over the years, Perth and bounce have gone hand-in-hand and the first Test is expected to be no different with Pat Cummins set to unleash his pacers against Pakistan's batters.
Hence, in order to tackle the Perth threat, Pakistan have devised a rather unique and innovative method they feel will help them get better equipped to handle what's to come. During Pakistan's net session, the players positioned a slab of marble at the center of the practice pitch and practiced batting off it, with the belief it will enhance their ability to handle seam movement. Mohammad Rizwan, in particular, had the marble tilted at an angle to cope with the ball flying around. The images and a short clip was shared by Louis Cameron, a Cricket Australia journalist, on his X handle.
Whether this will help Pakistan remains to be seen, but this approach goes a long way in highlighting their eagerness to break the jinx down under. Pakistan haven't won a Test match in Australia since 1995 and have endured whitewashes in their last five tours. Australia, meanwhile, have lost only one of their previous 10 Tests against Pakistan – in October of 2018 and won five straight games since. However, one trivia Pakistan would like to gain from is their record in recent away Tests, six wins from seven matches.
But at the same time, Shan Masood and his men would be aware that Pakistan have never played a Test match at Perth's Optus Stadium, in comparison to Australia's undefeated 3-0 record at the venue. Contrary to the docile Canberra surface on which Pakistan played their practice match against an invitational XI and which infuriated team director Mohammad Hafeez, the deck at Perth promises to be nothing like it. With two days to go, the first visuals of the Perth pitch was released, which to be fair, looked different with a lot less grass on it.
"My theory is to have it a little bit harder on top and a little bit less grass and see what impact that has on the game. Grass is pace and bounce. That’s what people are looking for and that's essentially what I'm looking for in a really good long-format wicket," said Australia coach Andrew McDonald.
"You talk to the fast bowlers and batters and it’s a good even contest between bat and ball, anytime there is bounce and pace in the surface. If you get in, there are runs a plenty and if you find the right line and length, there’s reward for you as well. It always creates a fair and even contest. I think the bounce. As you said, the Gabba presents bounce. Perth presents bounce as well. So I think anytime a team, in particular, coming from the subcontinent, is challenged with that first up, it makes hopefully for a slow start for them. Hopefully we can expose them on a bouncy surface. So that is an advantage."
