+x+xAgain, thanks for posting this, Paddles.
Coming all this way for three T20s is ludicrous. Why a couple of Tests could not been thrown in is baffling. Australia is touring Sth Africa and England purely for a handful of pyjama stuff. This is superfluous. These nations need to prep for the WC on our pitches like the Lankans are. What earthly good is it preping on theirs.
I honestly dont much care for tests against the pakis. Prefer a five tester against the Black Caps instead.
Yeah, it does seem a lil odd. One of the real benefits, though, is the additional PM XI game Aus gets. With "three tourists" this summer, your young lads in the PM XI, CA XI, and Aus A XI will get a number of opportunities this season. But everyone wants that WT20 warm up, and have tried to fit them in all over the show. It is my least preferred format, but, it is nice seeing the entire game in the evening.
Pakistan have drawn their last 2 series in England, but they have been smashed in NZ. SA games were closer, but they lost to smart SA non spinner selection policy on pitches which offered the spinners nothing, but were bouncy for the seamers. I really want to see how Abbas goes in Aus, and Shaheen Afridi is one to watch the development of. Afridi is no superstar yet, nor prolly will ever be, but he just a 19yo kid, and a left armer, and just looks to be possibly developing into a quality bowler. Hasan Ali will presumably be the old ball bowler, and he does a daft wicket taking dance.
Their batting is improving. They still have Inzi's nephew taking up a spot, and they keep leaving out proven test talented players like Sohail and give Faekhar less chances despite better initial results than Inzi's nephew. Because Pakistan selectors just love to bewilder the global and their own local fans. Pakistan cricket politics is no secret.
I expect Aus to win this test series easily, but there is still a lot about Pakistan to enjoy watching. Will Babar ever find his red ball feet?
The two constants about Pakistan, they will field horribly as they are still the worst in the world at fielding, besides that, you never know what you'll get away from the UAE. Session by session, they are cricket's most unpredictable team ever. I expect them to lose, but they could be well worth watching, nevertheless.
I gotta be honest, by CA standards this is not a good summer for cricket. But SA will not tour over Xmas regardless, and 1 in 4 years, this kind of summer will happen cos you get a SA tour, India tour and England tour every 4 years. Its another reason we need to grow the test game to the likes of China, Canada and USA, and make our existing nations stronger. Remember when the WI were exciting and dominant? I know you do. And you remember when NZ had Hadlee and toured in 85/86 and 87/88. And the crowds were massive. This is why growing the game with a global focus is so crucial, cos you don't want quiet summers like this. I'm sure it will be billed as Smith vs Williamson, to try and drum up some attention, but many Aussie cricket fans don't really want this summer. They really want another pop at India at home, with Smith back, and some more Ashes. This summer could have been worse, though. Normally this is your WI Xmas tour...
These Pak and NZ teams will not pull huge crowds in Aus. I hate watching NZ play in empty Aus stadiums. The Pak team might have more expats in the crowds than Aussies. The Perth test vs NZ should be okay as its a day/nighter, and the Perth cricket people are still enjoying the novelty of it as it is their first day night test there. For the remainder, it just won't bar all the Kiwi ex-pats and those heading over for Boxing Day and New Years. Even then it could be one of your worst Boxing Day and New Years tests crowds. It really comes down to how many Kiwis attend (which could be any number really).
Will Adelaide turn up for the Pak day/night test? I have my doubts. I expect Brisbane to be half empty, more than.