Features

The Australian team performance head's swift review of the UAE debacle is an example of cricket borrowing ideas from rugby

Pakistan's 2-0 series sweep over Australia was forged by players who came in either struggling or with a point to prove, and ended as stars

Even as Australia come to terms with 2-0 series loss to Pakistan, the wheels of change are slowly turning in the Sheffield Shield, reshaping old methods and ideas to meet the new realities of international cricket

Australia's aggression backfired spectacularly in the UAE but they do not seem ready to learn the lessons of their travel bagging

Stats highlights from the fifth day of the second Test between Australia and Pakistan at Abu Dhabi

Misbah-ul-Haq gives the impression of constantly being on the verge of doing something out of the ordinary, and on Sunday he did just that; he let go of all the self-restraint he has shown over the years and hit the hundred he knew he could hit

The numbers confirm that this is Australia's worst bowling performance in their 137-year Test history. By a huge margin.

Stats highlights from a day dominated by Misbah-ul-Haq, in Abu Dhabi

Stats highlights from the third day of the second Test between Australia and Pakistan, in Abu Dhabi

As Australia's innings rattled to another early finish, the newest member of the side proved he has the maturity for Test cricket

Victory in the Abu Dhabi Test may not be on the cards but Australia's batsman have the opportunity to show that they can adapt to slow conditions by learning from Younis Khan's innings

Stats highlights from the second day of the second Test between Australia and Pakistan at Abu Dhabi

Azhar Ali's hundred helped Pakistan boss over Australia on the opening day of the second Test but, more importantly, it showed that he was focused on ensuring his starts were not wasted

Australia gambled with their XI, Clarke set some unconventional fields, but the result remained the same - another day of Pakistan domination

Stats highlights at the end of the first day of the second Test between Australia and Pakistan at Abu Dhabi

From Australia's lead spinner and No. 8, Steven Smith has steadily risen up the batting ranks to become one of the central figures in their line-up, and arguably their most comfortable player of spin

The offspinner was Australia's highest wicket-taker in 2013, but his form has dipped sharply this year

Zulfiqar Babar missed five seasons between his first two first-class matches, and was 34 when he finally made his Test debut, but he is quickly making up for all the lost time with his artful left-arm spin

When a team loses its best bowler, it is expected that the team's performance will suffer. As usual, Pakistan defied the expectations

Stats highlights at the end of the fifth day of the first Test between Australia and Pakistan at Dubai