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Pakistan and Australia learn from the first Test

The two teams' coaches hold forth on the lessons from the game

Alex Bowden
30-Oct-2014
"Look, the result may have not gone our way, but we had a good outcome"  •  Getty Images

"Look, the result may have not gone our way, but we had a good outcome"  •  Getty Images

After a Test match, it's time to take stock. Whether you've won or lost, there are conclusions to be drawn and lessons to be learnt. Compare and contrast the coaches' reactions to Pakistan's victory over Australia in the first Test.

Batting

Darren Lehmann: We got a lot of things right, but if there was one weakness, it was in how we played straight balls. We have got to get better at playing straight balls. Instead of playing for the turn, we have to play for what the ball actually does. Some of the batsmen also played for the short-pitched delivery when it was full, and for a full toss when it was short. I actually suspect that several of them even played for swing against the spinners. These are the kinds of mistakes we need to eradicate. We need to play the ball according to what it actually does in real life - even if it basically does nothing.
Waqar Younis: There is much to be pleased about. Younis Khan made two hundreds and so clearly his preparation was optimal. As such, everyone else has been dropped from the one-day side. They should feel greatly disheartened by this and will hopefully make grand statements about how the selectors shouldn't pick them for the next Test. That's how you prepare.

Pace bowling

Lehmann: We brought Mitchell Marsh in at least partly because he brought velocity to the side. This Australia team is all about velocity. Velocity and aggression and an attacking brand of cricket. When it's slow going and wickets don't fall in clusters, we just need to bring even more velocity, even more aggression, and be even more attacking. That's the Australian way and the Australian way is a successful one, even if we lost.
Waqar: We've heard a rumour there's a Pakistani bloke in the area called Wasim Akram. He's a labourer, not a cricketer, but following Imran Khan's success, nomenclature is one of the key attributes we're looking for.

Spin bowling

Lehmann: I'm quite happy with how the spinners went. Steve O'Keefe, it was his debut. He's going to be nervous. He's going to take a while to adapt. Nathan Lyon's not as experienced as people think either. I thought he learnt a lot as the match went on and he'll be stronger for the next Test. It takes years to learn the art of spin bowling - that's what people forget.
Waqar: We were without all our main spinners, so we plucked two out at random and we won by a huge margin. It's clearly the way forward. As such, both Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah are dropped and we're going to call up two completely inexperienced bowlers to replace them. Truth be told, we aren't that bothered whether the players in question are spin bowlers or even bowlers at all. The bus driver said he fancied a game, so he's almost certainly in, and then the second spinner… Look, I'll be honest, I'm quite tempted to pick no one and play with ten men. We're working on the theory that the strength of our bowling attack is inversely proportional to the number of Tests they've played, so picking no one at all is a good way of exploiting that.

Alex Bowden blogs at King Cricket