Australia’s former captain Mark Taylor has been quoted as saying that the Pakistani side has the wrong attitude against Australia. Pakistan lost their opening test match against Australia by an innings and 5 runs. Since 1999, the national team has lost 13 consecutive matches down under, setting a losing record.
Most consecutive Test losses in one country:
- 13* – Pakistan in Australia (1999-2019)
- 13 – Bangladesh in Bangladesh (2001-2004)
- 9 – India in Australia (1948-1977)
- 9 – West Indies in Australia (2000-2009)
- 9* – Bangladesh in New Zealand (2001-2019)
Mark Taylor has also criticized the bowling side. “It was a very ordinary Pakistan attack, there is no doubt about that,” Taylor told Macquarie Sports Radio in Australia.
Commenting on pace bowler Mohammad Abbas’s wicketless performance in the second test in Adelaide, Taylor stated:
“It’s not so much he’s down on pace. He’s down on length. He’s too short. Too short for way too long today. I know he’s not the most experienced bloke around, but he’s played enough Test cricket to know you’ve got to bowl fuller than that.”
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Taylor has also made a jab at the Pakistan team’s leadership saying, “You need a strong side with a strong leader to overcome that.”
Leadership Problems?
Pakistan captain Azhar Ali’s own record was beaten by opener David Warner who smashed an unbeaten 335. Mark Taylor and tens of thousands of fans stood and applauded his endeavors while Pakistani fans both at home and abroad lamented the failure of their team.
Another former Australian great, Ricky Ponting, has also expressed his sympathy for Azhar Ali.
“I absolutely feel sorry for him. Even the fact they debuted a 16-year-old (Naseem Shah) in Brisbane and they couldn’t use him properly for whatever reason, and he’s not playing this game. And he just doesn’t look like he’s got the cattle in that bowling group to make any sort of inroads at all.”
Perhaps Taylor was pointing at Azhar Ali’s statement before touring Australia that “it is never easy and it will be a challenge for all the batsmen.” That mentality and the pressure of decades of loss could be a huge obstacle for the young team to deal with.
Pakistan lost their opening match against Australia by an innings and 5 runs. They ended Day 2 of the excruciating second test on a 493-run trail with 96-6.
