Category Uncategorized

Despite a winless tour, Zimbabwe have generally committed themselves admirably in South Africa – the Benoni debacle aside – and team captain Elton Chigumbura insisted that the experience of playing top-level opponents would be helpful as Zimbabwe seek to

Liam Brickhill in Benoni22-Oct-2010Despite a winless tour, Zimbabwe have generally committed themselves admirably in South Africa – the Benoni debacle aside – and team captain Elton Chigumbura insisted that the experience of playing top-level opponents would be helpful as Zimbabwe seek to continue their development.”It’s been a positive series for us, despite the results, especially on the batting front,” Chigumbura told ESPNcricinfo. “Today was just a bad day for us all round. But for the tour as a whole, it’s been a positive thing for us because now we know where we are.”Zimbabwe may well have pushed South Africa a little harder had Chigumbura been in better form, but he struggled with both bat and ball in the one-dayers, managing 37 runs in three innings and picking up just two wickets for 129 runs in 16 overs. His struggles with the ball, in particular, contributed to a wider malaise in Zimbabwe’s bowling and the visitors’ seamers struggled to make an impression.”There’s plenty of room for improvement, especially in our bowling,” conceded Chigumbura. “We just need to get our skills to the top level, which has been the biggest let-down of the whole tour. We still have lots of work to do when it comes to control in our bowling. We are alright in the field, but our execution with the ball is where we’re not getting it right.”Chigumbura suggested that a preponderance of flat, batsman-friendly wickets had exposed Zimbabwe’s frailties rather more harshly than might have been the case if conditions had been more suited to seam and swing. “That’s the big difference,” he said.”If you play on flat wickets your margin of error is so small, and that’s when your real skills come into play. Our skills on flat wickets are not yet where we want them to be, and that’s something we need to work on with the World Cup coming up in the subcontinent and our tour to Bangladesh.”Zimbabwe’s next assignment is a trip to Bangladesh. Although the fixture list has not yet been finalised, the tour will give them vital experience in conditions similar to what they’ll encounter at the World Cup in February.”It’s going to be good to be playing Bangladesh in their sort of conditions. In a way it was also good to play against top level opposition on flat decks here, so hopefully when we go to Bangladesh our skill level will have gone up and we’ll have a better understanding of the importance of control in our bowling. I have been following their series against New Zealand, they’ve been playing very well. You know what to expect from them – they’re going to use their spinners to attack – so when we go home we’re going to be working on playing spin and also on our bowling. But our batting is good at the moment.”A noticeable omission from Zimbabwe’s squad on this tour was that of Ray Price. Since Zimbabwe’s series against Bangladesh in January last year, Price has picked up 49 wickets at just 25.46 – and that average drops to 23.73 in the 17 games Zimbabwe have won in that time – and Chigumbura suggested his absence had been keenly felt.”We missed Ray price on this tour. Pricey plays a really big role in the team. Unfortunately his father isn’t well so he wasn’t with us this time, but hopefully when we go to Bangladesh he’ll be with us and he’ll help a great deal on the bowling side.”

A round-up of the second day’s games of the HRV Cup

Cricinfo staff03-Jan-2010Northern Districts, who had opened their account in the tournament with a win on Saturday, were beaten by six wickets by Otago in Mount Maunganui.They started in encouraging fashion after batting first, with the openers adding a quick 21. Despite losing Daniel Vettori, opener BJ Watling and Daniel Flynn put together a further 43 at a brisk pace to provide a foundation for the others to build on. But the next five wickets fell for 29 – Neil Broom and Nick Beard grabbed two wickets each – and dented the possibility of a challenging total. Anton Devcich provided some late fireworks, lifting his side to 137, but Otago, despite a few early hiccups, overcame them relatively comfortably.Tim Southee gave ND a realistic chance, taking three early wickets with just 28 on the board. But brothers Brendon and Nathan McCullum lent some stability to the innings with a 42-run stand, and Nathan combined with Ian Butler, who smashed a 21-ball 36, in an unbeaten 70-run stand to seal victory with seven balls to spare.Central Districts prevailed over Wellington in a high-scoring encounter in New Plymouth. Asked to bat, the CD openers went about their task in attacking fashion, with Peter Ingram (70) and captain Jamie How (37) adding 81 in less than eight overs. Unlike ND, who, in their game, had squandered a good start, the CD batsmen consolidated what their openers had set up. Ross Taylor took the mantle, blasting a 25-ball 47 which included three fours and four sixes, and was involved in a 75-run association with Ingram, whose half-century was laced with nine boundaries and one hit over the fence. A late surge from England import Graham Napier propelled CD to 208, which they were able to successfully defend.They key for CD was to take early wickets, and they did so, knocking off three wickets for 47. Opener Neal Parlane held firm with 69 and continued to be aggressive despite the loss of partners at the other end, and found good company in James Franklin, who contributed 47. The pair revived Wellington, adding 73, but Parlane’s dismissal proved decisive in the outcome. Napier was the star with the ball, conceding just 22 in his quota of four overs and picking up three wickets to help his team to a 19-run win.

MatériaMais Notícias

O Santos derrotou o Botafogo-SP por 2 a 0, na noite desta segunda-feira, pelo Campeonato Paulista. Em entrevista coletiva após a partida na Vila Belmiro, o técnico Jesualdo Ferreira fez questão de exaltar a evolução de seus jogadores com o seu comando. Ele admitiu que ainda há pontos a serem melhorados, mas mirou como objetivo fazer a equipe virar especial.

– Gradualmente vamos crescendo como equipe, encontrando soluções táticas que vão nos garantir maior estabilidade e consistência. Conseguimos controlar o jogo ofensivo do adversário. Temos que compreender que não é fácil criar espaço contra equipes que jogam com dez jogadores atrás da bola. Já conseguimos ser uma equipe mais organizada, mais consistente, com um ritmo mais seguro, sem dar chances ao adversário. Temos que começar a finalizar melhor, mas tudo ainda está no início do trabalho. Ninguém consegue fazer grandes equipes, e os jogadores estarem em forma, com quatro semanas de trabalho – afirmou, completando:

CLIQUE AQUI PARA CONFERIR E SIMULAR A TABELA DA COMPETIÇÃO

RelacionadasFutebol NacionalSem dificuldades e na chuva, Santos vence o Botafogo-SP pelo PaulistaFutebol Nacional10/02/2020SantosRenato ‘abençoa’ nova camisa de Jobson no Santos: ‘Seja feliz’Santos10/02/2020SantosApós vitória do Santos, Sasha diz que equipe de Jesualdo evolui aos poucosSantos10/02/2020

– Não temos dois meses de trabalho, portanto, da minha experiência, nenhuma equipe, mesmo as da Europa, conseguem entrar na primeira fase da Liga dos Campeões em níveis de poder dizer que chegamos a um bom estágio de preparação. Espero estar melhor do que estamos hoje, mas a equipe ainda tem muito para evoluir. São seis jogos, qualquer ponto perdido é difícil de recuperar. São seis jogos especiais, então temos que ser uma equipe especial.

Com o resultado, o Santos chegou a dez pontos, na liderança isolada do Grupo A do Campeonato Paulista. Pela competição, volta a campo no domingo, quando visita a Ferroviária. A situação no Estadual está confortável, o que possibilita já comentários sobre a Conmebol Libertadores – o Peixe estreia no dia 3 de março, contra o Defensa y Justicia, da Argentina. Jesualdo Ferreira comentou sobre as expectativas da evolução da equipe até a primeira partida no torneio sul-americano.

– Eu espero que até a Libertadores a equipe atinja os níveis físicos que estamos trabalhando. Espero que, taticamente, seja uma equipe que se entenda melhor nos dois momentos do jogo, o da posse e o defensivo. Temos que melhorar muito nossa subida agressiva para defender, no momento que não conseguimos recuperar, ainda abaixamos um pouco – finalizou o treinador português.

Tabraiz Shamsi’s match haul of 12 for 173 and centuries from Dean Elgar (130) and Qaasim Adams (167) in the first innings lifted Titans to an eight-wicket win over Warriors, a result that helped stretch their lead at the top of the table.Titans were set 140 to chase in the final innings, a target they overhauled inside 30 overs thanks to tournament top-scorer Heino Kuhn’s 67, after rain washed out the first session of the final day.After choosing to bat, Warriors found themselves in trouble at 78 for 4 before Somila Seyibokwe (101) and Kelly Smuts (67) combined to add 157 for the fifth wicket to take their side past 200. Shamsi, however, hit back by taking the last seven wickets of the innings to restrict Warriors to 282, finishing with figures of 7 for 93.Titans’ strong response of 399 was built on Elgar and Adams’ 176-run fifth-wicket stand, after being reduced to 95 for 4. After Elgar fell for 130, Adams carried on to make his career-best score of 167, stringing together vital lower-order partnerships that took Titans close to 400. No other batsman managed a score more than 23.Shamsi came to the fore in the second innings as well by cutting through Warriors’ top order. Colin Ackermann’s 72 was the only score of note as Shamsi and Marchant de Lange (3 for 69) left Warriors reeling at 181 for 7. Gihahn Cloete and Sisanda Magala then combined to add a crucial 65-run stand for the eighth wicket, helping Warriors reach 256.A fine all-round performance by Werner Coetsee in the first innings and a patient half-century from Pite van Biljon in the second set up Knights‘ three-wicket win against Cape Cobras in Bloemfontein.In the first innings, the bowlers cut through the Cobras top order, reducing them to 146 for 6. Dane Vilas, then made a counter-attacking 157 to help his side overcome the early wobble and cross 300. He found good support from Dane Piedt (44) as the pair added 132 for the seventh wicket. Coetsee was the pick of Knights’ bowlers, producing returns of 4 for 62.In response, Knights also suffered a top-order collapse that saw them reeling at 104 for 6. Coetsee then took charge of his side’s innings with a steady 149 that helped Knights secure a 35-run lead. He was helped by lower-order contributions from Corne Dry and Malusi Siboto who made 40 and 44 respectively. Shadley van Schalkwyk also chipped in with 35 at No.8. Piedt picked up figures of 5 for 106.Inspite of captain Omphile Ramela’s 109 and fifties from Andrew Puttick (64) and Justin Ontong (57), Knights dealt the Cobras regular blows to keep them to 291. Puttick and Ramela shared a 165-run stand for the second wicket after opener Simon Khomari fell for a duck in the first over. Duanne Olivier and van Schalkwyk then went about mopping up the lower order to help set their side a target of 257.In their chase, Knights were wobbly at 113 for 4 before van Biljon helped the Knights home with three wickets in hand, on the final day.A final day washout meant that Lions had to settle for a draw against Dolphins at the City Oval in Pietermaritzburg.After opting to bat, Lions had piled up an imposing 516 for 5 before declaring, on the back of centuries from Dominic Hendricks (167) and Rassie van der Dussen(130) . Opener Stephen Cook (70) and Temba Bavuma (94) played the support roles with half-centuries, before Lions declared on the second day.Lions’ bowlers built on their batsmen’s strong performance by reducing Dolphins to 126 for 5. Imraan Khan (64), Daryn Smit (88) and 44 from Keshav Maharaj helped Dolphins reach 259 for 9 at the end of the third day.

سخر يورجن كلوب، مدرب فريق ليفربول، من رفض الثنائي مويسيس كايسيدو وروميو لافيا، الانضمام إلى النادي الإنجليزي، حيث فضلا الانتقال إلى تشيلسي في الصيف.

وكان ليفربول يسعى إلى الحصول على خدمات لاعب وسط جديد في موسم الانتقالات الصيفي الماضي.

وارتبط ليفربول بالثنائي مويسيس كايسيدو ورميو لافيا، حيث كان قريبًا من إبرام الصفقتين، قبل أن يتدخل تشيلسي حيث قرر اللاعبان الانتقال إلى “ستامفورد بريدج” مقابل أرقام قياسية.

ورغم ذلك، فإن تشيلسي يعاني في الموسم الحالي من الدوري الإنجليزي حيث يحتل حاليًا المركز الثاني عشر بعد خوض 16 مباراة.

وقال كلوب في تصريحات نشرتها صحيفة “مترو” الإنجليزية: “لقد قضينا الصيف مع حدوث بعض الأشياء الغريبة في سوق الانتقالات، لكن هنا بيننا أستطيع أن أقول (يا إلهي، كنا محظوظين)”.

وأضاف: “لم نكن نعلم ذلك في تلك اللحظة، بصراحة، لم أدرك ذلك في ذلك الوقت، لكنني سعيد حقًا أن الأمر سار على هذا النحو، أنت لا تعرف أبدًا ما إذا كان الأمر سينجح بهذه الطريقة”.

اقرأ أيضًا.. ليفربول يتعرض لضربة موجعة قبل مواجهة مانشستر يونايتد في الدوري الإنجليزي

وواصل: “كان لدي شعور جيد للغاية قبل أن نبدأ الموسم التحضيري، كان لدينا بالفعل أليستر وسوبوسلاي، ثم علمنا أن هناك فرصة لضم جرافنبرخ، ثم أدركنا بوضوح أن لاعبي خط الوسط الآخرين في قلب الدفاع لا يريدون الانضمام إلى ليفربول، نعم، ترى ما سيحدث”.

وأردف: “ثم وجدنا واتارو إندو، إنه لاعب استثنائي، إنه كذلك بالتأكيد، إنه يبلغ من العمر 30 عامًا، ويتمتع بالخبرة، وقائد اليابان”.

واستكمل: “بالتأكيد لم يكن إندو الاختيار الأول لأن سوق الانتقالات هكذا، نحن لا نختار لاعبًا يبلغ من العمر 30 عامًا يلعب في ألمانيا، في فريق هبط، لكن نحمد الله حيث بحثنا في الأمور مرتين وألقينا نظرة أعمق وحصلنا على هذا الصبي، وأراد أن يأتي بالتأكيد وهذا يساعد”.

واستمر: “الآن لدينا فريق معًا، مجموعة قادة جدد، مع لاعبين ذوي خبرة كبيرة، ولا يزال بعضهم صغارًا، إنها مجموعة مليئة بالرغبة والعاطفة والتي ستعطي كل شيء لهذا النادي”.

واختتم يورجن كلوب تصريحاته: “هذه هي البداية والآن علينا أن نحاول تحقيق شيء مميز”.

India took their winning streak in World Cup matches to nine, and also maintained their record of bowling oppositions out in this World Cup

The Report by Sidharth Monga10-Mar-2015
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details
Ireland have already scalped West Indies and Zimbabwe in this World Cup•Getty ImagesIndia confirmed the top spot in their group, took their winning streak in World Cup matches to nine, their longest and now only behind the great Australian run between 1999 and 2011, and also maintained their record of bowling oppositions out in this World Cup, claiming their 50th wicket in five matches in the 49th over of Ireland’s innings. Ireland scored the highest score against India in this World Cup, William Porterfield and Paul Stirling registered the best partnership – 89 – against them, Niall O’Brien came within one run of the best individual score against their unbeaten opponents, but India’s excellent offspin bowling and aggressive captaincy restricted them to 259, well below par on a flat pitch, small Seddon Park boundaries and given Ireland’s weak bowling. Shikhar Dhawan, with his second hundred this World Cup, and Rohit Sharma knocked the runs off with ease.Porterfield and Stirling attacked the Indian quicks with gusto, reaching 57 in nine overs before R Ashwin dragged them back. A period of quick overs and slow runs followed, and when Niall O’Brien began to pull Ireland back out, Ashwin came back to start another slide. Ireland went from 206 for 3 to their eventual middling total. This was the first time any batting side tested India. Unlike, say South Africa, India refused to go on the defensive. Ravindra Jadeja didn’t have a great day, but Suresh Raina filled in superbly. He took out Ed Joyce to go with Ashwin’s scalps of Stirling and the in-form Andy Balbirnie. Between them Ashwin and Raina bowled 20 overs for 78 runs. That’s where the match turned.When spin came on in the 10th over, with the run rate over six and no wicket down, you would have forgiven a few other established captains defensive fields. MS Dhoni, the best captain of spin in limited-overs cricket, had a slip, a leg slip, and men saving singles even after the Powerplay was over. It also asked a lot of the bowlers. Anything half bad was bound to go for boundaries. Jadeja was only half bad in the 14th over, and was taken for a four and a six. Dhoni had no qualms taking him off and going to Raina immediately.Even before Raina came on, though, Stirling tried to chip Ashwin over cover. Ashwin had bowled until then 17 balls for 12 runs, giving nothing away. It required Stirling to manufacture something. He tried, but could not open the face enough, and holed out to long-off. Now Raina and Ashwin began to run through their overs quite economically. The pressure was palpable. Dhoni could read the batsmen’s minds. He told Raina Joyce was under pressure and looking for a big hit. Raina stayed accurate. Joyce looked for a forceful back-foot shot to a full ball. Bowled.Overs flew by. When Niall O’Brien took risks against Rohit Sharma in the 30th over and hit two fours, India had bowled the 15 preceding overs for 45 runs and surely in under 45 minutes. The first sign of pace – Mohit Sharma – in 23 overs meant Ireland felt obliged to push the scoring. Except that Mohit didn’t provide any pace, and Porterfield fell to a slower ball. This wicket was as much Mohit’s as the spinners’ who had created the pressure.Niall O’Brien wasn’t done yet, though. In the Powerplay he mounted another attack, and India were tested yet again by the 61-run stand between him and Balbirnie. And again Ashwin provided the answers, getting Balbirnie on the sweep in the 39th over. Mohammed Shami chipped in immediately with Kevin O’Brien’s wicket, and Niall O’Brien found himself under pressure again amid the falling wickets. When he moved across the stumps to try to hit Shami into the leg side, he chipped straight to square leg in the 43rd over. It was now going to be difficult for Ireland to bat out the overs. They couldn’t.To turn this chase into a contest, Ireland needed early wickets. Dhawan provided them two opportunities, but John Mooney and Porterfield dropped him on 5 and 10 respectively. Now Dhawan has a sensational record when he is dropped. Even against South Africa he was dropped by Hashim Amla. At 174 he and Rohit put together India’s biggest opening stand in World Cups, and their partnership aggregate soared to 1760 runs, the fourth-highest for India.Dhawan moved to No. 2 on the runs list this World Cup, second behind Kumar Sangakkara. Once he reached the fifty Dhawan accelerated even as Rohit fell to a somewhat lazy dab, playing Stuart Thompson on. Dhawan went from 50 off 54 to 96 off 74 before bringing up the hundred with the 84th ball he faced and getting out to the 85th. However, India needed only 70 at that time, and got them without drama.

JP Duminy is “highly unlikely” to recover from a knee injury in time to take any part in South Africa’s three-Test series against West Indies, according to South Africa coach Russell Domingo

Firdose Moonda13-Dec-2014JP Duminy is “highly unlikely” to recover from a knee injury in time to take any part in South Africa’s three-Test series against West Indies, which will effectively allow Alviro Petersen to keep his place at the top of the order for now. That was the news South Africa coach Russell Domingo delivered as the Test squad gathered to begin preparations ahead of the only incoming international tour of the season.The setback in Duminy’s rehabilitation will open up a spot at No.7 in the batting line-up, which will likely be filled by Stiaan van Zyl, the Cobras’ No.3. Van Zyl was told during South Africa’s winter tours of Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe that he was in line to take up a position in the top two. With van Zyl now in line for a reasonable run lower down in the order, it is unlikely Petersen will face pressure from him just yet.Although Domingo described Duminy’s treatment as “going fine at the moment”, he explained that it was “probably going to take a little longer than anticipated” and with the World Cup two months away, it was important to manage Duminy carefully.”It’s a tough one because Test cricket is the ultimate and if guys are available, they want to be playing,” Domingo said. “But we also have got to realise that the World Cup is a big tournament and JP is a big player for us in that format as he is in every format. We need to assess where he is in the next week or two.”Van Zyl will only be confirmed Duminy’s replacement once Domingo meets with the national selectors but the South African coach called him a “frontrunner” to play in the series. “He has got a good technique. He plays the short ball really well and he is a guy who knows how to get runs,” Domingo said. “A lot of the runs he has got have been big hundreds. Players who make those type of big performances, it’s difficult to teach, they just know how to do that. He is one of those guys who knows how to do that.”Van Zyl was the top run-scorer in last season’s first-class competition and scored three centuries. In two of those, he went beyond 150, scoring 164 and 167 respectively. This summer, the Cobras have not played any first-class cricket yet but van Zyl turned out for his provincial side, Western Province, in the first week of December and scored 62 and 104 to underline his ability of spending time at the crease.That ability has also put pressure on Petersen, who hasn’t managed much of the same. Petersen has not scored a Test century in 23 innings and Domingo said the opener knows he is under scrutiny. “He will be the first to admit that he has got a lot of starts. In his last 20 innings, he has got nine scores over 20. He has got himself in and then managed to find ways to get himself out. He knows as a top-order batter he needs to get big runs. He will be the first to admit that he has maybe thrown away one or two starts and hasn’t quite cashed in but he is a quality player.”Domingo is not ready to give up on Petersen just yet and expects that he could come good over the next three matches. “I believe there is a big score around the corner for him. Technically he seems to be playing really nicely,” he said. “And he seems to thrive when he has got a point to prove, when people are trying to write him off. I don’t think he needs too much motivation. I know there a lot of questions about his selection but to me, he has been a good performer for South Africa over a period of time. All players go through slumps.”There is also the difficult in replacing Petersen if van Zyl is otherwise occupied. Of the current crop, Rilee Rossouw is one of only a few candidates but Domingo said South Africa are not in a rush to blood new players.”You don’t want to be giving Test caps away. Guys have got to earn the right to play Test cricket because it is the pinnacle of our sport,” he said. “You don’t want to be making wholesale changes to your Test side. You want to be getting in one or two new faces every series, now and then but not as a recurring thing. If you do make changes, it’s got to be one or two here and there, where you can give a player an opportunity to find his feet in the format because it’s not easy to just come in and make an impact in international cricket. You’ve got to be willing to give that player an extended run. It’s not that easy to just slot in new players at every opportunity. You have to find the right time and right place.”A series against West Indies, especially ahead of next year’s high-profile contests with India and England, would appear to be an ideal opportunity to expose new talent but, in a lean Test year for South Africa, Domingo said it is not. South Africa have only played six Tests in 2014 and will play only three this summer. The first nine months of 2015 are also bare, with only a tour to Bangladesh in the program.The lack of Test matches for the world’s No.1 team means that every time they play, they want to show their dominance and that has left Domingo anxious, even as they take on the No.8 ranked West Indies.”We know West Indies will be desperate to do well in Test cricket,” he said. “We shouldn’t look too far back because the last tour here they won the first Test. I am actually a bit nervous starting this Test series because we haven’t played a lot of Test cricket over the last couple of months and we are still trying to find the right combinations and the right personnel after the loss of guys like Graeme Smith and Jacques Kallis. We are a little bit nervous about the West Indies side because we probably don’t know it much.”Winning ICC silverware has been South Africa’s focus for the last six months and will be for the next four but Domingo is grateful for a small break from ODIs: “It gives us a little bit of time away from the white ball to re-energise that side of our game.”

Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsAccumulation, acceleration and domination. Younis Khan and Azhar Ali shepherded Pakistan to a dominant 304 for 2 on day one of the second Test in Abu Dhabi, where a confounded Australia’s thirst for wickets went almost totally unquenched.In their quest for a first series victory over Australia in 20 years, Pakistan’s batsmen set down the most ideal platform possible, guided largely by the wonderfully correct and composed Younis, who became the first man to compile three consecutive centuries against Australia in 90 years.It had seemed difficult to imagine that Australia’s bowlers could look more ineffective than they had done in Dubai, yet the Abu Dhabi surface offered them still less to work with, and the search for skills of spin and reverse swing remained a fruitless one. After Nathan Lyon and Mitchell Johnson struck either side of lunch, Younis and Azhar added an unbeaten 208.Michael Clarke tried every conceivable field setting, from an array of catchers in front of the wicket on either side of the batsmen, to the rare posting of a man at straight hit, prompting Pakistani queries about the legality of a fielder standing directly behind the bowler.But the bowlers and fielders alike were rendered mere extras by the orthodoxy of Younis. Azhar offered a half chance to David Warner at slip from the wrist spin of Steven Smith but even that was a worry for Australia – Smith’s turn and bounce is sure to perk up the interest of Yasir Shah. Clarke was reduced to bowling himself by the end, after the day had begun with news that the left-arm spin of Steve O’Keefe had been discarded.The tour selectors Darren Lehmann and Rod Marsh had made two highly aggressive changes to the team that lost by 221 runs in Dubai, dropping Alex Doolan and O’Keefe for Glenn Maxwell and Mitchell Starc.The daredevil Maxwell is expected to bat at No. 3 after Doolan’s timid effort in the first Test, while Starc was included alongside Mitchell Johnson in the same XI for the first time since January 2013.A win or draw in Abu Dhabi would deliver Pakistan their first Test series victory over Australia since a 1-0 home result in 1994, and the early exchanges suggested the second result may appear most likely. The pitch offered even less in the way of bounce or pace than Dubai’s had done, and there was no new ball swing for Mitchell Johnson to exploit.Mohammad Hafeez and Ahmed Shehzad were thus able to wander along without much urgency or anything in the way of alarms against Johnson, Starc or Peter Siddle, the ball seldom beating the bat and no appeals being raised by the slip cordon.It took the introduction of Lyon to draw the first significant false strokes of the morning when he was introduced after drinks. Shehzad propped forward to his second ball, which did not spin as expected and the thinnest of edges was missed by Brad Haddin as the batsmen took three.Missed chances have been an unfortunate recurring theme of Lyon’s Test career, but this one was to prove less costly than others. Shehzad favoured the back foot after his earlier edge, and was pinned on the crease by the last ball of Lyon’s third over for a clear lbw.Australian relief to have taken one wicket was to be their isolated moment of joy for the session, as Hafeez and Azhar pushed on dourly to lunch. The posting of short covers, mid-ons and mid-offs and even a rare man at straight hit by Clarke said as much about the pitch as the scoreboard.Hafeez was fluent and collected, and seemed set for a half-century when Johnson angled a delivery past him and extracted a thin edge through to Haddin. Azhar and Younis made very few errors during the balance of the afternoon, and by the interval had set down a fine platform for the day and the match.Having chosen an extra paceman in heat hovering around 36C all day, Australia’s over rate had been tardy, leaving 38 overs scheduled for a sapping final session. They would bowl only 36 before the umpires deemed the light to be fading, but in that time Younis and Azhar heaped 146 runs with only the slightest hints of trouble.Younis’ century was reached in a mere 128 balls, summing up the escalation of his technical and mental mastery over the bowlers following his dogged wrestle with them on the first day of the series. Azhar’s took a far more circumspect 223 with only six fours – how Australia must wish for that kind of perseverance in their young batsmen.Hours before at Cricket Australia’s AGM, the chief executive James Sutherland had confidently predicted an Australian turnaround in Abu Dhabi. It will need to happen quickly.