Australia Entering Test Series vs. Pakistan Strangely Staring into the Unknown
For so much of Australia's cricket during the nation's recent Test renaissance, Michael Clarke and his team have enjoyed the comforts of predictability, their knowledge of understood quantities and the conviction that comes with stability and continuity.
Once their groove was recaptured in the first Ashes Test in Brisbane last November, Australia waltzed to seven emphatic victories in eight Tests against England and South Africa, recording two series triumphs as they rolled along, undisturbed in that groove.
For Australia, there simply were no unknowns. Their own XI, one that wasn't interrupted even once during the Ashes, simply came to pick itself. The nature of their performances became remarkably similar, bordering on routine.
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Their opponents, the English and South Africans, were both extremely familiar foes. And the venues—and their inherent conditions—from the Gabba to the Sydney Cricket Ground, from Centurion to Newlands, held few surprises for Clarke's men.
But as Australia prepare to tackle Pakistan in the UAE over two Tests beginning on Wednesday, things couldn't be more different. An array of unknowns await.
It's been more than a decade since Australia pummelled a miserable Pakistan in consecutive Tests in the Middle East in 2002, that forgettable series in which Matthew Hayden outscored the entire home side at Sharjah.
In the 12 years that have passed, however, Australia haven't returned to play a Test in the UAE and have faced Pakistan on just eight occasions in that time, both at home and on neutral ground in England.
In fact, it's been so long since Australia last competed in a Test in the region that the two venues that will host the series' matches—the Dubai International Cricket Stadium and the Sheikh Zayed Stadium in Abu Dhabi—weren't even standing last time around.
The Australians might have played a number of limited-overs matches at the grounds, but Clarke's men won't be entirely sure what to expect in Dubai on Wednesday, given that conditions inside the venue can fluctuate wildly depending upon the grass cover left on the pitch.
Suspicions are that the visitors will be presented with a sluggish turner, but it could dart around a little with both the new and the old ball, too.
"You can't make a judgement on a pitch unless you know the ground very, very well until the day of the game," Australia's chairman of selectors Rod Marsh said over the weekend, per Brydon Coverdale of ESPN Cricinfo.
And Australia barely know this ground at all.
Such a level of unfamiliarity with the venue and its conditions poses headaches for Australia and their selection ahead of the first Test.
Unlike the position they were in during the most recent Ashes campaign, the world's No. 2-ranked side find themselves forced into a reshuffle, upsetting the continuity the team had enjoyed.
Shane Watson, sidelined with a calf injury, is likely to be replaced by Mitchell Marsh who, as the only viable all-round option in the squad, could make his debut despite having just returned from a muscular problem of his own.
But such is the need for a fifth bowler in the UAE, and such is Australia's affection for the luxury an all-rounder provides, that the 23-year-old is almost certain to make his maiden appearance, regardless of his limited preparation.
Possibly joining him on debut will be Steve O'Keefe, a left-arm orthodox bowler from New South Wales who's been added to the squad to give Australia the option of selecting two spinners.
But like Marsh, the concern is that O'Keefe hasn't played anywhere near the amount of cricket that one desires heading into a Test.
"Steve bowled 23 overs I think from memory in the first innings and it was his first bowl since Townsville, I think, for Australia A, and he'd have felt a bit stiff and sore," Marsh said of the left-armer's performance in Australia's tour match against Pakistan A, per Coverdale's report.
"It took him a while to get going [in the second innings], but that's fine. He'll be better for the run," he added.
That game in Townsville Marsh referred to was in early August. And O'Keefe's last major outing prior to that came way back in March against Western Australia.
Should Australia opt for O'Keefe, Australia will be making a significant deviation from the method that was central to their success against England and South Africa, ditching the three-pronged pace attack complemented by Nathan Lyon and settling on just two front-line fast men, two spinners and an unproven all-rounder.
Compared to what they've worked with previously, such a combination is a massive unknown, leaving Marsh to admit that the selectors "haven't even come close to saying 'this is what the XI will be'."
Intriguingly, Australia face the same uncertainty with regard to their opponents.
Rocked by Saeed Ajmal's suspension and the injury to Junaid Khan, the core of the hosts' attack has been gutted, leaving Misbah-ul-Haq with a bowling group that is both inexperienced and unfamiliar.
"The bowling attack is good, it may be inexperienced but it's good," Pakistan coach Waqar Younis insisted, per ESPN Cricinfo.
Frankly, Australia will have little idea how good—or otherwise—the attack might be, adding yet more unpredictability to this week's first Test for the tourists.
"They are a fine team, very professional side and do their things well but yeah, we have definitely seen some weaknesses and we are working on it and hopefully we will deliver the goods," the coach added, when reflecting on Pakistan A's victory over the Australians in last week's tour match.
Of course, Waqar is likely to have been referring to the visitors' questionable ability against spin and the ill-suited nature of their attack in the expected conditions, but such obvious issues may not be the biggest ones for Australia.
Instead, Darren Lehmann's all-conquering side feel set to battle with the absence of commodities they've grown comfortable with, namely the predictability of their opponents as well as their own performances.
Unlike recent series, Australia are set to field two debutants, a revamped attack with a different emphasis and an underdone skipper, and will do so in vastly unfamiliar surrounds against a host outfit that is a largely unknown quantity.
Compared to their recent campaigns, the series beginning this week couldn't be more different for Australia.
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