Dominant Australia Out to Overcome Pakistan's Volatility in Quarter-Final

Pakistan have done it to Australia before. In fact, they've done it to essentially everyone. 

You know how it goes with Pakistan: rubbish, rubbish, rubbish, rubbish, calamitous, comical, rubbish, rubbish, rubbish, outstanding, rubbish, rubbish, rubbish, breathtaking.

It's why Pakistan are the nightmare matchup in global tournaments. All too often they put together performances that should belong to one of those artificially crafted bands from reality TV shows; then, when you think you've got them worked out, they become the Rolling Stones for a night.

And suddenly, when it happens to you, a game is lost. A tournament is over. Dreams end. 

No one does hot and cold like Pakistan. No one can match their stunning volatility. Just in this World Cup alone, we've seen Misbah-ul-Haq's team utterly humiliated by an extremely average West Indies side, only to then topple an imposing South African outfit. 

Essentially, it's the threat they pose. It's what they are. They're a bubbling mess of contradictions: talented but fragile; explosive then anaemic; ingenious and idiotic.  

They simply defy conventional wisdom. It seems to be in this current crop's DNA. 

And Australia know it. They saw it first-hand at the ICC World Twenty20 last year in Bangladesh. Now in a World Cup quarter-final meeting with Pakistan, the challenge is to overcome it. 

Hannah Peters/Getty Images

"They can play some incredible cricket, as they have in times I've played against them, but they also can self-destruct quite quickly as well," Australia's Shane Watson acknowledged this week, per Sky Sports. "That's the reason why Pakistan are so dangerous, especially in a knock-out game like this quarter-final."

It's that final point Watson makes that's relevant here. Across three or five games, Australia are almost unbeatable at home. But this, of course, is a one-off contest. One of those occasions that can disappear in an instant if it doesn't go to plan.

And plans can get turned on their head by Pakistan. 

"They have certainly got some match-winners," Watson continued. "Once this Pakistan team gets on a roll, they are able to use that momentum to be able to shut down teams very quickly.

"We know this is a danger game for us because they can come on and just turn it on like they have throughout the times I've played them in the past."

Scott Barbour/Getty Images

Such a situation leaves Australia in a somewhat unfamiliar position: On the day, they could operate at 98 percent of their maximum and could get anything from a 200-run win to an eight-wicket loss. 

That might be a source of discomfort for the hosts, who are accustomed to knowing that something nearing their best is typically enough.

Thus, Australia's preparation for Friday's encounter has been two-pronged, featuring contrasting elements: In training, it's been full-throttle; away from it, it's been reflective. 

"It was take no prisoners with the bowling, there was short stuff there and guys were playing as if they were in a match situation," former captain Steve Waugh said this week, per Daniel Brettig of ESPN Cricinfo, after being called in to act as an advisor to the Australian squad. "I can only judge on how they went today, and it was pretty full-on."

Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

But Waugh, who spoke at a team dinner in Adelaide, has also been passing on advice and techniques to the Australian squad in relation to dealing with the pressure and harnessing the intensity of the environment. His main message: Let yourself enjoy it. He said:

"

Just simple stuff about how great this opportunity is and really to enjoy what's going on because sometimes you get caught up in these big tournaments and put too much pressure on yourself," the 1999 World Cup winner said. 

At the end of the day, it's about why did you first start playing cricket, because you love the game, and nothing's changed, so don't forget that when you get out there for the big games.

"

It's an important point for Australia—you can't tighten up against Pakistan. Last year's T20 meeting in Mirpur stands as a perfect example.

Flinch first and this mercurial side flies through the gears; hold your nerve, allow yourself to relax and enjoy it, and it's they who so often crumble. 

Ross Setford/Associated Press

Naturally, Australia will look up and down their own lineup and believe there's simply too much strength for Pakistan to overcome. The batting is stacked. The bowling is fearsome. And in the field, they're probably the tournament's best. 

Interestingly, however, Waugh believes Australia's biggest strength, that incredible depth, is also a possible weakness. 

"Their only danger is they've got so much talent, you can sometimes leave it up to the next person," Waugh said of the current squad. "That's the only danger for Australia, if they just switch off and leave it for someone else to do the job."

Well, there's also one other danger: Pakistan, just for a night, might happen to morph into that ever-so fleeting, Rolling Stones-version of themselves.