4th March 2022 will be marked as a historic day as Australia tour Pakistan for the first time in 24 years. The tour will get underway in Rawalpindi, where the number one ranked Test team in the world will play the first of three Test matches.
Despite playing in home conditions, Pakistan will be facing a huge test when they face the bowling firepower of Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazlewood, along with the spin guile of Nathan Lyon and Ashton Agar. To face such a varied attack and succeed against them, Pakistan will rely heavily on their skipper, Babar Azam.
Azam, who is Pakistan’s best batter across formats, has modest returns against the Aussies. Currently averaging 43.17 with the bat in 37 Tests, Azam averages just 31.46 against Australia – his worst record against a team except for Zimbabwe. In this piece, we will look at how Australia can target the ‘head of the snake’ and restrict Azam in improving his record against them.
In his 37 Tests, Azam has played 66 innings and been dismissed 57 times. Of these 57 dismissals, he’s fallen to a right-arm pace bowler 33 times – a massive 57.89% of his total dismissals. Next is 10 dismissals against right-arm spinners.
A very large percentage of Azam’s dismissals against right-arm pacers is against straighter balls. Of the 33 dismissals against them, he’s been out ‘bowled’, ‘LBW’, or ‘caught by WK’ 13 times (39.39%). Azam’s average of 35.72 against right-arm pacers is significantly less than his average of 47.75 against left-arm pacers. Even in his last 10 Tests, he’s been out by these modes of dismissals eight times in 14 innings against the pace bowling of right-handed bowlers.
Even though Cummins and Hazlewood are both right-handed pacers, they offer variety in their bowling. Cummins will rely on seam movement off the pitch, and he tends to nip the ball back into the right-hander at a good pace, which can hurry a batter and result in them getting bowled or LBW. Hazlewood, on the other hand, relies on his accuracy on and around the fourth-fifth stump line off a good length and will target both the outside and inside edges of Azam to nick him off to the keeper or the slip cordon.
In his Test career, Azam has been dismissed for less than 20 runs eight times. Of these eight instances, six have come in his last ten Tests, where he’s been out ‘bowled’ or ‘LBW’ four times. In his last ten Tests, he has been dismissed by a left-arm spinner on three occasions – all LBWs.
Azam is a free-flowing batter who prefers scoring on the off side, especially the covers and extra-covers region. This makes him open the face of the bat slightly, increasing his chances of edging the ball early on in his innings. In Cummins and Hazlewood, Australia have two of the best right-arm pacers in their arsenal. Bowling on and around off stump with an extended slip cordon and keeping the off side open for Azam to drive the ball, Australia can test Azam’s resolve and patience by being relentless in the execution of their plans. And with Cameron Green finding his bowling form off late, he will keep the other bowlers fresh and be a valuable support to the Australian bowling group in helping them get rid of the Pakistani skipper.
With Azam being susceptible against left-arm spinners in recent games, Ashton Agar, the left-arm orthodox bowler, will also play a massive role in planning the downfall of Pakistan’s number four. Not a massive turner of the ball, Agar will be aiming to bowl straight to Azam and target his stumps to trap him in front of them or sneak through his defenses.
All good batters find a way to overcome their weakness. Azam is one of the best batters going around in the world at the moment, and Australian bowlers will have to be patient and relentless in their plans to remove him. Azam’s battle against this mighty Australian bowling lineup will be a crucial factor in deciding the outcome of this historic tour.