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Unexpected twist gives Paine plenty to ponder

A surprisingly green pitch in Abu Dhabi leaves Australia wondering ahead of the second Test

Australia would consider playing three fast bowlers in the second Test against Pakistan if the surprisingly green pitch that greeted the tourists on their arrival in Abu Dhabi was to remain, says captain Tim Paine.

But the Australia skipper has confirmed there would be no changes to the top six for the series-decider, but didn’t rule out "tweaking" the batting order.

Both Paine and pace leader Mitchell Starc said they expected the Sheikh Zayed Stadium track to be shorn of the green tinge its sported two days out from the series decider, but it had given the Australians something unexpected to ponder.

Image Id: 4C8A0B0E6706448EADB59AFF72ED785B Image Caption: The Abu Dhabi pitch on Sunday // cricket.com.au

"The wicket actually looks a bit different to what we were expecting," said Paine. "There’s a fair bit of grass on it but we’ll come back tomorrow. I’m sure the sun will work on it today at some stage.

"It does look completely different (to the Dubai pitch for the first Test). We’ll just weigh it up (Monday) see if it changes overnight and make a call tomorrow.

"Looking at it now, you would think if that was in Australia you would be playing three fast bowlers. But with the heat around the next 24 hours I’m sure it’ll change pretty quickly."

Starc shelves aggression in bid to shine in desert

A debut for reserve paceman Michael Neser, or even fellow uncapped Queensland quick Brendan Doggett, at the expense of spinner Jon Holland would be on the cards if Australia deem that conditions are suitable to the fast men.

History would suggest the chances of that remain slim. Statistically, the Abu Dhabi pitch is the second-flattest pitch in Test history; of grounds to have hosted at least 10 Tests, only the (now unused) Antigua Recreation Ground has a higher ratio of runs to wickets. 

Starc's verdict on the Abu Dhabi pitch matched Paine's, with the left-armer not expecting to find much swing or seam on offer.

"It might be completely different tomorrow when they cut the grass off," Starc told cricket.com.au. "If we were playing on it today, the fast bowlers would be pretty happy with the covering of grass.

"A lot of us expect that grass to be gone by tomorrow."

While the most likely outcome remains an unchanged XI given Paine's confirmation the incumbent top six would be retained, the skipper did flag the possibility of changing the batting order from the drawn first Test.

New Australian era dawns with fifth day heroics

Despite the remarkable second innings batting effort that saw Australia record one of the most memorable draws in Test history, all four members of the middle order (Shaun Marsh, Mitch Marsh, Travis Head and Marnus Labuschagne) made a duck during the match.

"We may consider tweaking (the batting order). Guys had their individual meetings yesterday and all that stuff was discussed," Paine said.

Head would appear the most obvious candidate for a promotion after his superb 72 kept Pakistan at bay for more than three hours across days four and five of the first Test, a move that would separate him from fellow Dubai debutant Marnus Labuschagne. The pair collectively lasted 11 balls in the first innings collapse of 10-60.

Pakistan will have to make at least one change to their XI after Imam ul-Haq was ruled out of the second Test due to a fractured finger, with limited-overs star Fakhar Zaman in the mix to make his debut.

Australia's great escape in Dubai has seen them keep their hopes of a first Test series win on the subcontinent since 2011 alive, which Paine admitted would be a huge achievement.

"It'd be a massive thing for any Australian side, and for this one in particular," said Paine. "Not many people gave us a chance over here, which is a great opportunity for us to prove people wrong and a great thing to keep driving us.

"We're trying to get better every day, and if we manage to play our best next week maybe that is possible.

"But we've got to turn up for a really tough match, it's going to last five days and we've got to be on for all of those five days and every session.

"Last week when we dropped the ball a little bit for a session, the game can be taken away from you really quickly here.

"We've got to take it, as boring as it is, a day at a time, a session at a time, and if we do that, we know we'll be right in it at the end."

Qantas Tour of the UAE

Australia Test squad: Tim Paine (c), Ashton Agar, Brendan Doggett, Aaron Finch, Travis Head, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Shaun Marsh, Michael Neser, Matthew Renshaw, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc

Pakistan Test squad: Sarfraz Ahmed (c), Azhar Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Imam-ul-Haq, Babar Azam, Asad Shafiq, Haris Sohail, Usman Salahuddin, Yasir Shah, Shadab Khan, Bilal Asif, Mohammad Abbas, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Faheem Ashraf, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Hafeez

Oct 7-11: First Test, drawn

Oct 16-20: Second Test, Abu Dhabi