Let’s not beat around the bush, Australia’s performance in the first Test was embarrassing.
In fact it ranks up there with some of the worst losses our national Test team has endured.
Today they gets a chance to atone by performing better in the second Test in Abu Dhabi.
A quantum leap in performance will be required to level the series with the ‘home’ side brimming with confidence.
An analysis of the scorecard from the opening Test only tells part of the story.
Across two innings, Pakistan lost 11 wickets while amassing 740 runs.
Australia could muster just 519 runs while losing all 20 wickets in the process – the result a 221-run victory to Pakistan.
What those raw statistics do not indicate was the dearth of Test experience that the Pakistan bowlers possessed heading into the match.
The Pakistanis went into the match with a team that had a combined total of just 66 Test wickets.
Thirty-five of those scalps belonged to off-spinning opening batsman Mohammad Hafeez, nine had been captured by Younis Khan – who had not bowled in the previous seven matches of his illustrious 91-Test career – and specialist number three batsman Azhar Ali had taken one wicket for 100 runs in his preceding 34 Tests.
That left the four specialist bowlers in the Pakistan team with a whopping 20 wickets between them – 11 fewer than Michael Clarke’s career tally of 31 through 105 Tests.
Yet somehow that nascent group of Test bowlers managed to, in the main, humiliate Australia’s batsmen.
Pakistan, after winning the toss, posted 454 in its first innings.
It had the look of a problematic total for Australia yet when David Warner and Chris Rogers took the team to stumps on the second day at 0-113 that number looked less imposing.
The pair extended their opening stand to 128 early on day three before Rogers departed.
His wicket was the first of ten to fall for the addition of a further 175 runs, leaving Pakistan with a 151-run advantage on the first innings.
Eventually, set 438 to win – or more correctly given a little under four sessions at the crease to draw the game – Australia lost a calamitous four for five in the space of just 22 deliveries to tumble to 4-49.
In the words of the great New York Yankees catcher Yogi Berra, it was “a case of déjà vu all over again”.
Batting collapses have become an all too regular and unwanted feature of Australia’s innings.
Last summer they appeared like clockwork during every one of the five Ashes Tests.
On those occasions the likes of Steve Smith and Brad Haddin often came to the fore and stabilised the innings to a point where the final figure could be defended, so much so that Australia won the series 5-nil.
But at Dubai, against an attack possessing an extremely modest international record, there was no coming back.
Warner’s knock of 133 in the first innings was a standout.
There were cameos by Rogers and Smith but the next best innings behind Warner from the nine that passed 20 was Mitchell Johnson’s 61 on the final day.
There was a fear ahead of the toss that the pitch at Dubai would follow the path of so many of the sub-continental decks and become somewhat of an Elysian Field for the spinners on days four and five.
That prediction proved to be wrong.
Australian coach Darren Lehmann when asked to sum up the demise of his batting line-up responded by saying “this is a very good cricket wicket … we got beaten with straight balls, I think five or six dismissals throughout the game”.
Straight balls delivered by a highly inexperienced international attack – hardly a glowing summation of his batsmen’s performance.
The batsmen were not the only culprits as the bowling attack also largely lacked teeth.
Johnson was superb in the first innings with figures of 31-18-39-3.
However the spinners lacked penetration with Nathan Lyon and Steve O’Keefe returning combined match figures of 6-439.
Once again there was another troubling aspect to Australia’s bowling and that was the inability to develop consistent, controlled and penetrative reverse swing.
While the Pakistan quicks did not produce a lot in that area either, Australia has shown an inability to master the craft over the years.
Whether it is in England or India on recent tours the opponent has impacted the game with reverse swing while Australia has been largely impotent in comparison.
Michael Clarke consistently trumpets the aim of regaining the world number one Test ranking and well he should.
A win in the current series is no longer a possibility with a draw the best the tourists can achieve.
And at present even that score line appears somewhat unattainable unless there is an across the board resurrection at Abu Dhabi.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Yeah, the Saffa's are a funny mob that do better away than they do at home.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
O'Keefe was the top wicket take in the Sheffield Shield last year, with the next best Australian spinner being a long way behind. That's why he's there, pure and simple. You might not like the way he bowls, but he's simply out-performed every other Aussie spinner by a long way in first class cricket, hence he was selected for the test team when they needed another spinner. The selectors have tried overlooking the spinners with the results in favour of those with 50+ averages who they "like the look of" ever since Warne retired, and it hasn't served them well to this point. Not unreasonable that they try the guy who's actually managed to take wickets at a good average at 1st class level. Unfortunately, he'll probably never get a good enough run in the national side to really see if he'd have any chance of making it at that level.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
Agreed. 2 test series are a joke. Unfortunately, the way they are cramming all these series in that's what we end up with. Australia's just come from having a winter off, so I'm sure they could have gone over 2 weeks earlier and fitted a third test in, but I don't know what Pakistan has just come from and whether they'd have been free to do the same. A two test series is barely any better than a one-off test.
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
The SOK hate club rears it's ugly head again...
anfalicious
Guest
Lyon was the top wicket taker in that tour...
Not entirely correct, South Africa has been unbeaten overseas since 2007. Their last 11 test series away from home they have won 7 and drew 4 Played 29 Won 13 Drawn 11 Lost 5
Matt
Guest
Now the day has actually unfolded, it looks to be another huge defeat. Cricket needs to be more even, the home side nearly always wins because of favourable conditions.
Don Freo
Guest
Perhaps we should dare to tour Pakistan agin. A good bomb scare might bring some excitement to SOK's bowling.
Broken-hearted Toy
Guest
The way people talk about Hughes - being on the outer and all that - sounds so unrealistic considering how many tests he has actually played. He's in quite a different position to Khawaja. For starters, he's still playing for Aus sporadically in one dayers and is in the test squads so is obviously close.
Targa
Guest
2-test series! Try being a NZer then (most of our series are only two game ones), although we've got three against Pak. I reckon we'll still lose, but be more competitive then your lot.
DingoGray
Roar Guru
The Australian Selections unhealthy obsession with All Rounders continues! I hope they bat Maxwell at 3. That would at least be highly entertaining to watch!
DingoGray
Roar Guru
Don't think it's any better 2nd Test either Will.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
Doolan and SOK out, Starc and Maxwell in. Even talk that Maxwell will bat at 3.Spinning duties to be taken by Lyon, Smith and Maxwell. Whoop de doo!
Jo M
Guest
Looks like what is going to happen.
Peter
Roar Rookie
He reminds me a bit of Symonds. He would be very handy at 6.
matth
Guest
Substitute the name "Warner" for "Maxwell" and you have the discussion from 3 years ago. Maxwell is more than just a slogger. He has a first class average over 40.
ajay
Guest
maxwell defintely !! good player of spin then marsh and a ( X )factor as always ?
mick the clown
Guest
I find it amazing that so many sill still have Lyon in their side. When we last toured the subcontinent, he was singularly ineffective. - On the basis that we do not have a spinner with the required skill we should play 5x quicks, and go in a batsmen short. It is the only hope we have of taking 20 wickets.
JGK
Roar Guru
If we play Marsh and Maxwell then we will not have learnt anything. You can't win with bits and pieces players.
Pope Paul VII
Guest
It's an interesting point you bring up Glenn in that collapses in the ashes were papered over a bit by Haddin and Johnners. I reckon they might as well add Maxi for young Marsh, as he is a better bat and a highly competitive slowy. Not sure why they've dragged him along only to look at the scenery and carry the luggage. This is surely a course for a such a horse? The quest for the stable batting order remains murky. Doolan seems to be in the good honest bloke range of Cowan, Quiney, S Marsh and Bailey, that they've experimented with since Dec 2011. The two blokes most likely, Hughes and Khawaja, have been placed on the outer apparently because they're not good bloke battlers ( or in Marsh's case, endlessly Classygood bloke ), so therefore are more open to scrutiny. Watto, despite his problems, still is essential to this team's batting. As Tim says they probably will get away with it against India, who's batting will be dodgy in Australian conditions so they may not be chasing much. Foreign spinners in Australia generally have their work cut out so they'll probably survive that as well. India actually have a bit of pace to offer but it's hard to see them turning history on it's head. England might feel reasonably confident in 2015 if they can overcome Johnsonophobia.