Australia’s nightmare tour of United Arab Emirates is over after Pakistan completed a two-nil series sweep with a 356-run victory in the second Test on Monday.
Set a gigantic target of 603 to win on a pitch which assists the spinners, Australia resumed on on 4-143 and reached 5-238 at lunch.
Australia lost 3-0 in 12 balls after the lunch break and soon collapsed to be all out for 246.
It’s Australia’s third-biggest loss by a runs margin in Test history.
Steve Smith on 97 was trapped in front by legspinner Yasir Shah from the second delivery after the interval.
Wounded warrior wicketkeeper Brad Haddin (13), battling a sore shoulder, was bowled by left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar in the next over.
And Mitchell Johnson fell for a duck in the following over to Yasir.
Yasir also bowled Mitchell Starc and Zulfiqar removed Nathan Lyon for a duck.
Zulfiqar claimed 5-120 and Yasir took 3-44.
Australia had started well on Monday.
Mitchell Marsh, in his second Test match, added 107 for the fifth wicket with Smith.
The 23-year-old Marsh hit 47 off 130 deliveries, completing a strong match with the bat after top-scoring with 87 in Australia’s first innings of 261.
Marsh was caught at leg slip off the bowling of offspinner Mohammad Hafeez.
But hopes of a dramatic draw soon faded.
Coach and selector Darren Lehmann admitted on Sunday night that Australia had been totally outplayed again, after their 221-run loss in the first Test in Dubai.
“We’ve got to get to the drawing board and make it right,” he said.
“In subcontinent if you like conditions in the last six Test matches … we certainly haven’t played well enough.”
Monday’s loss follows Australia’s 4-0 humiliation on spinning tracks in India in 2013, which was under the direction of then-coach Mickey Arthur.
It seems little has changed in this respect.
Australia’s record of one win in 16 Tests in Asia since Shane Warne’s 2007 retirement is a stark reminder of the team’s inability to exploit turning pitches with the ball or survive them with the bat.
Sixth-ranked Pakistan have jumped three places with their two-nil sweep over second-ranked Australia.
AUSTRALIA’S BIGGEST LOSSES BY RUNS MARGIN
– 675 v England in Brisbane, Nov 1928
– 408 v West Indies in Adelaide, Jan 1980
– 356 v Pakistan in Abu Dhabi, Oct 2014
– 347 v England at Lord’s, July 2013
– 343 v West Indies at Bridgetown, April 1991
– 338 v England at Adelaide, Jan 1933
THA
Guest
You misunderstand. I'm not blaming Cooley at all - quite the opposite. I'm wondering why, when they've had his expertise at hand for a decade, Australian bowlers who can reverse the ball are still so rare. It's a genuine question. I don't have the answer to it. The Duke's advantage for swing is really in conventional swing. The physics of reverse work in a different way and the Kookaburra reverses. Even back in the '92 WC final Wasim was bending it around corners. Darren Gough was reversing it in Aus in the late '90s. Virtually every other country is using reverse swing now, but Australia still lags significantly behind. Inevitably this puts them at a disadvantage on tracks which offer less to seam and conventional swing bowlers. The knowledge is there in Cooley but it's not being applied. Odd, whatever the reason.
Deets
Guest
Troy Cooley was a good coach. I don't think you can blame him for why Australia can't bowl reverse swing well. Firstly, the kookaburra doesn't reverse swing as much as the Duke or the SG ball. Secondly, reverse swing was around in county cricket for a long time before Troy Cooley -- it was brought from Pakistan by Wasim and Waqar who played in county cricket for many years. Flintoff played with Wasim at Lancashire. Reverse swing has been part of county cricket ever since, and Jones, Hoggard and Harmison grew up with that system.
THA
Guest
For a year or two in 2004/5, until they were broken up by injury, England had one of the best fast bowling attacks I've ever seen: Harmison, Flintoff, Jones, and Hoggard. Notably they could all bowl both conventional and reverse swing, three of them pushing 150 km/h, and could attack for the full 80 overs of the ball's life. Their bowling coach during this time was an Australian, Troy Cooley. After the Ashes he took a job with Cricket Australia. He was given a lot of the credit for taking four very talented but possibly under-achieving bowlers and turning them in to a gun unit. Worth asking why, nine years later and with that ability at CA's disposal, Australian bowlers still can't bowl reverse swing?
TheCunningLinguistic
Guest
I wouldn't think so, although it certainly played a part.
TheCunningLinguistic
Guest
SOK significantly outperformed Lyon. I never rated Lyon better than ok- SOK beats him at every level.
Statistic Skeptic
Roar Pro
Eh?: South Africa in UAE - Played 4, won 1, drawn 2, lost 1 Australia in UAE - Played 4, won 2, lost 2 Australia's wins coming in 2002 with a bowling lineup of McGrath, Lee, Bichel, Warne - and a batting line-up of Langer, Hayden, Ponting, Waugh, Waugh, Martyn, Gilchrist. Looks about even no?
markismo
Guest
Aussie top order bats learnt nothing in the field from the masterful batting lessons Younis Khan was giving them for FREE. More focussed on thinking up the next on-field sledge perhaps?
Don Freo
Guest
Within the past 4 years...one Test...they have played cricket careers since then! It is 2014...almost 2015.
Annum
Guest
If khawaja was not injured I would have gone for him but I do hope maxwell learns from this and becomes better
Armchair Expert
Guest
Correct Monday's Expert, some of the straw clutching on this forum is beyond a joke.
Annum
Guest
We need khawaja at 3, not maxwell who is more suited to the shorter format
Peter
Roar Rookie
The SCG's once famous spin is completely different to these slow low pitches in the middle east and India anyhow. At least I think it is. We need a leggie. It's un-Ostrayan not to have one. There's plenty of promising ones around too.
Deets
Guest
Let's look at the record since 2005. 2008-Lost in India, Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma with reverse swing. 2009-Lost Ashes in England, Jimmy Anderson with reverse swing. 2010-Lost again in India...reverse swing played a major role, Zaheer again crucial there. 2013-Port Elizabeth test. I'm sure there are plenty of other examples.
Don Freo
Guest
2005? We've had 10 years of cricket since then...and different players. Do you think no one has swung reverse since then? Oz has no great problem with reverse swing.
Don Freo
Guest
SA has been less successful than OZ in UAE. I suspect you might be over-rating them ...just a bit.
Deets
Guest
Don Freo
Guest
That's not quite the 'batting first issue.
Deets
Guest
Yep, Steyn is the big difference. England won in India last year because of Swann and Monty, SA drew the last time they toured India because of Steyn. Australia have never really been good at swing bowling -- even during their heyday, McGrath was no swing bowler. Damien Fleming was a good swing bowler but he wasn't as good as Steyn. We saw in the 2005 Ashes how Australia struggled with reverse swing. No matter which cricketers Australia throws up, reverse swing and spin will always be potential weaknesses because it just doesn't happen much in Australia. Similar to India struggling on seaming and bouncing wickets -- certain generations of Indian cricketers like Ganguly's team in 2004 adapted well to it, but it took them some time. A new generation will always struggle because it's totally different conditions.
Don Freo
Guest
No.
Monday's Expert
Guest
There's a theory that's been floated on these pages that we'd have won if we'd won the toss and batted first - unfortunately that theory is debunked if you look at the 4 tests in 2013 against India. We batted first each time and got touched up each time, same would have happened here.