What can we expect from Pakistan?

Beware the Mickey Arthur factor. He has rejuvenated this Pakistani team . As a fielding side they are almost unrecognisable from Pakistani teams of the past. They're also a lot fitter than previous sides.. Arthur will also be smarting from his treatment by the Australians from and during his tenure as Aussie coach. He has spent a lot of time in the country throughout his playing and coaching career and understands local conditions as well as the Aussie psyche better than most international coaches .. Writing Pakistani off as no hopers as some commentators have is very dangerous and very premature. Bring it on.

So now we're arbitrarily qualifying it to test matches as though CA doesn't run the show in all three formats? Just accept that the Australian system can fail and move on instead of trying to belatedly shift the goalposts.

Umar is more sent to Coventry after he got told in very clear terms by Mudasser Nazar when he was at the Pakistan Cricket Academy to pull his head in. He didnt, and with Misbah's reign being symbolised by players of character it is why he is benched The other one who is a very fine player but also in the bad boys corner is Ahmed Shahzad

Who bats better will decide it for both teams have exceptional bowling line ups but dodgy batting line ups. It will be interesting to see how the Aussie bats deal with Yasir's spin if he is supported by scoreboard pressure The one Pakistani who I think will do very well with the bat is Babar. His innings in NZ was very good and he should do well in OZ. Also Asad Shafiq is very decent The Aussies should win the series but it would not shock if Pakistan was very competitive to the point of pulling off an upset

If Pakistan catch, it could be a very close series. They've got good bowlers.

Umar scored a century on debut in New Zealand aged 19. You've provided a bunch of bowlers most of whom havn't even played a Test.

James Muirhead and Cameron Boyce -- both can't even get a run at state level right now despite some extremely promising international level showings. Ben Cutting -- Now given his run in the 2016 IPL I might be too hasty writing him off, but he's been awful at home for a couple of seasons now after looking like he was going to be our next great all-rounder in the short formats back in 2013 or so. Gurinder Sandhu -- Was one of the best in domestic cricket back in 2014-15 and even had some promising international exposure, currently not performing well enough to get into the NSW side in one day or four day cricket. James Pattinson -- Claimed 2 MOTM performances in 4 tests back in the 2011-12 summer, rarely sighted since.

Glenn Maxwell

Off you go then mate. I'm not saying you're wrong but I am interested in what names you throw up

Because Indian or Australian prodigies never fell off the map... I could list at least 3 or 4 Australians who fell off a cliff after promising starts for various reasons in the last 5 years.

Their is the lack of player development. Look at Umar Akmal last time they toured he was a 21 year old prodigy now he is not in the squad. He'd be Steve Smith or Virat Kohli in a better system by now. Same goes with fielding. I disagree on Shah because Aussie players can't play spin. Maharaj was critical for the Saffers in Perth because he kept things quiet at one end. Yes Australian pitches are suitable to pace but so too our batsman. There's nothing like a stirke rate below 40 against a spinner to have most of our batsman getting out trying to score when they shouldn't. Mishbah & Younis definately too old just think back to the last series Dravid had on these shores always bowled, same for Ponting at the end, or even Amla a month ago.

As usual the Aussie press and supporters will say the Pakistanis will struggle and they might at first. They will then be written off and Australia declared the real best team in the world. Then once the Pakistanis have acclimatised to the conditions, things will even up. The Aussies haven't played against some of these guys and the Pakistanis mostly haven't played here. No one can really predict the outcome

I think they will surprise us. Their batting looked awful in NZ but the conditions were tough and there is real talent there. They have a world-class leggie but I think their current pace attack is actually slightly overrated - Amir has been good but not great since his return and of the others, only Wahab is particularly dangerous from what I've seen. Imran and Sohail look to be serviceable but unlikely to really worry the Australians.

Pakistan are an interesting case. They are a sub-continental team, used to playing on spinning dust bowls, but unlike all the other sub-continental teams, they regularly produce an arsenal of quality fast bowlers, not just spinners. You'd think that would put them in good stead to be a team that can compete in lots of different conditions, but they often flatter to deceive and don't really pull it off. One thing about this series, Yasir Shah's health really isn't going to be a turning point. Sure he did well in the UAE, but countless spinners have dominated Australia in those sorts of conditions only to leave Australia with their tails between their legs. If Pakistan are going to succeed it's going to be with their quick bowlers, not their spinners, taking most of the wickets. Brian commented that Mishbah and Younis are too old to score runs. There is a possible point there. Reactions tend to slow a bit when players reach that age. And that may not matter so much on slow, spin friendly pitches where the quicks have little to work with and mostly they are facing spin, but on a fast, bouncy track, if their reactions have slowed just a little that could cause them issues they wouldn't have over there. (Plus, they are both 2 years older than they were in that UAE series!)

Great bowling and rubbish batting/fielding

2-0 Australia. Like so many touring teams I am not sure they are up for the fight. On Aussie pitches Mishbah & Younis are too old to score runs and their best spinner is injured. Amir & Wahab could run through Australia but given how they usually don't catch well enough to back up their bowlers it will be hard to consistently keep Australia to low scores.

Amir or Starc bowling in the evening in the humid Brisbane atmosphere. Could be tough times for batting.

Anyone's guess. As long as it's a decent match. A bit of intrigue. In NZ were they just 'warming up' with eyes on a bigger prize? If our pitches produce some turn and bounce for their spinners anything could happen. one thing is sure -Warner would love to take the game away from them if we bat first.

I see both teams having a toughish time of it with the bat but Pakistan more so. Low scoring tests but us to score a few more than the tourists. Hazlewood player of the series

They'll get hammered!