• Dubai Test (day one of five): Pakistan first innings 255-3
• Peter Siddle lifts Australia by halting Hafeez on 126
In so many ways, Australia’s October Test in Dubai is the closing bookend to their March Test in Johannesburg. Captain Tim Paine would prefer it wasn’t – he has said plenty of times recently that he’d like to leave behind Australia’s ill-starred tour to South Africa earlier this year. But the connection is inevitable, given the current trip to the United Arab Emirates is for Australia’s first Test matches since the ball-tampering scandal six months ago.
But even with six months between outings, as the Dubai match began it seemed to be following directly on from the one preceding it. In Johannesburg, a patchwork Australian team was rapidly and comprehensively unstitched. No other result was realistic after three players had been suspended for cheating. A week of sleepless nights and worldwide condemnation took their toll. The replacement players had either flown over from Australia on a day’s notice, or came off the bench after months of no cricket.
Continue reading...from The Guardian https://ift.tt/2IGZEu1
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