Islamabad
\nPakistan\u2019s new captain Shan Masood said his team will be out to buck considerable odds, and 28 years of history, with a victory over a full-strength Australia in the first test from Thursday.
\nMasood, who replaced top batsman Babar Azam as skipper after the 50-overs World Cup, conceded Pakistan were short of test match practice but said there was no question of playing for anything less than a win at Perth Stadium.
\n\u201cYou have to be positive,\u201d Masood, a fan of England\u2019s \u2018Bazball\u2019 style of play, told reporters on Wednesday.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s picking your battles, it\u2019s being sensible. It\u2019s about seeing the requirement of the games and seeing what are the ways we can save time in the game and create a situation where taking 20 wickets would be easy.\u201d
\nPakistan have taken 20 wickets only once in their last eight tests in Australia going back to 2009, part of a sequence of 14 straight losses going back to their last win in November 1995.
\nAustralia\u2019s bowling attack, having helped deliver the World Test Championship title and 50-overs World Cup this year, will be confident of dismissing Pakistan twice on what is expected to be a quick surface at Perth Stadium.
\nCaptain Pat Cummins named a full-strength side on Wednesday with the return of off-spinner Nathan Lyon the only change from the side which retained the Ashes in the fifth test against England in August.
\nCummins also announced that middle-order batsman Travis Head, one of the heroes of Australia\u2019s World Cup triumph, would be one of the team\u2019s vice captains alongside Steve Smith.
\n\u201cI just think the personality that he brings to the team is something that we all love,\u201d Cummins told reporters.
\n\u201cHe takes the game on and he enjoys it. He\u2019s always got a smile on his face. He never takes anything too seriously.
\n\u201cSometimes you can mistake that for someone who\u2019s not a deep thinker about the game but I think tactically he\u2019s excellent.
\n\u201cSo he\u2019s got all the makings of a really strong leader,\u201d Cummins said.
\nAustralia team: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey, Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (captain), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad Pakistan\u2019s new captain Shan Masood said his team will be out to buck considerable odds, and 28 years of history, with a victory over a full-strength Australia in the first test from Thursday. Masood, who replaced top batsman Babar Azam as skipper after the 50-overs World Cup, conceded Pakistan were short of test match […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":374364,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-374348","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n