PAK VS AUS: Former England captain Michael Atherton believes that hitters will face a struggle during Australia’s upcoming tour of Pakistan.

The Test squad for the three-match series has been announced by Cricket Australia (CA). The fact that Australia will be sending a nearly full-strength team to Pakistan, according to the 53-year-old Atherton, is fantastic news.

“Once the security people say it’s safe to go, I think it’s incumbent upon the teams to go and play in Pakistan. Clearly playing in the UAE was necessary for a period of time, but was not sustainable in the long term,” Atherton said in 38th PCB podcast.

“And it’s great that Pakistan cricket supporters can see international cricket being played at home in Pakistan.

“There are two aspects to the tour. One is the security detail, which then provides advice to the players and the administration. This must be done at an arm’s length and independently. Once that advice is given, then I think players are usually happy to accept the advice and concentrate on cricket. So, there is no reason once they land, they should be good to play a good series.

Atherton emphasised the necessity of prioritising Test cricket above franchise leagues, adding that if the ICC wants this format to thrive, all members must have access to it.

“Relatively a small number of countries play Test cricket and you don’t want to see Test cricket under pressure, particularly from the various franchise leagues around the globe. You don’t just want to see three or four nations constantly playing against each other. So, if there are going to be 12 Test playing countries, you want all 12 to be flourishing and hopefully the game also growing its footprints.

“T20 is the vehicle by which the game expands globally. But those of us who have played Test cricket and love Test cricket, would like to see the five-day game flourish. And if that’s going to happen, clearly it needs to be the Test playing nations to flourish as well.

Atherton, on the other hand, believes that both Pakistan and Australia have good bowlers. He anticipates pitches that are more dynamic than the ones he saw in 2000.

“These are two good teams, two particularly good bowling attacks and that’s going to be a challenge for both the batting line-ups. I’m hoping that the pitches are a little bit more lively than they were when I was there 22 years ago. This should be an excellent series.”

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