Cricket legend Mark Taylor says the Pakistan Cricket Board hasn’t provided an opportunity for an exciting Test series against Australia.
The Aussies are currently touring Pakistan for the first time since 1998, when Taylor captained the side.
The first Test ended in a mind-numbing draw, when a measly 14 wickets were taken across five days and the match was also hampered by rain and poor light.
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The second Test, in Karachi, is in the balance with Australia 3-251 after the first day.
But the pitches in both Karachi and Rawalpindi have been roundly slammed for being flat and lifeless, creating nightmares for bowlers and boredom for frustrated viewers.
It got worse on Saturday, when Pakistan employed strange tactics against Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith late on day one.
Their spinners constantly bowled down the leg side of the players, with the wicketkeeper bizarrely standing to that side of the stumps, in an effort to thwart scoring opportunities.
“Unfortunately I think it shows where Pakistan cricket is at,” Taylor told Nine’s Sports Sunday.
“They have got some very good cricketers at the moment, and I would love to see their establishment be a little more adventurous with what they’re telling them.
“Firstly the two pitches we’ve had, at Rawalpindi and at Karachi, have been roads. They are hard, you can see there’s not much grass on them.
“Pakistan bowling is very good, they’ve got some very good quicks these days. It looks to me like they haven’t backed their side in general.
“More or less they’re saying ‘don’t lose this series’. That is my worry. Just don’t lose.
“Pakistan pitches have never been minefields or green tops, but you would’ve expected a bit more grass with their quicks.
“And their batting is also very good. I would’ve loved to see good pitches put out for the first two (matches) and I think we would have had a very good series.”
Australia resumes its first innings at 4pm (AEDT) today.
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