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Pakistan's first Test against Australia in Perth is expected to be played on a "fast, hard and bouncy wicket" as ten millimetres of grass has been left on the Optus Stadium pitch.
With two days left for the series to kick off, head curator Isaac McDonald talked about the surface which is likely to be on offer for the first Test. "The conditions are really favourable for making a really nice, fast, hard and bouncy wicket. I'm really happy with the presentation and how it's going. At the moment I'm at 10mm [of grass] and that's where I started last year's game. But there's still a day of prep. It's hard to give a number, but I can't see it staying at 10. Definitely not having as much grass on top is what I'm aiming for," McDonald told reporters on Tuesday, according to ESPNcricinfo. The temperature for the first Test is expected to be somewhere around 30 degrees Celsius, which will make the cracks appearing on the pitch unlikely in the final days of the Test. "I just don't think it gets hot enough. You need like three-four days of high 30s-mid-40s to really make it blow open. In this stadium we are quite sheltered whereas at the WACA it's open and you get the wind, so it's a different kind of an environment where we're kind of stuck in," McDonald said. As the pitch promises to be a heaven for the pacers, both sides will be tempted to bowl after winning the toss. Australia's vice-captain Steve Smith talked about the surface and said, "I think there's a little bit of grass on it, I can see from afar, so maybe a bit of seam movement early on and probably get a bit flatter as the game goes on. I assume it'll have some decent pace and bounce, which is what it normally does here... but we'll wait and see and play it by ear each day." Even though pacers will derive most of the benefits from the surface, veteran spinner Nathan Lyon is likely to catch the eyes of fans. The experienced off-spinner scalped 22 by using the extra bounce on the offer. "I like playing my role here. I enjoy bowling here, there's nice bounce on offer, and it's a nice place to bowl. The wicket looks like a typical Perth wicket. It's all good signs," Lyon said. Australia squad for first Test, beginning December 14 in Perth: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins (capt), Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood, Scott Boland, Cameron Green, Lance Morris. Pakistan Squad: Shan Masood (captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Khurram Shahzad, Mir Hamza, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Noman Ali, Saim Ayub, Salman Ali Agha, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi. (ANI)
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