Pakistan Cricket Board chairman Ramiz Raja, in an honest assessment, conceded that the pitch used for the first Test between Australia and Pakistan in Rawalpindi was not good advertisement for Test cricket. Raja’s comments came after the first Test, a historic one, ended in a boring draw with just 14 wickets falling over the course of 5 days.

Pakistan made 476/4 declared in their first innings before bowling out Australia for 459 on the final day. In response, Pakistan posted 252/0 as both openers Abdullah Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq hitting a hundred each. The bowlers toiled hard on the Rawalpindi pitch with Australia’s all-powerful attack, managing just 4 wickets despite bowling at Pakistan for close to 3 days.

Fans, as Raja conceded, were not happy with the pitch on offer as Pakistan welcomed Australia for the first time in 24 years. However, the PCB chairman stressed that the nature of pitches can’t be changed overnight and he did not have the time in hand to prepare a more sporting wicket for the 1st Test.

“A drawn match is never a good advertisement for Test cricket, and I totally understand that we need to get a result in five days these days, and we get it 90% [of the time], but I want to remind you of 2-3 things,” Raja said in a video message posted on YouTube.

Raja also added that Pakistan were cautious about not preparing a pitch that would suit Australia’s strengths and play into the hands of the visitors.

First of all, a number of headlines were in relation to the comments I made when I took over [as chairman] that pitches in Pakistan need to be redone, massively redone, but I took over in September and the season had already begun.

“It takes 5-6 months to prepare pitches, and during the off-season, you will see – soil is coming from Australia; we’ve experimented, consulted soil experts and prepared soils, and we will redo 50-60 pitches all over Pakistan once our season ends in March-April.”

“I understand the frustration of the fans – undoubtedly it would have been very good if we had a result, but this is a three-Test series, and we need to understand that a lot of cricket still remains to be played. Just for the heck of it, we can’t prepare a fast pitch or a bouncy pitch and put the game in Australia’s lap,” he added.

Raja pointed out that there were doubts over Pakistan’s opening pair of Imam, who was returning to the Test side for the first time in 2 years, and young Shafique who does not have the experience of facing up against quality attacks like that of Australia.

‘WE COULDN’T GO INTO EXPERIMENTAL MODE’

Raja also highlighted how the absence of Hasan Ali and Faheem Ashraf did not help their cause when it comes to making use of pace-friendly conditions if it were on offer in Rawalpindi.

“So when your opening batting pair and bowling pair are both disturbed and raw, you can’t take chances. Our legspinner wasn’t ready, Yasir Shah was unfit, so we got on the field with an under-resourced 15, and Australia, don’t forget, are a global powerhouse, and were coming here after winning the Ashes. We respect their talent. So we couldn’t go into an experimental mode so early, keeping our strengths in mind,” he added.

“I understand that we have gained a lot of confidence from this performance. The batting has sparkled, and on the bowling front, a spinner [Nauman Ali] has taken six wickets. So these are bright points.”

The 2nd Test between Australia and Pakistan will get underway from March 12 at the National Stadium in Karachi.