Pakistan meet Australia in a full tour for the first time in more than four years. Australia are on a roll; Pakistan have just been rolled over in Sri Lanka.
But Pakistan are a different proposition in the UAE, where they are hosting the Australians. Here are four questions that may decide the fate of the contests.
How much will Australia miss Michael Clarke?
How crucial Clarke is to Australia's continuing resurgence will become clear in the UAE. Clarke is definitely out of the one-day internationals and is doubtful for the two Tests.
In many ways Clarke is one of a dwindling species: the captain’s captain. He does not operate by the conventional modern manual. He sets intriguing fields. He uses his bowlers astutely. He sets the on-field mood and is worth watching because he keeps the game alive.
He is also proof that a captain is only as good as his team. Australia were abysmal in India at the start of 2013.
They were competitive but beaten in the Ashes in England that year, and now they have happened upon a ferocious pace attack.
The batting remains susceptible, especially in unfamiliar conditions, and it is here that Clarke’s absence may be felt most. He averages nearly 60 as leader in 37 Tests and is their most experienced batsman.
Can Pakistan cope without Saeed Ajmal?
When Ajmal last played a Test against Australia – Boxing Day in 2009 in Melbourne – he was a different bowler. The cricket world was a different place, too.
He was ineffective, just two wickets in nearly 70 overs as a lesser stand-in for Danish Kaneria. He has become everything to Pakistan since: their go-to bowler, their run-saver and their leader. On UAE pitches in particular, he has been immense: 67 wickets in 12 Tests here.
Now he will not be here, taking with him a considerable chunk of Pakistan’s chances of a first Test series win against Australia in 20 years. Such was his potential threat, Australia hired the most-dissected action in the history of the game in the shape of Sri Lanka’s Muttiah Muralitharan to prepare them.
An interesting subplot to Ajmal's suspension is the presence of Australia's coach Darren Lehmann on the ICC cricket committee, which has led calls for the banishing of suspect actions.
Lehmann and Australia will be wary, though; it is at points such as this, when recovering from a grievous blow, that Pakistan pull out an entirely unexpected trump card.
What does the future hold for Shane Watson?
Watson missing cricket because of injury barely constitutes news anymore. It is the leitmotif of his career, and the two Tests he misses in the UAE mean he has played in just 52 of Australia's 108 Tests since he made his debut.
It has led to a career half-formed. Lehmann is a fan and keen to have him in his side, but Watson has been peripheral to Australia’s rise during the past year. He averaged less than 40 in the 5-0 Ashes whitewash and missed two Tests in the win in South Africa.
In any case, he has not averaged 50-plus in a series of more than two Tests since 2009/10. He can bat in several positions but has not made one his own.
His bowling is handy but hardly essential. It all adds up to his absence not making much difference at all. Australia will debut all-rounder Mitchell Marsh, and if he does well then Watson’s future is unclear.
Which Mitchell Johnson and Wahab Riaz will turn up?
It may seem foolish to have Johnson and Riaz in the same paragraph. The former is the world’s most lethal fast bowler at present. The latter is, well, Wahab Riaz.
But something about Riaz – left-arm slingy, swift and unpredictable like Johnson – has been impressive in recent months.
He has always struggled – like Johnson in his bad days – to get lines right. But in Sri Lanka and the Champions League, Riaz has looked like the bowler who so impressed on his Test debut in 2010.
After a year of terrorising batsmen, it will be interesting to see how Johnson fares on pitches that do not afford him bounce or pace.
He will not mind the opposition: Pakistani batsmen gave him 12 wickets in three Tests when he was not bowling well in Australia in 2009/10.
They handled him better in England later that year, but Johnson is a different beast now and many of their young batsmen would not have faced the kind of searing pace of which the Australian is capable.
osamiuddin@thenational.ae
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