New Zealand T20 shifted from Sylhet to Mirpur

The venue of the only T20 international in the Bangladesh-New Zealand series has been shifted from the Sylhet Stadium to the Shere Bangla National Stadium in Mirpur due to construction work at the original venue. It will be played as per schedule on November 6.

The change was brought about in order to complete the construction of three important structures at the Sylhet venue. The ICC has given the BCB time till November 30 to finish the construction of the main pavilion building, the media centre and the scenic hill.

While the full construction of the pavilion building has been completed, there is some work left in the media centre and the hill that is being spruced up for a seated audience and a green bank.

Sylhet was earmarked as one of the venues for the 2014 World T20, but became the focus of attention along with the Cox's Bazar Stadium as the pace of work at both venues since June this year has been slow.

"Our priority is to complete this important World T20 venue ahead of the deadline given by the ICC," BCB's acting CEO Nizamuddin Chowdhury said. "Therefore we felt that to ensure uninterrupted work at the stadia in Sylhet, it was best to hold the Bangladesh-New Zealand match elsewhere."

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New ODI rules harsh on bowlers - Raina

Suresh Raina has said the combination of two new balls and only four deep fielders was putting tremendous pressure on bowlers in ODIs, but added there was no choice for them but to adjust and learn to cope.

"I think it's tough for the bowlers," Raina said in Ranchi ahead of the fourth ODI against Australia. "We have to admit that. When five fielders are inside (the circle), and if a regular bowler can't keep it tight, it will be very difficult for a part-timer. There's pressure on bowlers on what line and length to bowl. They have to be very sure of what their plans are and how they have to bowl to each batsman.

"You can bowl two bouncers, but there are four other deliveries to bowl also. The ball doesn't reverse much because it's quite new. The ball is only 25 overs old at the most. Even spinners don't get that much turn. But whatever it is, we have to adjust to how things are. We can't give excuses. We just have to bat well and bowl well. No doubt it's good for batsmen, and we have no complaints. We have to play by the rules that the ICC makes, and as players do our jobs."

Raina also backed the beleaguered Ishant Sharma to rebound strongly, after the fast bowler conceded 30 runs in the 48th over of Australia's chase to lose India the Mohali ODI. Ishant has been the most expensive specialist bowler in the series, going for 7.87 runs an over. "It can happen to any bowler in the last few overs," Raina said. "Ishant has practised well in the last two days. I hope he stays strong in his mind, and if he stays positive, we'll definitely see a good performance from him. He has worked very hard in the last two days. I hope he will come back strongly against Australia tomorrow."

Twice in three games, the home batsmen have been unsettled by Australia's quick bowlers, especially Mitchell Johnson, but Raina denied the visitors had gained any psychological advantage over India. "I wouldn't say we are under pressure. We won the first game (T20) in Rajkot, then they won in Pune, and then we won again in Jaipur and they won after that. It's a good contest. We are both young teams.

"Sometimes our batting clicks, sometimes our bowling does. But whoever does well on the day, whoever has good plans and positivity and can feel good about themselves is important. Everyone talks about so much cricket happening, but it's important to see how you're feeling, how mentally strong and tough you are.

"Johnson bowled well no doubt, and he had luck on his side. There's no doubt the batsmen have to do well in the middle order - Yuvi paa (Yuvraj Singh), (Ravindra) Jadeja and myself. We'll have to take responsibility and bat well."

Raina has made 39 & 17, Yuvraj 7 & 0 and Jadeja 11 & 2 in the series. In Mohali, it was MS Dhoni who revived India from 76 for 4 with his ninth ODI hundred. Dhoni accelerated gradually to play several powerful strokes at the death, and also brought out his trademark helicopter swing, a shot Raina said belonged completely to the India captain.

"That is a Mahi-bhai exclusive. It's very difficult to play that shot. You have to pick the length early. He has played it for many years. When someone is bowling yorkers at 140-145 (kph) and the ball is aimed at the toes, you have to put the entire load on the back and turn the bat. Other players have their own quality shots, but the helicopter shot suits only him, and it won't suit others. He always clears the rope with it because he has that kind of strength. All players try to hit low full tosses to midwicket or over the bowler's head, but you need to practice that shot a lot."

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Hughes wants to build on strong openings

Phillip Hughes is pleased with the consistency of his opening partnership with Aaron Finch so far in the ODI series against India. They put on 110, 74 and 68 in the first three matches and Hughes said they would have liked to have made larger stands.

"Aaron's very good to bat with," Hughes said on the eve of the fourth ODI in Ranchi. "Standing at the other end, I've got the best seat in the house when he goes off. We've had a really good relationship over the last five to ten years actually. We roomed together at the academy and always kept in touch. Aaron's just a fantastic guy and cricketer. I love going out to bat with him.

"The one disappointing thing is that we'd like to make the partnership bigger and try and take the game on even more. We've been quite consistent in the first three games and we've spoken about not looking too far ahead. Hopefully we can keep posting totals on the board and setting the guys that come in through the middle order."

Australia's captain George Bailey has built on the starts Hughes and Finch have provided. He is the second highest run-getter in the series after Virat Kohli, with 220 runs. Hughes said Bailey had been "outstanding".

"He [Bailey] is really leading from the front," Hughes said. "He is a real good character and we all love playing under George. He has been very consistent in the one-day format in the last 12 months. Again in this series, he has batted really beautifully, great to see the leader lead from the front."

Hughes has made 47, 83 and 22 in the series. When Australia lost all four Tests in India earlier this year, he had tallied 147 over eight innings at an average of 18.37, falling repeatedly against the India spinners. Hughes said Australia had moved on from that failure.

"The Test series a few months back wasn't as successful. For us to lose that series 4-0 was extremely disappointing. I suppose the wickets are different and it's a white ball. But there are a couple of things that I obviously picked up and worked on. That was the first time that I had toured India on an international tour and Test series. It's a nice thing to have toured and come back and score a few runs."

Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting had called Hughes "clearly our best young batsman in the country," and said he should be given a long run in the side. Hughes started the recent Ashes in England with an unbeaten 81 at Trent Bridge but was left out after following that up with a duck in the second innings and making 1 and 1 at Lord's. Hughes was grateful for Ponting's praise.

"That's the first I've heard of it. It's great when a great player of Ricky's calibre comes out and says that and supports you. It's a fantastic feeling. For me personally it's just about being as consistent as possible and continuing to keep performing. I'm just grateful to be in this one-day side. I want to keep putting consistent scores on the board and hopefully set up wins for Australia."

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South Africa must recall old lessons

It was finding a way to win in the subcontinent that was a key part to South Africa's rise to No. 1 in the world and now they need to recall some old lessons

Ten years ago yesterday, South Africa lost a Test match in Lahore. A week later they had been defeated in the series, after a drawn game in Faisalabad. They only went back to Pakistan once after that, four years later. Then, they won.

Graeme Smith, who was in his 16th Test, "does not remember much" about the 2003 defeat except that it was a "big turning point in our path as a Test team." That series was not the start of South Africa's remarkable unbeaten run on the road - that only started after they lost to Sri Lanka in 2006 - but it was a tour in which they discovered some what it would take to compete on the subcontinent.

"Any time you lose you learn lessons," Smith remembered. "We thought about a lot of things after that, things like what kind of cricketers could have made more of an impact. Those losses helped us with the successes we had away from home afterwards."

The most noticeable difference between the personnel South Africa employed for the two series is the type of spinner they used. In the first, it was Paul Adams, who was their leading wicket-taker despite the defeat. In the second, it was Paul Harris, who was also the chief destroyer in victory.

The composition and form of the Pakistan team they faced on both occasions was different but it's still worth noting that while Adams went for 3.38 runs to the over, Harris conceded only 1.96. Harris' job was primarily a holding one and if conditions and circumstances conspired for it to be more than that, he happily accepted.

If South Africa believe in learning from the past, that will tell them something. In Abu Dhabi, only Morne Morkel succeeded in keeping an end quiet for extended periods of time while the person who was supposed to do it, Robin Peterson, was the most expensive and least effective.

South Africa seem intent on not replacing Peterson but if they retain him, they need to issue clear instructions that he should concentrate on drying up runs. Smith said Imran Tahir's "attacking ability will come into consideration," especially if Dale Steyn is ruled out, which suggests that if he is used he may operate alongside, rather than in place of Peterson.

Whatever combination they go with, South Africa need a designated donkey bowler if they want to "find a way to make a greater impact with the ball at different times," as Smith said. He recognised that was what Pakistan did in Abu Dhabi. "Pakistan's spinners didn't dominate but they played crucial roles. They held the game and we weren't able to break free so they were always ahead of the game," he said.

If South Africa can find someone to do that, it will the first step towards squaring the series. The next, and perhaps more important, will be in the batting line-up.

When South Africa lost to Pakistan in 2003, they were bowled out for 320 and 241 in the match they were defeated in. When they won four years later, their first innings score was exactly 450. It does not even need revisiting that history to know that big totals set up wins and Smith knows that. He previously said South Africa need to look at posting scores of "above 400," in the UAE and today reiterated that. "We need to be posting more solid totals," he said. "We need to Pakistan work harder for the things that they get in this Test match."

While South Africa have accepted they were outplayed in the first Test, they also believe they allowed Pakistan to dominate. They have not identified a clear reason for their lack of fight but Smith expects the bulldog in them to be back for the must-win encounter. "We lacked a little bit of an edge," he admitted.

Smith is "looking forward" to South Africa regaining some of their razor-sharpness but conceded it will take immense character from a side that will be missing one of its heartbeats. Hashim Amla will sit out this Test as he waits for his second child to be born and Steyn could also be ruled out, depending on the severity of his hamstring tightness.

"It's a challenge to be without your best players," Smith said. "When you play sport you have injuries and obstacles that come your way and that's why you need to have a squad of players that can perform." South Africa's replacements have included heroics from JP Duminy - in Australia in 2008 - and Faf du Plessis - also in that country last year. Whether they have the depth to do it again will be seen over the next five days.

Smith thinks they do. "There is still confidence in our ability. We know we have won all around the world and we know we can win in different conditions." Pakistan 2007 is an example. Then, it was an indication they were on the up. Last year they reached the top and this is the series that was thought to be their biggest obstacle to staying there. Should South Africa overcome the hurdle, it will prove the lessons they were taught in the past have been learned.

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India's SA tour gets go-ahead

India's tour of South Africa later this year is all but confirmed, with a formal statement expected in the next 24 hours. The month-long tour is likely to comprise two Tests and three ODIs. The decision follows an assurance from Cricket South Africa that it will suspend its CEO, Haroon Lorgat, from dealing with matters related to India and the ICC pending an inquiry by the world body into allegations against him.

The allegations relate to Lorgat's role in the statement issued by David Becker, formerly the ICC's legal head, that the BCCI's flouting of the FTP could have legal implications. In his statement, released to the media last week, Becker had said it was "improper" to allow a member body to "blatantly disregard an ICC resolution".

The issue was touched upon during the ICC Executive Board meeting in London over the weekend and the BCCI's demand for an ethics committee inquiry against Becker and Lorgat gained a lot of support. Many ICC Full Members are believed to have expressed their reservations over Lorgat being a part of ICC proceedings.

Though an ICC spokesperson couldn't be reached for a comment, it is understood that Lorgat will be suspended from two of the most important responsibilities in his job profile but would continue to take care of all the domestic affairs at CSA as well as dealing with other ICC members.

The decision, which is expected to be made public through a joint statement by the two boards, will end a story that has been playing out for several months. It severely tested the relations between the BCCI and CSA, which have been on best terms since the end of apartheid in the early 1990s.

The origin of the issue was the schedule for India's tour of South Africa, which was announced by CSA on July 8. However, it immediately fell into problems because the schedule had not been endorsed by the BCCI. And though there was no official statement, the sticking point seemed to be CSA's appointment of Lorgat as its chief executive despite a series of run-ins between Lorgat and the BCCI during his tenure as ICC chief.

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Is Duleep Trophy no longer relevant?

With tournaments like Champions League T20 nudging Duleep Trophy towards the margins of India's domestic calendar, the once-popular event is facing an identity crisis

The last time the Duleep Trophy was shared, before this year's edition, was 16 years ago when the 1997-98 final between West Zone and Central Zone in Chennai lost three days of play due to rain. The common strands between then and now are the weather and the four-match format of the tournament.

However, the significance of the tournament to India's domestic calendar has changed. Sixteen years ago, the Duleep Trophy was the last hurdle on the domestic circuit to earning a national call-up. In 2013, the tournament is struggling to find a slot in the domestic calendar that allows at least the zonal stars to participate. The tournament has clashed with the Champions League T20 for the last few years, and had the status of the Duleep Trophy not devalued, it would have seen domestic stars in whites rather than the coloured clothing of their franchise.

In such a scenario, one of the semi-finals this year was decided by a coin toss, followed by a final that saw just 10 overs played over five days - the last thing the tournament, already in the midst of an identity crisis, needed.

Amay Khurasiya, who led Central Zone in that final 16 years ago, feels it's time to realise the declining worth of the Duleep Trophy.

"If there are so many avenues for a person to get selected for India, then some avenues are going to dip in terms of significance," Khurasiya, who is now the director of Madhya Pradesh Cricket Association's academy, told ESPNcricinfo.

The Champions League matches were mostly held in cities that were unaffected by rain. A match scheduled to be held in Ahmedabad was moved to Jaipur following heavy rain. Yet that facility was not extended to the Duleep Trophy final that was held at the same venue where, 72 hours earlier, the semi-final had been washed out.

Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI's general manager - game development, told Mumbai Mirror that October was the only slot available and the tournament could only be held in the southern part of India because other venues around the country were involved with the Champions League or the India-Australia series.

TC Mathew, the Kerala Cricket Association president who is also a member of the BCCI's senior tournament committee, also cited the same reasons.

"First and foremost, we must understand that the rains were expected to subside in October," Mathew said. "And it wasn't raining every day, so the question of informing the Board of our (KCA) inability to host the final after the semi-final disaster didn't arise.

"At the same time, I don't think the Board was in a position to shift the final at the eleventh hour because of the volume of cricket played around the country. At the end of the day, when Kerala has seen rains more than 180% of the average annual rainfall, despite putting in all the possible human effort, we couldn't have more than 10 overs in the game."

The BCCI finds itself in a conundrum of scheduling too many tournaments in limited span of time, with recent additions such as the Corporate Trophy, IPL, Champions League and the Syed Mushtaq Ali Trophy. With a prolonged Ranji trophy, which now assures each team of at least eight games per season, there are questions over whether the BCCI should let go of the Duleep Trophy that, until recently, used to be a marquee event. Khurasiya isn't averse to the idea.

"In an era when a four-over spell or an eight- or ten-over burst with the bat can catapult a youngster into the national team, Duleep Trophy has almost lost its value," Khurasiya said. "Nothing lasts forever. With times everything changes.

"You need to have vision. If something's not worth it, you better not continue with it. No doubt plenty of avenues have been created for cricketers to get noticed. At the same time, too much of cricket is also not good if it's affecting the quality. And I suppose the quality is being affected these days."

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Anderson eager for pace and bounce

James Anderson has welcomed the suggestion that Australia will prepare relatively helpful pitches for seamers in the forthcoming Ashes series.

After England prevailed 3-0 at home on surfaces that were generally low and slow, it has been suggested in some quarters that the pitches in Australia will provide far more encouragement to the home side's seamers. The groundsman at the Gabba, Kevin Mitchell, told the Courier Mail that his pitch would be "pretty different" from those used in England and would "definitely have a tinge of green" in it, while Darren Lehmann, the Australia coach, promised pitches that would "speed up" and where "those nicks will carry and you'll be able to bowl them out quicker."

But while Australia's seamers may well prefer their home conditions, they will also be to the liking of England's. And, bearing in mind that England's opening seamers currently sit at No. 1 (Stuart Broad with 45 wickets) and No. 2 (Anderson with 41) in the Test wickets tally for 2013, Anderson is confident that England have the bowlers to exploit any assistance. Graeme Swann, England's offspinner, is at No. 4 in the table.

"We'll love it if the pitches are more helpful," Anderson told ESPNcricinfo at a Slazenger event. "Over the last few years, wickets around the world have become flatter and flatter. And in England they've gone especially flat.

"So to go somewhere where they produce something in them for bowlers, we'll be delighted. It's 100% a good thing as far as I'm concerned. Hopefully with the bowling unit we've picked, we'll be able to make the most of it."

While Anderson accepted that conditions in Australia were slightly different, he felt that the experience of England's attack rendered them well prepared.

"Yes, they use a different ball in Australia, but it's not a huge deal," he said. "We use the Kookaburra ball loads of places and, although it's slightly different, the white ball we use in England is a Kookaburra and feels the same in the hand.

"The last time we went there, in 2010-11, the wickets had a bit in them for bowlers and I enjoyed it a lot. It doesn't swing for a huge amount of time, so having other weapons, such as reverse and consistency, is very important. Quite a few of us have played out there before, so I wouldn't anticipate too many surprises."

Anderson was particularly effusive in his praise for his new ball partner Broad, suggesting that, aged 27, he has time to improve further in the months ahead, and in Swann who, he felt, was likely to play a key role in the series, even if the pitches are designed to negate his bowling.

"People forget how young Broad is," Anderson said. "So he has time on his side. But it's great to have someone who can run through a side the way he does at times.

"Yes, he can blow a bit hold and cold, but what you see at the moment is that spells he showed against New Zealand at Lord's and Australia at Durham will become more frequent and the spells in between will be more steady. He's aiming for more consistency and he's getting there.

"The guys in the team know how important Graeme Swann is to us. Even if the pitch doesn't turn, he bowls that attacking line outside off stump and there aren't many orthodox offspinners that are brave enough to do that. He does an incredible job with the bat and at second slip."

And Anderson had encouraging words for Graham Onions, who missed out on selection despite being the most impressive seamer in county cricket for the second season in succession.

"He's unfortunate to miss out," Anderson said. "I've experienced that, too, and it's tough to take. It's really tough on him.

"But if I was him, I'd try and find a positive angle. He's going to South Africa to play domestic cricket so I'd recommend he focuses on that. Then, if there are any injuries among our bowling unit, he could be in a better position than some of the people who were picked originally. He would be match fit and he could fly straight in to the side."

James Anderson will be using the Slazenger V100 ULTIMATE TAS bat during this winter's Ashes series, part of the new 2014 Slazenger cricket range available to pre-order in November. For more information on the Slazenger range for 2014 visit Store.slazenger.com

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Toby Radford named Glamorgan coach

Toby Radford, the West Indies assistant coach and former Middlesex and Sussex batsman, has been named as Glamorgan's new head coach.

Radford, 41, who was born in Wales and previously coached Middlesex, will take over from Matthew Mott following a season where Glamorgan reached the final of the YB40. He will join Hugh Morris, the outgoing managing director of England cricket who has returned to his former county as chief executive, as part of a new management team at Glamorgan and is set to begin on November 1.

Radford said: "It was great to see the team reaching a Lord's final at the end of the season, and I believe we have a wonderful opportunity of building on this success and developing a team of which the Welsh nation can be proud."

"I am honoured to have been offered this position and look forward to working with chief executive and director of cricket Hugh Morris, and the playing and coaching staff of Glamorgan in bringing success back to the county I supported as a youngster."

Following a playing career that was limited to 14 first-class matches, Radford move into coaching firstly with Berkshire and then with the Middlesex Academy before taking temporary charge of the first team in 2007 when Richard Pybus quit midway through the season. He was then appointed on a full-time basis in 2008, the summer Middlesex won the Twenty20 Cup.

In 2010, Radford moved to the Caribbean to take up a post at the newly formed High Performance Centre in Barbados from where he became involved with the main West Indies squad firstly as a batting coach and then Ottis Gibson's assistant.

Gibson, himself, had been linked with the Glamorgan role but the WICB made it clear last week that they had not been aware of interest.

Morris, who takes up his Glamorgan role in January, said: "In recent years Toby has built a strong reputation as one of the most talented young cricket coaches in England and Wales, and his experience of managing and developing some world class cricketers will be a great asset to our club. He is a proud Welshman and is looking forward to working with our current players and nurturing local talent for the future."

Glamorgan's run in the YB40, which saw them secure their first Lord's final since 2000, was the high point of their season. Elsewhere, they finished second bottom in Division Two of the Championship and failed to qualify for the quarter-finals of the FLt20.

Some young players showed promise in 2013 notably offspinner Andrew Salter in the Lord's final and pace bowler Michael Reed who will be involved with the England development programme over the winter.

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'New Zealand are under pressure' - Mushfiqur

Bangladesh captain Mushfiqur Rahim wants his side to continue the consistency they showed in the first Test, and feels that New Zealand are the team under more pressure.

"I think they are under pressure," Mushfiqur said. "It is not easy to play in our home conditions. They wouldn't want to lose to a side ranked lower than them.

"We want to win this Test match. I think they would also want a result in this game. After the first two days, you can see which way the game is heading. The first innings is going to be vital in this Test. So we want to start well."

But in the last couple of years, Bangladesh's record in second Tests of the usual two-match series that they play have been poor, particularly after they impressed in the first match of the series.

Against Sri Lanka in March, they drew the first Test in Galle but were strangled in Colombo, to lose by seven wickets. Similarly at home in 2012, they ran West Indies close in the first Test in Dhaka before going down easily in Khulna. Against the same opponents in 2011, a similar theme continued when they drew the first Test but was crushed by 229 runs in the second game.

Mushfiqur believes that since the home team dominated long passages of play and had more individual performances in Chittagong, they hold the upper hand over the visitors.

"We are hungry to win the second Test," Mushfiqur said. "We had a lot of gains from the first game, but it was a draw. We wanted to win. The whole team is keen to win the game and the series. It is a huge challenge to play well in two Tests in a row, but the players are responsible these days. So I hope we remain consistent.

"We dominated three days of the Chittagong Test, so I would say we are ahead of them, mentally. Several players are just itching to get out there and perform. If we can combine it as a team, we will do well."

Some say that Mushfiqur's biggest advantage is that two of his best players, Tamim Iqbal and Shakib Al Hasan, are yet to make big contributions in 2013. They have had quiet times in Sri Lanka, Zimbabwe and in the Chittagong Test against New Zealand. Shakib did get a fifty in the second innings, but still hasn't hit the level he has maintained in the last four years.

"Shakib and Tamim are relaxed. They are always thinking about doing well in the next match. There are more performers in the team, around seven or eight guys. But the records of those two in Mirpur are great, so I am hoping that they do well here."

Bangladesh are likely to keep the same playing eleven, but there were some murmurs of a third seamer being given a go in place of Abdur Razzak."It is likely that we will play the same combination. We will take a call tomorrow morning, but I am hoping to keep the seven batsman-four bowlers blend intact."

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Whatmore aims for strong series finish

Dav Whatmore has first-hand experience of how South Africa deal with losing. Thirteen years ago, they were cleaned up by an innings and 15 runs in Galle, thanks to a 13-wicket Muttiah Muralitharan special, and responded with a seven-run win in Kandy to square the series. Jacques Kallis is the only survivor from that tour but Whatmore believes South Africa still retain that attitude.

"They are very hard, very resilient," the Pakistan coach said. "You write them off at your peril because they come back hard." With that in mind, Pakistan know what to expect as they aim to account for another No.1 side and Whatmore believes they've had enough time to ready themselves for that.

He attributed Pakistan's success in the first Test to three key things, chief among them being sufficient practice. "We're better prepared against this opposition than we were the last time we played them in South Africa," he said. When Pakistan were white-washed 3-0 earlier in March this year, they had not played a Test for seven months but this time they had matches in Zimbabwe and practice games at home before the series.

With game time under the belts and changes to the squad, Pakistan were better equipped to exploit the 'home' advantage. "Conditions are different and we've had a slight change of personnel. It was a good, competitive effort over the four days."

Mohammad Hafeez's axing is thought to have sparked the change as Pakistan experimented with new openers and enjoyed success. Whatmore praised the selectors but stopped short of using one game to forecast long-term plans.

"Some credit should be given to the selectors, in terms of the ability to see Shan Masood. He is a good batsman, technically, and has a bright future," he said. "That's the thing with bold decisions, sometimes they come off, sometimes not.

"With Khurram, he played a lot of first-class cricket in Pakistan and you need that. Players have to go through a hard grind. He has the benefit of doing that. He came in with a bank of runs behind him and there was every chance he would do well. Now, he has to be consistent. This next match is a test for him but he certainly has the ability."

For Whatmore, Pakistan's win was a demonstration of their potential as a unit, something he knew all along. "I wasn't surprised we did well. Leading up to this series, people in Pakistan were alluding to the loss in Zimbabwe and were saying we didn't have a chance. In my mind that was never the case. I knew we could be competitive. We're better prepared. Conditions are different. We have other players. These things do matter."

And they will matter again when Pakistan take the field on Wednesday hoping to pull off another coup and prompt the decline of another No.1. South Africa's lead at the top of the Test rankings will be cut by 10 points if they lose two-nil (it currently sits at 19), which may be one reason Misbah said he would ask for a "result pitch" in Dubai.

Whatmore, however, said he had given the groundsman "no instructions" on what to do and that he has "prepared the pitch as he always does." Since Pakistan have been forced to make the UAE their home, Dubai has hosted four Tests with only one, against South Africa in 2010, a draw.

In that game, Pakistan had fought back after conceding a first-innings deficit. Misbah had said it felt like a win and Whatmore indicated he wouldn't be unhappy if the same thing happens again.

"I want to win the series. One-nil is just as good as two-nil," Whatmore said. "A hard-fought draw is very important for every team. I won't be upset if we don't win as long as we finish the game well." And that will mean not finishing it the way Sri Lanka did in Kandy.

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