Australian cricketers were heading home Wednesday after completing their first tour to Pakistan since 1998. Pat Cummings side won the three-Test series 1-0, lost the one-day internationals 2-1 and rounded off an incident-free trip with victory in the lone Twenty20 international.
AFP Sports highlights five things we learned from the first full tour to Pakistan by a top Test playing nation since the fatal attack on a Sri Lanka team bus in Lahore in 2009.
safe to tour
A full-strength Australia squad were greeted by head of state-style security with hundreds of policemen and military personnel guarding their hotels and routes to the grounds.
The matches passed off without incident in Rawalpindi, Karachi and Lahore and the players, despite also being under strict Covid protocols, were even able to get out for a round of golf.
Pakistan will be hoping the successful Australian tour has paved the way for England and New Zealand to return after both called off series in Pakistan last year citing unspecified security concerns.
Pitches fail the Test
The Test series was blighted by flat pitches that offered nothing for the bowlers.
The opening match, on a Rawalpindi pitch deemed "below average" by the International Cricket Council, saw just 14 wickets fall as 1,187 runs were eked out in a bore draw.
The second Test pitch in Karachi was also slow and low and saw drama only in the final session of the final day when a late flurry of wickets saw Pakistan hang on for a draw.
Then it took Cummins bold declaration with almost two days play remaining in Lahore to earn Australia a win and the series on another placid pitch.
At least the batsmen-friendly surfaces made for more of a spectacle in the white ball games.
The highlight was Babar Azam and Imam-ul-Haq both scoring centuries as Pakistan thrillingly completed a record ODI run chase of 349 with an over to spare in Lahore to keep the series alive.
Be prepared
Australia were able to compete when they stepped into the unfamiliar territory of Pakistan because of meticulous research and preparation that even included studying domestic match performances in detail.
The result was an Australia squad able to cover every eventuality.
The tourists had variety in their spin and fast bowling options, and selected experienced batsmen who could adapt to the conditions -- including Pakistan-born Usman Khawaja, one of the tour s big success stories.
