Cricket Australia (CA) CEO Nick Hockley has reacted to Mohammad Hafeez’s recent comments on the field scheduled for the warm-up match between Pakistan and the Australian Prime Minister’s XI in Canberra last week.

After Pakistan’s bowlers failed to make an impact on the game, Mohammad Hafeez expressed his disappointment at the nature of the Canberra pitch. The Pakistan team’s newly appointed Director of Cricket called it the slowest pitch ever received by a visiting team in Australia.

Batting first, Pakistan had scored 391 for 9 declared and their captain Shan Masood scored an unbeaten double century. In response, the Prime Minister’s XI scored 367 for 4 before the fourth day was completely wiped out. After the match, Mohammad Hafeez not only expressed his disappointment over the pitch but also termed it as a ploy by the home team to deny Pakistan the opportunity to prepare for the series.

“To be honest, we ticked most of the boxes as a team, but we were obviously very surprised and disappointed with the pitch we received for the practice match in Canberra. It was the slowest pitch we have ever been able to play on as a visiting team in Australia.

“Everybody knew. There is no point in repeating it over and over again. The disappointment was really big because we did not expect this type of agreement, but it may be their tactics, but we are prepared for it. “We are here to beat Australia and not just compete,” he added when asked if he had raised the issue with CA.

CA CEO responds to Mohammad Hafeez’s criticism:

On Tuesday (December 12), Hockley addressed concerns raised by Hafeez. While Hockley did not comment on the nature of the field, he expressed his disappointment at being eliminated on the final day. Hockley also highlighted that the warm-up match will boost Pakistan’s confidence.

“The Prime Minister XI game presented a valuable opportunity for Pakistani batsmen to gain experience in Australian conditions. “It is unfortunate that the game could not be completed due to significant weather disturbances during the night before the final day of play,” Hockley said.

“We have witnessed two substantial goals from both sides. This series serves as an excellent preparation and confidence booster for the Pakistan team. The captain’s exceptional batting performance, scoring 200, was a testament to his skill and stamina,” he further added.

The first Test of the three-match series is scheduled for December 14 in Perth. Pakistan are hoping for their first Test win in Australia since 1999. They suffered whitewashes in their last five visits to Australia and will be desperate to do well in the upcoming series.

Team Australia: (first Test only) Pat Cummins (c), Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitch Marsh, Lance Morris, Steve Smith, Mitch Starc , David Warner

Pakistan Team: Shan Masood (c), 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