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Pakistan 391 for 9 dec (Masood 201*, Buckingham 5-80) drew with Prime Minister’s XI 367 for 4 (Renshaw 136*, Bancroft 53)
Pakistan’s preparations for their three-Test series against Australia have wrapped a day early after a freak weather event battered Canberra.
A massive electrical storm hit the region around 8pm on Friday, with 55kph winds blowing off the covers over the Manuka Oval pitch and exposing it to driving rain.
Umpires and captains inspected the pitch late on Saturday morning and called the game off over safety concerns, confirming the clash with the Prime Minister’s XI would end in a draw.
But their bowling contingent will be completely different, with Shaheen Shah Afridi, Hasan Ali and Mohammad Wasim set to be named after resting.
Australia’s first Test side looks set, although plenty of discussion at the PM’s XI game surrounded who will replace opener David Warner once he retires after the Pakistan series.
Contenders Cameron Bancroft and Marcus Harris didn’t turn their starts into big scores, the same fate that met allrounder Cameron Green.
PM’s XI captain Nathan McSweeney said Renshaw’s unbeaten 136 off 337 was a pure Test innings, while declaring he was glad he’s not picking Warner’s replacement.
“It was easy to get frustrated out there with some shots you thought should go for four and you’re getting two for it, so the mental strength for him to face as many balls as he did was impressive,” he told reporters.
“That puts him in good stead I guess, along with the other guys, they’ve all batted well, so good luck to the selectors.
“They all have been [ready for Tests] for a while, they’re all quality players who continue to churn out runs in Shield cricket, I don’t think there’s a bad decision to be made.”
At Manuka Oval, umpire Donovan Koch said work would need to be done on an alternate strip expected to be used for a Big Bash League match between the Sydney Thunder and Brisbane Heat on Tuesday night.
“The pitch … is wet, the surrounding is wet and our main concern is actually the BBL pitch, it’s two strips down from the playing pitch where there’s a game on Tuesday night,” he told Fox Cricket.
“We’re going to take a cautious approach, we’ve got a Test team that we don’t want to cause any injuries to, and we’ve got a few BBL players in the [PM’s XI] team as well.”
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