Pakistan v Australia, 2012

	The heat was taxing and the games hard-fought © AFP Enlarge
Related Links Match reports : Pakistan v Australia, 2012 Match reports : Pakistan v Australia, 2012 Match reports : Pakistan v Australia, 2012 Match reports : Pakistan v Australia, 2012 Match reports : Pakistan v Australia, 2012 Match reports : Pakistan v Australia, 2012 Series/Tournaments: Australia tour of United Arab Emirates Teams: Australia | Pakistan

One-day internationals (3): Pakistan 1, Australia 2
Twenty20 internationals (3): Pakistan 2, Australia 1

When this limited-overs series was first mooted, three years previously, only one thing seemed clear: it could not possibly be held in the United Arab Emirates in the summer months, when temperatures exceed 40°C, and the oppressive humidity defies analogy. Oh yes it could!

Australia were concerned, with some justification, about playing 50-over games in this heat. But Pakistan had nowhere else to go once Sri Lanka pulled out because the dates clashed with the launch of their Twenty20 league; and Malaysia was ruled out because of an underdeveloped stadium infrastructure. There were brief suggestions of a tour comprising Twenty20 games only, thus allowing the matches to be played in the cooler evenings. More palatable to broadcasters, though, was the decision to push back the start times of the one-day internationals. Drinks breaks and ice vests were added; Australia's board and players' union sent a fact-finding team. Finally, a month before the start, the plan was confirmed. This, though, left a different concern. A tour made up of three one-day internationals and three Twenty20s - the Test leg was scheduled for 2014 - revealed the paradox of the modern calendar: both jam-packed and unfulfilling.

Yet by the time the final Twenty20 game ended - a dead rubber on a weekday night that almost filled out the stadium in Dubai - the tour had gone better than anyone could have hoped. Primarily this was because the matches were close enough to excite spectators. Four of the six games stayed alive - flirting here, teasing there - before turning on a missed catch, a review not taken, a small misjudgment. It was about right that, while Australia won the one-day series 2-1, Pakistan should prevail by the same margin in the Twenty20s.

Two bowlers shone. Mitchell Starc, Australia's tall left-arm seamer, took nine wickets in the one-day internationals at 15, and conceded less than four an over in his two Twenty20s. And the Pakistan off-spinner Saeed Ajmal continued his love affair with the Middle East, collecting ten one-day wickets at under ten apiece, and six at eight in the Twenty20 matches.

With the games tight, the heat actually garnished the spectacle. Cricket is often derided for not being physically taxing. But here the exertion was clear - in sweaty, kilogram-shedding, high definition. The abiding image was of Mike Hussey, no doubt fit enough to complete a triathlon before play, on his haunches between every delivery during the Abu Dhabi one-dayer, desperately drawing breath.

Because of the 6pm starts, the one-day internationals ended well past 1am, so that they were, technically, two-day games. The match in Abu Dhabi even spanned two months, starting in August and finishing in September.

Match reports for

Only ODI: Afghanistan v Australia at Sharjah, Aug 25, 2012
Scorecard

1st ODI: Australia v Pakistan at Sharjah, Aug 28, 2012
Report | Scorecard

2nd ODI: Australia v Pakistan at Abu Dhabi, Aug 31, 2012
Report | Scorecard

3rd ODI: Australia v Pakistan at Sharjah, Sep 3, 2012
Report | Scorecard

1st T20I: Australia v Pakistan at Dubai (DICS), Sep 5, 2012
Report | Scorecard

2nd T20I: Australia v Pakistan at Dubai (DICS), Sep 7, 2012
Report | Scorecard

3rd T20I: Australia v Pakistan at Dubai (DICS), Sep 10, 2012
Report | Scorecard