Brisbane pitch and Australia's quicks could be the difference in the first Test
Pace, bounce set to test Pakistan batsmen
National selector Mark Waugh believes an Australian all-out pace could be too much for Pakistan's batsmen to cope with in the first Test at the Gabba.
The pink Kookaburra ball and day-night conditions are set to favour the bowlers in Brisbane and, regardless of whether or not Australia go with four quicks, Waugh believes the hosts will have the Pakistanis covered.
"I think we'll be confident. Yeah, why not? We've won the last Test in Adelaide - day-night Test, coming off some good one-day form," Waugh said on Fox Sports' Inside Cricket.
"They're very good on flat pitches that don't bounce a lot. Most batsmen are, I guess.
"But just the bounce and pace, their footwork tends to be not as sharp as some of the international sides. So it's going to be a test for them."
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With skipper Steve Smith guaranteeing Jackson Bird a start alongside spearheads Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, the only question remains if South Australian seamer Chad Sayers gets the nod over Nathan Lyon, who boasts a spinner's record second only to Shane Warne at the Gabba.
Either way, Waugh believes it'll be a big ask for Pakistan to inflict the first defeat on Australia in Brisbane since 1988 in thunderous, humid conditions made for fast bowling.
"I just think with day-night Test matches, it just sways your thinking a little bit more to the seam attack," Waugh said.
"It's going to come down to the pitch, really - what they see in the pitch (on Thursday), what the weather forecast is probably for the four or five days.
"Obviously there's going to be rain, those sorts of things."
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There's no doubting his faith, though, in rookie Sayers.
"He's a dangerous bowler if there's anything in the pitch - or in the air," Waugh said.
"He bowls stump to stump. He's not overly quick but he's really skiddy; he runs through the crease so he'll skid the ball on.
"He makes the batsmen play so he's always at the stumps (trying to get) LBs and (batsmen) bowled and obviously caught behinds.
"So they're his strengths. His not overly quick, but his record's great.
"But Nathan's record's obviously excellent as well, so it's a tough call."
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