'Never stood so close': Smith's slips dilemma

So lifeless have been pitches for the first two Tests of the Benaud-Qadir Trophy series, Australia have admitted they are prepared to risk dropping catches by having their slips fielders so close to the opposition batters rather than at a safe distance where the ball is unlikely to carry.

The benign nature of the strips at Rawalpindi and Karachi has been the defining feature in the two drawn results to date, and recent history as well as established trend suggests a similar surface will be rolled out for the final match starting at Lahore on Monday.

One of the key moments on the final days of the second Test, where Pakistan defied history to endure more than 170 overs in the fourth innings to secure a stalemate, was Steve Smith's missed chance off rival opener Abdullah Shafique midway through the fourth day.

At that stage, Pakistan were 2-38 and with almost 140 more overs to survive, and Shafique went on to score 96 in around seven hours of batting before he fell to a similarly sharp chance that Smith held off his skipper Pat Cummins.

On both occasions, Smith's reflexes were tested as the ball travelled at speed, with the sole slips fielder stationed in front of 'keeper Alex Carey in an attempt to maximise any opportunities from the dead pitch.

Smith today conceded he's never stood closer to the batter in the slips when pace bowlers are operating throughout his 12-year international career, regardless of the conditions he's been playing in.

And he revealed the position he's been occupying for his team's front-line quicks Cummins and Mitchell Starc – who routinely bowl at speeds around 140kph – is only three paces further from the pitch than he would stand for spinner Nathan Lyon when he's bowling on bouncy Australia tracks.

"It's been a real challenge," Smith said of the high-risk field placing prior to Australia conducting their first training session at Lahore's Gaddafi Stadium today. "I've never stood as close to the bat (for pace bowlers) in my life, in any conditions.

"There's just been no bounce in the wickets, so part of our plan is to ensure the ball carries as much as possible.

"The bowlers and Patty (Cummins, as captain) are happy if we drop chances as long as they are getting to us.

"We're getting ourselves in very close positions where it's been exceptionally difficult.

"I was just looking the other day facing 'Starcy' (Starc) and 'Cummo' (Cummins), I was probably only three steps further back than where I would be for Nathan Lyon in Australia.

"So the reaction time isn't great and obviously I dropped one there last week, it just really rushed me.

"Then I got one a bit later when (Abdullah) Shafique gave another opportunity, it was just at a perfect height and that's kind of how it's got to be.

"If it's outside of those areas it's going to be a very good catch, how close we are.

"It's been difficult, and difficult to adjust but we're working on that at training, we're doing very close nicks that are coming very low and fast and that's really all you can do.

"Just fingers crossed that they stick."

The nature of the Lahore pitch remains unknown given the city has not hosted a Test match since 2009 when members of the visiting Sri Lanka team as well as match officials were sprayed with terrorist gunfire as they travelled by bus to Gadaffi Stadium.

But clearly concerns exist within the Pakistan Cricket Board who have enlisted the services of former MCG and ICC Academy curator Toby Lumsden as a consultant working with local ground staff to prepare the surface for the third and final Test.

While Gadaffi Stadium has not hosted a Test for 13 years, it's has seen five first-class matches over the current summer as part of Pakistan's domestic Quaid-e-Azam Trophy season, all of which have ended in bat-dominated draws without producing a fourth innings.

In those five games, the mean batting effort has yielded 7-374 with just 97 wickets taken across those 14 innings at an average of 54 runs apiece, with just three of those batting efforts resulting in a team being bowled out.

Asked today if he expected the Lahore surface to provide more bounce and spectator appeal than those that have hosted bowler-unfriendly draws in Rawalpindi and Karachi, Smith offered an understandably unequivocal response.

"Probably not," he said. "Having not seen the wicket, I'm probably expecting something similar to what we've had in the first two Tests, but we'll be able to make a better assessment after we've been to training today."

PCB chair Ramiz Raja has already conceded the pitch for the first Test – on which just 14 wickets fell across five days – was tailor-made to blunt the effectiveness of Australia's pace bowlers, to promote Pakistan's strength in reverse swing bowling and offer low bounce so as not to unduly trouble inexperienced opening pair Shafique and Imam-ul-Haq.

However, the tactic has also aided Australia whose batters have so far flourished on pitches that offer little to Pakistan's quicks or spinners and where Cummins, Starc and Cameron Green were able to generate sufficient reverse swing in Karachi to skittle their hosts in the first innings for 148 in 53 overs.

Smith acknowledged the conditions have seen him adopt a more "open" batting stance in order to counter reverse swing, as he's employed in other subcontinental series where he's prospered.

However, in his two innings of the series to date he's recorded scores of 78 and 72 – having previously been dismissed in the 70s just four times from 130 previous completed Test knocks – and he's keen to turn those significant starts into a score of substance at Lahore.

"The first two Test matches, getting 70, that's probably a number I haven't got out on too many times in my career," he said today.

"I think I've got to get the bigger scores, particularly on these wickets.

"I've been pretty disappointed to get out having worked hard to get there and playing well up to that point.

"Hopefully I can get in a similar position in this Test and go on and convert."

Smith will also be part of Australia's white-ball contingent for the upcoming three-match ODI series and one-off T20 following the final Test, with those matches now confirmed as having moved from Rawalpindi to Lahore following discussions between the countries' respective Cricket Boards.  

Qantas Tour of Pakistan 2022

Pakistan squad: Babar Azam (c), Mohammad Rizwan (vc), Abdullah Shafique, Azhar Ali, Faheem Ashraf, Fawad Alam, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Wasim Jnr, Naseem Shah, Nauman Ali, Sajid Khan, Saud Shakeel, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Zahid Mahmood.

Australia Test squad: Pat Cummins (c), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Marcus Harris, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Mitchell Marsh, Steve Smith (vc), Mitchell Starc, Mark Steketee, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner. On standby: Sean Abbott, Brendan Doggett, Nic Maddinson, Matthew Renshaw

First Test: Match drawn

March 12-16: Match drawn

March 21-25: Third Test, Lahore

Pakistan ODI and T20 squad: Babar Azam (c), Shadab Khan, Abdullah Shafique*, Asif Afridi, Asif Ali, Fakhar Zaman, Haider Ali, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Iftikhar Ahmed, Imam-ul-Haq*, Khushdil Shah, Mohammad Haris, Mohammad Nawaz, Mohammad Rizwan, Mohammad Wasim, Saud Shakeel*, Shaheen Afridi, Shahnawaz Dahani, Usman Qadir (*ODIs only)

Australia ODI and T20 squad: Aaron Finch (c), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Jason Behrendorff, Alex Carey, Nathan Ellis, Cameron Green, Travis Head, Josh Inglis, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Ben McDermott, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Marcus Stoinis, Adam Zampa

March 29: First ODI, Rawalpindi

March 31: Second ODI, Rawalpindi

April 2: Third ODI, Rawalpindi

April 5: Only T20I, Rawalpindi

All matches to be broadcast in Australia on Fox Cricket and Kayo Sports