Salman Butt running out his infuriated skipper Mohammad Yousuf and rising star Umar Akmal at Hobart told pretty much the story of Pakistan on this tour. There has been a complete lack of planning, no urge to win shown (Umar Akmal being the only exception), shoddy fielding and uninspiring captaincy.

Not surprising then that Pakistan were blanked 3-0 by what has been rated by many, including credible voices, as an average Australian side. True, the unpredictable Asian side has produced wonderful performances when things have been extremely stormy off the field in the past (the T20 World Cup triumph being the most recent example).

However, this time the mess was just too much not to affect the side, what with regular skipper Younis Khan skipping the Test series, clearly indicating that all is not well in Pakistan cricket.

Among the many disappointments for Pakistan was the performance of the batters. Butt managed to strike one hundred, but his two run-outs really took away all the sheen from the performance while Khurram Manzoor, who was the only batsman to stand tall at Hobart, was brought in too late into the series.

A lot was expected of experienced men like Misbah-ul-Haq and Kamran Akmal. However, while Misbah flattered to deceive, Akmal went from being bad to worse, so much so that he had to be dropped for the last Test. Even as he struggled with the bat, it was with his gloves that he was appalling, and that’s just to put it mildly.

He dropped sitters one after the other and the disease spread to the others too as the Pakistani fielders went on dropping catches. It was a pathetic show in the field, one which would have embarrassed even club cricketers.

The bowling performance was slightly better, but not good enough to trouble the classy Aussie batsmen. Left-arm pacer Mohammad Aamer was undoubtedly the best of the faster men among the Pakistanis. However, his inexperience came to the fore at various crucial moments in the game as he let the pressure off the batsmen.

But, he will definitely learn from this experience and come out a better bowler. Umar Gul was also impressive in phases, but it wasn’t enough to make a significant difference. In the spin department, Danish Kaneria picked up a five-wicket haul. That apart though, he did not do much to aid his team’s chances. It has to be said, however, that with better support from the fielders, they could have done much better.

Turning to Australia, this series will be remembered for the making of Nathan Hauritz. In all three Tests, it was he who bowled Australia to victory. Though not in the same league as Shane Warne, he is unquestionably turning out to be a match-winning spinner for the Aussies. And he was amicably supported by the faster men.

Left-arm pacer Doug Bollinger was the best among the Aussie pacers even as Mitchell Johnson kept on getting the much-needed breakthroughs. Even Peter Siddle, who had struggled in the last few Tests, came into his own at Hobart as the series came to a rather predictable conclusion.

Pakistan leg-spinner Danish Kaneria produced a magnificent spell of 4/117 as his side looked set to trounce Australia at the Sydney Cricket Ground and draw level in the series after the embarrassment at Melbourne.

When stumps were drawn on day three, the home side were struggling at 286 for the loss of 8 wickets, a lead of a mere 80 runs. Michael Hussey was holding fort for the Australians on 73, but it is a clear case of the Aussies requiring a miracle to escape defeat from such a precarious position.

It was not all that bad at the start for the home side. After wrapping up the Pakistani innings for 333, openers Shane Watson and Phillip Hughes were involved in an impressive century opening stand. But what followed was nothing short of catastrophic. Kaneria was responsible for separating the Australian openers after 105 runs were added.

He sent back Hughes by taking a neat return catch. Further, he added Marcus North to his kitty with one that turned the other way and had North looking south. Kaneria’s next victim, Mitchell Johnson, too had little clue about Kaneria’s wrong ‘un. The left-handed all-rounder was beaten all ends up and clean bowled. Finally, the leggie trapped the dangerous Brad Haddin plumb in front of the wickets, a decision even the referral by the batsman could not change.

While Kaneria’s spell capped a perfect day for the visitors, one cannot forget the contribution of pacer Umar Gul, who was no less effective. Gul has always had the knack of picking up major wickets even whilst conceding runs and he proved his mettle on a day when Pakistan needed him to fire. He dismissed Aussie skipper Ricky Ponting cheaply, having him edge one to slip.

More importantly, he cut short Watson’s fighting effort three short of a hundred. Watson, who was aiming for back to back hundreds, fell going for a cut just too close to his body and was out in the 90s for the third time in four games. Pakistan weren’t complaining though as Watson’s dismissal put them right on top. Gul carried on the good work, adding the scalp of Nathan Hauritz as Pakistan looked set to upset the Australian applecart.

Amazingly, Pakistan find themselves in a winning situation despite some horrendous work in the field. The game could well have been over on the third day had the visiting side fielded sanely. Watson was dropped by Kaneria near the fine-leg boundary. Further, he was all but run out as play approached lunch. For some reason, Kamran Akmal refused to remove the bails when the batsman was not in his crease. Akmal’s poor day turned worse as he put down Michael Hussey three times, and that too off Kaneria’s bowling.

It seems that the New Year has definitely turned around Pakistan’s fortunes. All they must do now is finish off the Aussie innings early on the fourth day and march their way towards victory.