Quite a few days have passed since the Sydney debacle. However, the backlash from Pakistan continues unabated. And expectedly so, as the Pakistan cricket team made a mockery of the Test at Sydney. This was not the first time they had committed hara-kiri of such magnitude, and definitely won’t be the last.

But, it was among the worst chasing efforts ever in the history of Test cricket, that too against the weakest Aussie side of the last two decades. What should have been golden chance for Pakistan turned out to be yet another missed opportunity. The loss has not only hurt Pakistani fans, but cricket lovers the world over, since all expected a tough contest between the two teams.

While the Sydney hurt will stay with the Pakistanis for some time to come, they have to try and look forward to putting up an improved showing at Hobart. The series may be lost, but they have a lot to play for. Avoiding a clean sweep – they have been blanked on the last three occasions – will be an achievement in itself.

Keeping that in view, expect a few changes. For one, Sarfraz Ahmed, who has been sent a SOS, will definitely replace Kamran Akmal, who might not be seen in whites for a long time following his schoolboyish effort at Sydney. Non-performers like Faisal Iqbal and Misbah-ul-Haq too need to go.

Even as the changes are mandatory, the team and the management need to do more than just shuffle around their players. Sadly for Pakistan, they do not get to play Test cricket at home these days due to the constant terror threat in their country. But, that is something beyond their control and they need to try and focus on the job at hand, which they clearly haven’t been doing on current evidence.

First and foremost, their new skipper Mohammad Yousuf needs to get his act right. He has been doing reasonably well with the bat, but his captaincy has been far from inspirational. The manner in which he allowed Australia to get away on the final day at Sydney was baffling. Agreed, he is still learning the tricks of leading the side.

However, he has enough experience to at least decipher how to react to a situation. Instead, Yousuf was prepared to sit back and watch. Pakistan would do well to resolve their inner conflicts and get back their first choice skipper Younis Khan as soon as possible.

That said, one can’t entirely blame the loss on Yousuf’s negative captaincy. As he rightly pointed out, both prior to and after the disaster at Sydney, the younger generation seems keen only on T20. And as if to add credence to their skipper’s comments, the team went out and batted like they were playing a 20-over game.

They way they crumbed made one wonder whether these players can survive even 20 overs in the shorter format. Clearly, this is a dangerous sign for Pakistan cricket and unless they are willing to learn from their mistakes, there is a bumpy ride ahead for Pakistan cricket.

At the beginning of the fourth day of the Sydney Test, everyone was aware that only a miracle could help Australia win from the precarious position they found themselves in. The only positive they had in front of them was the fact that they had Pakistan as the opposition. If there is one team in the world that had the ability to pull off such a stunning defeat from an impregnable position, it was Pakistan. And they did exactly that. After dominating the match for three days, it all fell apart for the Asian side as Australia recovered to post an astounding victory.

It all began with a superlative 123-run partnership between overnight batsman Michael Hussey and Peter Siddle for the ninth wicket. In the process, Hussey went on to complete his 11th Test century and unarguably one of his most precious ones. The Hussey-Siddle association ensured Pakistan were set a decent total of 176 to chase. But, what the partnership also did was give confidence to the Aussie bowlers to go all out and attack, with nothing to lose. And they did not falter as Mitchell Johnson and Nathan Hauritz combined to rout Pakistan and hand them an embarrassing defeat, one that will rankle them for a long time.

Hauritz, who picked up his second five-for in consecutive games, firmly set Australia on course for victory sending back opposition skipper Mohammad Yousuf caught and bowled. Yousuf hit one hard down the ground, but Hauritz managed to get his hands under it in time.

And although, he hurt his fingers in the process, the pain disappeared soon. It helped that he kept picking up wickets to decimate Pakistan. Misbah-ul-qHa lasted all of two balls against him. The tail had little to offer as Hauritz cleaned them up one after the other in a hurry.

The impressive spinner got excellent support from Mitchell Johnson, who began the demolition job for Australia.

The left-arm seamer sent back Salman Butt and Faisal Iqbal in the very same over cheaply and boosted Australia’s confidence immensely. Further, Doug Bollinger also played his part and chipped in with two wickets at crucial junctures. He was responsible for getting rid of Imran Farhat at the top. But, it was undoubtedly the wicket of the belligerent Umar Akmal (49), who threatened to take the game away from Aussies, that allowed the home side to breathe freely.

The bowlers pulled off a miracle no doubt. However, none of that could have been possible without the efforts of Hussey earlier in the day. One has to say he was assisted in a big way by Yousuf, whose captaincy will definitely come under the scanner. Yousuf allowed Hussey to bat with complete freedom, not inserting any pressure on him. Hussey was more than happy to refuse the singles on offer and instead preferred to find the gaps in field, which he did with great precision. Hussey and Siddle kept on piling the agony and Pakistan in were in for a tough battle, which they clearly weren’t prepared for.