Teenage Pakistan Pacer Naseem Shah Confirmed for Debut in First Test Against Australia

Brisbane: Sixteen-year-old Naseem Shah is ready to become the youngest Test cricketer ever to play on Australian soil, with Pakistan skipper Azhar Ali confident the young paceman is among a group of bowlers who can help end a long winless streak Down Under.

Naseem, born on 15 February 2003, got plenty of attention in a tour game in Perth last week not only because he tested the resolve of some experienced international batsmen, but also because it came soon after the death of his mother back in Pakistan.

Flight logistics and religious customs meant he couldn’t make it home in time for the funeral, so he stayed in Australia and skipped the first innings of the drawn tour game against Australia A before returning with a fiery eight overs in the second innings that netted 1-21, including the wicket of Test opener Marcus Harris. It set him up for a Test debut in the two-match Test series.

“Obviously, it was a hard time for him but he coped with it and he came out and bowled the very next day, which is very heartening,” Azhar said Wednesday, on the eve of the first Test at the Gabba. “We will definitely be looking to play him. He’s bowling really well.”

Azhar has played with Naseem at first-class level and thinks the young speedster has the fitness and the mental attitude to cope in the Test arena. And he’s not concerned about the home team’s daunting record at the Gabba, where Australia is unbeaten since 1988.

“Not many players can reach (Test) standard so early, but there are exceptions and he’s one of them,” Azhar said. “When I saw him first, I was so surprised. The control he had, the pace he had, and the temperament and the composure when he bowls is so exciting to see.”

Five former Pakistan players have made Test debuts at a younger age than Naseem, including fast bowler Aaqib Javed, who was 16 years, 189 days when he played New Zealand in 1989, and Azhar said there’s no reason to hold players back based only on their age.

"The good thing about (Naseem) is he is very fit. I have no doubts about his fitness and his bowling skill," Azhar said, reflecting his general confidence in a Pakistan team that is in a rebuilding phase and not expected to be overawed by Australia’s record at the Gabba. Pakistan hasn’t won a Test series in Australia, and hasn’t won a Test match here since 1995.

"We go in here with a lot of confidence. We have the talent to do well here. We're very confident that if we execute our skills ... (we can) beat Australia. To do that, I think we have to keep believing and also play with no fear.”

Along with veteran paceman Mohammad Abbas, a pair of 19-year-old pacemen are also in selection calculations, with left-armer Shaheen Shah Afridi taking 12 wickets in his three Tests to date and Muhammad Musa yet to make his debut.

While most of the selection focus has been on the fast bowlers, 33-year-old wrist spinner Yasir Shah is likely to play an influential role in the series. He struggled on his last tour to Australia in 2016, but returns with more than 200 Test wickets and as a far better settled bowler.

The Australians will be playing a Test series for the first time since retaining the Ashes in England, where opening batsman David Warner averaged just 9.5 in the series. He and Steve Smith were making their Test match returns from one-year ban following a ball-tampering scandal in South Africa in 2018 and had contrasting series, with Smith topping the scoring and holding many innings together for Australia.

Warner will be combining with a recalled Joe Burns at the top of a reshuffled batting order, and Australia skipper Tim Paine is confident the veteran opener will be back in scoring form.

"Just watching him the last few days, he looks like he's back to his best, the ball's making a different sound off his bat again," he said. "But the most pleasing thing about Davey was during the Ashes when he was in the worst form of his career he didn't change a bit, and a lot of players would.

Paine said Mitchell Starc was back approaching top form and he expected the left-arm paceman to play a leading role against Pakistan after missing selection for all but one of the Ashes series Tests in England.

Starc and fellow pacemen Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood will join spinner Nathan Lyon in a pace attack containing plenty of success in local conditions.

Australia squad: Tim Paine (capt), Cameron Bancroft, Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner

Pakistan squad: Azhar Ali (capt), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Khan senior, Iftikhar Ahmed, Kashid Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan, Nusa Khan, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Yasir Shah