Batting remains a worry for Pakistan: Yousuf

Karachi:

Pakistan captain Muhammad Yousuf has admitted that batting remains a subject of worry for him ahead of team's upcoming tour of Australia this month and key batsmen have to perform consistently to succeed in demanding conditions.

After team escaped with a draw in the third and final Test against New Zealand in Napier on Tuesday, Yousuf said the failure of the batsmen to perform consistently is something he is looking at seriously.

"Touring Australia is always a tough prospect and our batting needs to be at its best to succeed in those tough conditions," Yousuf said.

Yousuf, who has been retained as skipper for the Test tour of Australia this month by PCB after Younus Khan pulled out owing to his poor form and personal problems, said Pakistani batsmen would have to show lot of character and application to do well in those demanding Australian conditions.

"I am happy that we managed to draw a tough Test series against New Zealand, but the batting is still not playing to its full potential and that remains a problem for our next tour," Yousuf added.

He said the pitches in Australia normally have more bounce and pace and batsmen need to apply themselves accordingly and adjust to their techniques.

"That is something we failed to do consistently in New Zealand," he admitted.

Yousuf said he has high hopes from his younger bunch of players to produce results during the Australian tour. He also expressed confident that with the appointment of Waqar Younis as bowling and fielding coach, team would benefit a lot.

"Waqar is an experienced and seasoned player and he lives in Australia so his input and advice would certainly be off great help to our players, particularly the bowlers," Yousuf stated.