Melbourne, Australia

Following an embarrassing 360-run loss in the Perth Test, Pakistan captain Shan Masood asked fans and critics to remain patient with the results Down Under. Having not won a Test in Australia since the start of the millennium, Pakistan aims to script history this time. Speaking to the media ahead of the second Test in Melbourne, Masood said expecting outright changes in approach and results is not possible, everyone should stay patient and trust the process.

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"One Test is never a fair assessment," Masood told reporters on Monday in Melbourne.

Speaking further he said there are not just one or two factors, but a handful of them that come into preparing for the away Test series. 

From the squad depth in the domestic structure to applying themselves in preparing a certain way, this Pakistan side must tick plenty of boxes before getting into a winning position against Australia on their home gorunds. 

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“You need time. You need a bit more time. You've already got a squad that's been playing Test cricket for a while. You have to look at the domestic structure and the players available for red-ball cricket. A lot of things you need before you can sort of force that way of playing.

"You need players to buy in. We want to give players ample opportunity to buy into the way we want to play. There are some things that we've said from the outside that we want to play a more attractive brand of Test cricket. We did that in Sri Lanka. We got some results as well. The challenge now is to do it against the best teams in world cricket,” the newly-appointed Test captain added.

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Masood sets priorities clear

Expressing his thoughts on how his team should approach the next Test in Melbourne, Shan said adapting to the new conditions and playing accordingly is a must for all if they want to turn the tables around. 

Shan stressed his batters are making the most by spending time in the middle, He said if Pakistan bats for over 100 overs, they must score at a healthier rate (above 3.5) and remain positive in their approach.

“...be adaptable to different situations. Be positive. And not have huge margins where the other team is scoring at 4.5 and we'll let them score at 4.5 as a bowling unit and not picking up those wickets in an earlier phase and not in 110 overs,” Shan said.

The 34-year-old said his red-ball game improved since deploying a positive approach.

“My red ball in domestic cricket has improved since I started batting more positively. As a batting unit, our goal is to make sure that if we are batting 100 overs, then we score at a higher rate,” he added.