Mark Taylor slams PCB for not believing in Pakistan team

Former Australian captain Mark Taylor has slammed Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for not providing an opportunity for an exciting Test series between Pakistan and Australia.

The cricket fraternity has been criticising PCB for producing dead pitches in the first two Tests of the series at Rawalpindi and Karachi. There has been no assistance for the bowlers from the surface. Fans are bored of watching these games on lifeless pitches and a historic series has taken a negative impact.

The first Test saw over 1100 runs and only 14 wickets fell across five days while Australia scored 500 runs in the first innings of the Karachi Test.

Taylor, who led Australia in the 1998 tour of Pakistan, opined that Pakistan has great cricketers in their ranks, but PCB has not backed their side due to fear of loss.

"Unfortunately, I think it shows where Pakistan cricket is at," Taylor told Nine's Sports Sunday.

"They have got some very good cricketers at the moment, and I would love to see their establishment be a little more adventurous with what they're telling them.

"Firstly the two pitches we've had, at Rawalpindi and at Karachi, have been roads. They are hard, you can see there's not much grass on them.

"Pakistan bowling is very good, they've got some very good quicks these days. It looks to me like they haven't backed their side in general.

"More or less they're saying 'don't lose this series'. That is my worry. Just don't lose.

"Pakistan pitches have never been minefields or green tops, but you would've expected a bit more grass with their quicks.

"And their batting is also very good. I would've loved to see good pitches put out for the first two (matches) and I think we would have had a very good series."

It must be noted that the third Test will be played at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore while three ODIs and a T20I will be played at Pindi Cricket Stadium from March 29 to April 5.