[helicopter whirring]
[Steve] Once we actually arrived, we could see the lengths
that the Pakistan government
and the Cricket board went to to get us over.
[Mitch] When we first landed in Pakistan,
I'm sitting in a bulletproof bus with a whole army taking us to the hotel.
The helicopter support... All the businesses were shut.
[Mitchell] It was amazing to see the amount of effort they'd gone
to have cricket in their nation.
We didn't have to go over there. We could have just gone, "Nah, too scary.
Like, too much going over there. We're not going."
[Pat] We just knew how much work that had gone into this.
Maybe more importantly, what it would mean
not only Pakistan, but world cricket.
[Peter] Australian cricket is back in Pakistan.
But there's one question mark hanging over this series
and it still hasn't been resolved.
What's Justin Langer's future?
[announcer] Justin Langer touched down in Perth today,
now the former Australia men's coach.
Cricket Australia had offered Langer
a six-month contract extension, which he refused.
[reporter] You got anything to say
on what's happened in the last 24 hours, Justin?
J.L.'s departure came as a shock.
[reporter 2] Are you feeling disappointed?
[Peter] He thought he had the backing of Cricket Australia.
He thought he had them behind them and in a minute, it changed.
[David] He wanted to keep coaching.
I think it was a bit of a kick in the face to offer him a six-month contract.
We feel that the team has evolved and it is now the time
to start a period of transition.
He's coached them to a World Cup. He's coached them to an Ashes.
How can you possibly say that he shouldn't keep coaching them?
If you've got a team of leaders and a side that are going pretty well,
then you probably don't need as much authority from the coach.
The parties had grown apart and...
they didn't suit each other as well as they once had.
[cheering]
[Pat] The Ashes, I think it all came to a head
because that's when his contract was up.
Cricket Australia sourced out quite a few people for their feedback,
but there was nothing out of the blue then.
We'd spoken about a lot of these things over the previous
18 months, or kind of two years.
From my perspective,
yeah, I could say that he lost a fair few players and probably the wrong players.
I think four years is a very long time as a head coach.
The team had changed a lot over that four year period.
Erm, we're probably in need of a different support staff, a different coach,
erm, as opposed to four years ago when J.L. started.
This guy's running with four test match series, we know it's...
He was brilliant when we needed him in those initial years.
[cheering]
After South Africa, he turned it around.
We became a team that Australian fans wanted to support again.
He left the team in a better place than when he started.
We're the Australian cricket team right now.
I think that's a byproduct of what J.L. brought into the group.
One of the fair minded measures in sport is success
usually guarantees a coach his job.
And this ran completely counter. It caused a front.
[reporter] The whole thing just reeks of being orchestrated.
From basically the moment that all of this garbage
started coming out in the middle of winter last year.
The former players, they blamed the current players
and it turned into a sort of ugly spat.
[Adam] As a player, we thought we knew it all and it's only
through time and hindsight that you realise that you didn't.
[Mitchell] I'm pretty angry, to be honest.
I'm pretty disappointed. A lot of disrespect that's happened.
[Gerard] Cummins had faced a lot of challenges across the summer,
but the need to address this situation which had
engulfed the nation
it was-- might have been his most pivotal moment of leadership.
I was going to say something straight away and I thought, there's just so much
rubbish out there and so much noise that let's just give it a couple of days.
So I remember sitting down.
I just basically wrote down a few thoughts.
"Now that the decision has been made by Justin to resign
and giving his own public comments,
and others by Cricket Australia, I can provide some clarity.
To be better players for Australia from this solid foundation,
we need a new style of coaching and skillset.
This was the feedback the players gave to Cricket Australia.
Many former players have reached out to me and silently
offered me their advice, which is welcome.
Some others have spoken in the media, which is also welcome
and comes from a love of the game and the support of a mate.
To all past players, I want to say this.
Just as you have always stuck up for your mates, I'm sticking up for mine."
It was incredible.
It was eloquent, it was thoughtful, and it was supportive of his players.
[Nathan] I thought, you know what?
This is a sign of a very strong captain.
[indistinct chatter]
[Isabelle] When Australia first announced they were going to Pakistan,
my initial reaction was, "Yeah, right,
I'll believe it when I see it.
But then you start thinking about it,
suddenly they go, "Actually, we haven't been there 24 years.
We're going to make a statement when we're going to go there."
And it started making sense.
And it could be something quite beautiful.
Yeah. I looked at the footprint.
The airport arrival's fine.
The escorts to the hotel is good.
[Frank] Frank Dimasi is my name.
My role is to look after safety, security,
for the Australian men's cricket team.
Prior to come to Cricket Australia, I was a police office in Victoria
and also worked for the Australian Federal Police
in the counterterrorism unit.
To go back to Pakistan after 24 years, that was going to be a pretty big tour,
not only for us, but for Pakistan as well.
There's always the pros, the cons,
but I think we're able to mitigate the risk.
[traditional music plays]
[Frank] When we arrived in Pakistan, it was probably just before midnight
and the Pakistan security forces locked down all the roads.
Leaving the airport and traffic coming to the airport.
So we had two carriageways to ourselves.
[Ashton] You go to countries like India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka,
there are a lot of cars. [chuckles]
You know, we didn't see a car for 45 minutes
from the airport to the first hotel.
Obviously, I'm Pakistani and it was something that I hadn't ticked off.
Erm, never got to play there.
Played against Pakistan, but never played in Pakistan.
It was pretty special.
[music continues]
Coming off of Ashes victory, we hadn't travelled overseas for a couple of years.
We were ready to take the show on the road and try to...
erm, show we're not just a good team in Australia, but we can play anywhere.
I thought...
Maybe it's a place to start,
since we last got together a few weeks ago.
Erm, see, J.L., change of coach,
Erm, I guess just more than anything open up.
If anyone had any questions or thoughts, want any clarity around any of that...
how it's gone.
Everyone's okay?
I think these kind of tours, more than anything else,
you just realise-- I probably more realised last
month or two that the more we just
worry about what's happening here, we don't need to worry about
commentators back home that wouldn't have a clue what's happened.
Look after each other.
I guess, from a psychological point of view,
being involved in subcontinent series,
had some real stinkers, had a couple of good ones.
I remember the Sri Lankan series we went a few years ago
and I thought we had the perfect
game plan for the first test match and we probably should have won it.
The process and everything we're doing was perfect.
But then when we lost that game side-second guessing ourselves.
We have three different plans for three different games
and I think you've got to be really strong in our own belief
to go the plan we have the first time
is most likely the right plan.
I think you coming in here with new changes and all with the coach and stuff--
erm, one, I think we're in a great space,
and, er, if you are-- got some negative thoughts or whatever,
everyone will, you know, give you an ear to vent,
erm, or if you need a hug, just ask.
[chuckles]
This is my journal that I was writing in
and my wife found it the other day, erm, stacked away, so...
Erm, let's bring back some memories,
erm, which is good, and then, erm, not so good memories.
Got the first two test matches written down here from South Africa.
Erm... and yeah.
It's got a lot of, er, good, positive affirmations
that I literally stand by every day,
erm, making sure that, you know, when I get up,
I've got a smile on my face.
The kids see that and I think it's the best
way to start the day, because the only thing that I can control.
[girl chattering]
-[laughter] -[dog barking]
[girl indistinct]
Good catch!
Now, my shot.
[shrieking, laughing]
The girls love anytime they get to spend with their dad.
It's always special, but he's the king of the kids
and he's super competitive.
So whether it be trying to teach 'em netball
or gymnastics or dancing,
he always wants to show them what he's made of.
So, it's awesome.
Oh! Good shot!
Dad, look!
Dad wants to see us [indistinct] again.
Good job!
[David] When Indie came along,
I felt guilty that I was always away,
and Candice spending all that time at home with two young ones.
Now that I'm at the back end of my career,
you know, spending more time at home
as they're getting old, I think is for me the most important.
Dad, look!
[David] Good work!
I think that it's never really that easy when David goes away.
Erm, we manage and we cope and we've got some great support network around.
But, you know, when you tuck your kids to bed at night,
the girls always ask for dad.
They, erm, you know...
When after a few weeks and they start crying for their dad,
like, it is hard.
Smiles are the same and hearts are just the same wherever they are.
[Candice] David is one of those players that loves having his family around.
So, you know, it's not just about us, it's also about David
and how he's going to cope for those long stints away.
[David] The gingerbread man.
All right!
Good night. [kisses]
Love you.
[rock music]
[indistinct radio chatter]
Okay, we're ready to go, mate.
Tell everyone to get on the bus.
[man over radio] Okay.
[Ashton] Incredible security, incredible care.
There's more to just going and playing cricket.
It was much bigger than just the cricket.
[Mitchell] What they promised, they'd delivered on,
and we certainly felt safe.
And I think it was great for cricket.
[cheering]
[Nathan] Pakistan fans were brilliant.
They absolutely loved the fact that we were there.
[Gerard] Australia were welcomed guests
like maybe they'd never been before in Pakistan.
You could feel the embrace to the grateful nation,
welcoming back a key part of the cricketing world.
It's our responsibility going to those places that we don't go in entitled.
We should learn about what's happening around us over there
and how special those tours are.
The good vibes around that tour were certainly seasoned
on that first day by the news of the death of Rod Marsh.
[sombre music]
[Pat] He played before most of us were born, really,
but he had a big influence on our group.
He was the head selector for probably four, five, six years.
[David] Had a lot to do with Rod.
He's like our grandfather.
Always took time out to talk to my girls.
Him and Roz were always on tour. Lovely couple.
I really got along with Rod really well.
Didn't agree with his selection a lot of time,
but I love-- I loved Rod for who he was.
[Peter] The first test, it marks Rod's passing in the morning at the ground.
A lovely, simple ceremony.
We're driving back when the news came through,
and at first you just didn't believe it.
It was like the whole world came to a stop.
[Pat] We just finished the day's play.
We got back in the bus and Davey Warner just turned around
from the front scene, just said, you know, "Hey, Ron,
Just so you know, Shane Warne's passed away in Thailand."
[David] That night,
we sat upstairs, few beers, going over some Warne stories.
That really hit us like a character of our game.
A loyal human being has been taken away at such a young age.
When I think of Warne, I think of my childhood growing up.
And you think of the great Ozzy team,
and he just epitomised everything
about Ozzy cricket that you loved-- Ashes series,
he was always the one that stood tall.
It was theatrical whenever he came onto bowl.
I think guys had to deal with it in their own ways
and we just knew we had to get back out there
in front of the next day,
erm, and try and try and win a game for Australia
like Warne would have wanted us to do.
[Andrew] Just want to start. Firstly, clearly
it's been a tough couple of days
with the loss of a couple of significant figures of Australian cricket.
Erm...
And the key thing for me is I encourage you guys to talk about
there's resources around you, erm, for whatever you need.
So I encourage you to reach out.
[reporter] These Australian cricketers have got to dig deep today because
it was a tough day for them.
Pat Cummins, the Australian captain,
will be wanting to make early inroads here.
He'll want to break this stand.
It's worth 140 at the moment, 237 deliveries.
And it really is an important morning for Australia.
[Isabelle] One of the most beautiful things
about going to Pakistan
is because Australia hadn't been there in 24 years,
there was no sense of "Oh, we played here before.
We know what the pitch might do."
They hadn't got a clue.
[Mitchell] Obviously none of us on that tour
had played at Rawalpindi before
and we heard that that was supposed to be their best wicket in the country.
Probably offer a little bit of pace and a bit of bounce.
And we rock up, and it's--it's an absolute [indistinct].
That was hard work.
That was balling on the M4 out of Sydney.
That-- those wickets gave you nothing.
All right. Come on, boys!
[cheering]
It becomes a grind. You know, it's a grind.
You're just out there and you're grinding.
[Gerard] The pressure is tangible on Australia.
Australia doesn't win very often on the subcontinent.
Hadn't won there for eleven years.
In every way, these are foreign conditions and they are hugely tricky.
[whistles]
[announcer] Babar Azam has declared...
[announcer 2] They've got 476 on the board now.
I think the timing of it's crucial.
Australians have spent nearly two days in the field.
There's gonna be some tired legs around.
[David] I said, to Uzzy at the time, I said,
"Mate, this is gonna be long, it's gonna be tiring,
mentally exhausting,
and I'm going to get myself out."
[cheering]
[announcer] Bowled him. That's the one they wanted.
He should not be fucking getting you out!
Should not be getting you out!
[Usman] You have to be really patient over there.
You can't try to force yourself in the subcontinent.
-[announcer] 97. -[man] Catch it!
[announcer] Cries of "catch it." Have they picked him off?
Pakistan liked that.
Why, oh why, oh why did he play that shot on 97?
I have got no idea what he was thinking.
[tense music]
[chattering]
[announcer] The Australians have gone wicketless in this innings,
but they only took four wickets as well in the first innings.
It wasn't fun. It wasn't enjoyable at all.
You don't play cricket to play cricket like that.
[announcer] End of the over, and that is also time.
So, that's where it finishes.
Officially the worst game I've ever been a part of.
[indistinct chatter]
I told you go past me.
[Peter] Australia had to ask themselves
some questions after that first test.
They hadn't been able to take wickets,
and that was the big question mark
going into the second and third test.
"Are our tactics right here?"
[upbeat guitar music]
That's screws for the front cover.
[Pat] Cricket Australia basically said to us,
"Okay, what can we do to kind of make your time
in the hotels for the next month better?"
It's time to go to work. My day starts now.
The boys just took it to the next level.
Within 30 seconds,
David Warner said, "We need a golf simulator."
Took a screenshot. "This is the one we need."
Marnus goes, "We need a coffee machine.
I'll sort one out."
Steve Smith-- "We need oat milk."
Cam Green-- "I would love a basketball net."
We had more toys than a daycare center.
[upbeat music]
[screaming]
[cheering]
What's really nice is that we've been able to sort of reshape
what bubble life looks like.
[player] That's all you need?
Yeah, that's in. And then get your cup under.
[Marnus] When you come to a tour like Pakistan
where we can't leave the hotel, you know,
it means guys can go have a coffee.
And it gets people out of their rooms.
It almost created a nice space for people to hang out,
have conversation, chat in the morning,
and check in.
Yeah. Bubble life is certainly something that
we've all learnt to live with,
learnt to find ways to entertain ourselves
whilst being stuck in a hotel.
-No! -I'm so shit at this game.
I could play with my eyes closed and be better than Nathan Lyon.
I'm better than the captain. The captain's probably the worst.
[Mitch] I can comfortably say that there's
not one international cricketer
that has put in as many hours as me
in Call of Duty over the last two years.
It's actually quite social.
I got to play with Starcy, Josh Hazelwood,
Er, Patty at times. He's absolutely useless.
I have no idea where I should be going.
[Mitch] We actually found the one thing that Patty's not good at,
and that's Call of Duty.
Oh no, I can hear footsteps.
I can hear footsteps. It's very scary.
It's great because we can-- he's shit.
Like, we can tell him he's shit all the time.
It's great.
[laughs]
I still reckon I'm better than Nathan Lyon at it.
Oh!
That genuinely scared me.
[laughs]
Game over.
[indistinct chatter]
[Usman] Everyone ready?
This won't go for long, boys.
I just thought I'd give a little bit of knowledge on Pakistan,
my birthplace, where I came from.
And I thought what better way to do it than to get
big brother and little brother to have a quiz off against each other.
See how they go.
[David] I think the most important thing about
knowing Uzzy and with his upbringing is...
you have to understand his culture and his background and his beliefs.
What year was Pakistan founded?
A. 1942, B. 1947,
C. 1949.
B.
[Usman] Which year was that?
-[muttering] -1947?
-Correct. -Well done, man.
[applause]
Pakistan initially was, as you can see there,
British India.
17 million people migrated in 1947
erm, to form Pakistan, which is to this day,
the biggest migration in known human history.
To be reconnecting with home, with family
was obviously a very special time for him.
Who am I?
Uzzy.
[laughter]
[Usman] One of Pakistan's greatest cricketers,
I graduated from university at 21
and became a professional cricketer [indistinct].
I debuted in Test Cricket in 2000s
and regarded as the swaggiest cricketer in world cricket.
I grew up in western Sydney and now we...
[laughter]
-Usman Khawaja. -That's correct.
[laughter]
Absolutely no relevance to that. I just want to talk up myself.
[laughter]
It's been 24 years since we've come to Pakistan.
And I think it's pretty special,
not only for the people
that are going to be watching you guys,
but for you guys being involved in this tour.
It's a truly special moment for a lot of Pakistan cricketers.
Obviously a truly special moment for me.
I reckon you guys will look back and think
"I'm glad I did that. and how cool is that?"
So, I hope you enjoy it and thanks for listening.
[applause]
[Usman] You know, my childhood,
I get more memories of being at home with my mother.
[Fozia] I'm so happy when Uzzy likes my food.
That's my blessing for-- I cook and my children and me
together to sit down and have a dinner.
-That's good. -Oh, that's good.
That's good chicken.
-That's good. No, very good. -Thank you, Mummy.
I hate watching cricket with my family.
I don't think-- I haven't watched that many games
with you, Mum, and Dad.
[Usman] Used to tell everyone that I was going to play for Australia
-when I was, like, eight years old. -[laughter]
I used to hate it. You know, "This is my son. He's a very good player.
He's going to play for Australia one day."
And I was like, "Dad, seriously."
Even at that time, when he was playing the rec games--
Under 10s, under 11s--
the whole team used to rely on him.
He used to make the runs all the time.
And if he gets out, the team gets out.
People used to say,
"A Pakistani boy will never be able to make the Australian team."
And I said, "Let's see. We'll try."
[traditional music]
[Usman] Karachi, home of the Khawajas,
as I like to call it.
That's where my family's from.
When I grew up, we went back and forth.
I used to always go to Pakistan, and all I did was play cricket.
My dad talked about that ground a lot growing up,
watching cricket on that ground when he was a kid.
You know, my family didn't live too far from the grounds. Still don't.
So to actually play in a test match against Pakistan,
a team I watched growing up a lot,
I guess that was pretty special.
[announcer] We are all set to go for the second test match.
The second of three.
Now, the first test match, of course, was a draw.
There's so much to play for in this one.
Oh, it's nicely bowled, but clipped away.
Usman Khawaja in Pakistan was a joy to watch.
He looked like he was born to play that series.
[announcer] A little bit leg-side again.
That's pretty much an action replay, but he's hit it beautifully.
Hit it better.
Sometimes the guys are forgetting on the Pakistan team
that I can speak Urdu.
Rizwan, he's a cagey cat.
He speaks Pashtun and then he knows I can't speak it,
so he speaks it with some of the other guys.
There's a couple of times I just deciphered what he said.
I remember he told the bowler to bowl wide,
and I was like, "I know what you're doing here."
And then he bowled wide, and I smacked them for four
because I knew exactly where it was going.
[announcer] Oh, I love that shot. Outstanding from Khawaja.
[Usman] The bowler is looking at me and I'm looking at him,
and he's like, "You understood that, didn't you?"
I was like, "Yup." [laughs]
[announcer] Just an unhurried classy knock so far.
Khawaja is one shot away from bringing up another hundred.
[Usman] So I'm not emotional while I'm playing.
But for the first time a long time on the field,
I thought about my dad.
'Cause I know he'll be watching, thinking about
when he used to watch the Australian teams come and play.
And now he's watching his son playing Karachi.
I thought, "Obviously, he's going to love this one."
[announcer] Quick single, and he's jumping.
What a superb performance!
Magnificent work from Usman Khawaja.
[David] For him to score 100 [indistinct].
It was awesome.
It's a special moment. And I was so, so happy and pleased.
Not just for him, but his mum and dad.
I did give my dad something I think he would have loved.
And I took a photo of the Honour Board at Karachi,
where he would have seen-- He'd been--
had all these old past players, you know,
from the different countries and Pakistan
and then my name was on the bottom of that.
I sent him a picture of that.
[announcer] For Khawaja, brings up the 150,
and what an innings.
[Usman] For me to come back to Karachi,
on his home ground and his hometown,
for me to get up on the Honour Board...
and have all these great cricketers he watched as a kid growing up,
I did-- so I don't think I could have given him a better present.
[grunting]
I don't like to admit it.
But unforced errors are beating me.
I'd like to say the opposition is playing well.
Any credit to the player? The opposition?
The positive is I've had four double faults.
85% first serve, so I'm very happy.
As a rookie, I'm improving.
I'm expecting to get beat probably six-love, six-love, but I'm fighting hard.
Come on!
How much did we go there?
Okay. That's what happens when you don't score runs.
You have to come out and play tennis.
[laughs]
[announcer] Australia, they're all over Pakistan in this test match.
Eight wickets.
They're hunting to go one up in the series.
[announcer 2] One should forget about Pakistan chasing the score.
All you need to do is, you know, back time.
[Alex] You hear things, you know, there's never been a title chased
or amount of over-survive, et cetera, et cetera.
But I guess out in the middle, you understand
you've got some pretty amazing players ahead of you
to try to dismiss.
[tense music]
[announcer] It's the skipper, Babar Azam.
[cheering]
[announcer 2] Barbar Azam is their new hero, the modern hero.
The captain, the leader. He is not going to give up easily.
Babar's definitely the top three, top four best batters in the world.
He's got so many gears. He can hurt us in so many different ways.
[announcer 3] Short. And racing to the boundary.
[announcer] Nicely works. That's all four runs.
[Gideon] Almost immediately you got the feeling that he was set in concrete--
he was going to take an awful lot of blasting at.
[announcer] Another test 50 for Babar Azam.
[announcer 2] He keeps going, Babar Azam.
We tried a lot of things-- tried coming around the wicket,
we tried over the wicket, we tried bounces,
we tried reverse swing, we tried everything.
He just showed his class.
[announcer 2] This is exactly why Pakistan will believe.
If Babar produces these kinds of shots...
We had a decent crack,
but he was able to absorb everything that came his way.
[announcer 3] He goes for the sweep. Up and over!
The lion roars and what a way to bring up his century.
Babar Azam, take a bow!
[announcer 2] What a fight back.
Outstanding. Exceptional inning...
from Babar Azam.
[Gideon] I guess the Australians had to worry about the fact
they weren't going to win this in an afternoon.
It would be the first team, in a way,
that blinked in the course of that series
that was going to lose it.
Very rarely over here in the subcontinent
do you get so far ahead of the game,
opportunity on the fifth day, eight weeks ago.
Em, I think we can play with a bit more smiles on our face as well.
Make sure we enjoy ourselves.
Where else in the world would you bloody rather be than out here today?
[bell rings]
The biggest challenge of the Pakistan tour was just the physical grind.
You gotta get yourself up. Go again.
[announcer] So Babar Azam to start proceedings.
Let's put away for four.
We felt like we were the better team.
We just couldn't get that wicket.
[announcer] Babar Azam did a masterful 150.
[Pat] Being calm is pretty easy when you're winning and...
matches go for two or three days.
But when everyone's tired and exhausted
and things aren't working out,
that's where you see cracks appear.
[announcer] And we have 36 overs left in the match.
[announcer 2] What a fight back from Pakistan.
[Ashton] To create opportunities is really hard.
So when they do come, that's why they're so important.
[announcer 2] But look at the people around the bat.
They're just waiting for a catch.
[intense music]
Catch it!
[announcer] Ooh, a chance.
There are those sort of half-chances where if you take them,
the game can turn so quickly and then if you don't,
same thing, the game can peter out.
[player] Catch it!
Catch it.
[announcer 3] Plenty happening in the middle.
Is that another one?
[announcer] Well, this game is far from over,
this test match.
You get opportunities and amazing players,
you know, won't give you too many.
[announcer 2] And they know that this game
is going to go to the wire.
[announcer 3] They've changed. They're bowling a round as well,
looking for that wicket,
and Nathan Lyon now into the attack.
[Nathan] The way I look at bowling is problem solving.
How am I going to solve this problem today?
[announcer 2] Four away. Babar Azam.
Yes! Yes!
[announcer 2 indistinct] Babar Azam!
Four runs short of an elusive double hundred.
Australia, believe again. Nathan Lyon, he believes again.
[Mitch] I got a real sense of just a bit of belief like.
We've got 'em-- we got 'em on the ropes and we can absolutely win.
[announcer] Faheem Ashraf--
Well, he is walking out to the lions' den now,
and they are swarming.
[cheering]
He caught it! Very first ball.
Wicket. There's another wicket.
[announcer 3] Ecstatic now, Australia.
And they can eye this victory now.
[Alex] We were able to chip away.
And a wicket here and a wicket there.
And Uswan coming as well,
late, and was playing some shots.
[announcer] Australia won, three wickets and 30 balls.
Cries of "catch it." Oh, has that been dropped?
I think it has.
I think that has been put down.
That's the response of the Australian players.
I reckon that's been grasped. Yep.
Khawaja can't believe it.
That was there to win. They created enough chances.
They didn't hold them.
[cheering]
[announcer] That is it. That's the end of the test match,
and Pakistan save the test.
[chanting] Australia! Australia! Australia!
[Peter] You watched that second test, and the pessimist in me said,
"They let that slip and they won't get another chance like that."
And you have to really wonder,
"What effects is that gonna have on their psyche?"
Sometimes a draw can feel like a loss,
and it did in that sense.
[Usman] I still believe we should have won that game quite easily.
We had our chances. We just couldn't capitalise.
And that happens. That's just cricket.
[player] Oh, you got to love this game.
[Pat] We put so much trying to go after that win.
I just felt like that might have been our one little window of opportunity,
and it just passes by.
♪♪
[traditional music plays]
Just the same template as before.
Just-- after another draw, yeah, catches win matches.
An old one you're taught in grade cricket
still applies even at the highest level.
We didn't take them, hence, erm,
five or three, three wickets, really, in the end.
[Andrew] There was a lot of positive stuff
and a lot of positive plans that created the opportunity to win the game.
How do we judge success from a team?
Is it about the opportunities that we create or is it just win-loss?
Because if the process is good and we're creating opportunities,
the more times we do that,
the more chance we got to win games.
So the emotion based around the win or loss...
is always going to be there from a player's point of view. I get that.
But in this room, it needs to be about,
are we creating opportunities with the attack
and the plans that we have?
If we answer yes to that, then we don't want to change too much.
[upbeat music]
[Isabelle] When you come from the contrast of the Ashes,
where tests didn't last more than three days
to get to the end of a series
in which every single day
had been grindingly played out to its very end,
it was always going to be about the bowlers.
[announcer] Live from the Gaddafi Stadium,
here we go, test number three.
There's another one. There's a neck.
First it's Warner, now it's Labuschagne.
Afridi's got them both.
I think when they survived the second test, I felt,
"Pakistan, okay, they're back in the series here."
So we knew it was going to be attritional and we got our head around that.
[announcer] Khawaja now. He's gone big. That's gone for six.
[Pat] This third test is where it's all come down to.
[announcer] Oh, that's a lovely shot. That is a beautiful shot.
[announcer 2] These two batsmen are grinding Australia into the ground.
[Pat] We spoke a lot about-- there'd just be those little moments.
You've got to grab them in this series.
Yeah. In Australia, you keep the field in
with the new ball, trying to make the most of it.
In the subcontinent, it's the opposite.
The new ball does nothing.
So you put the field out, stop the ball, just pinging off the bat,
and then you hope that it starts reversing
and then you sense that opportunity
and that's when you go, "Voom."
[cheering]
I think Nathan Lyon took a wicket, and we're like, "Now's the moment."
Nath, you're off. Quick bowl is on.
[announcer] Cummins. Great move.
Positive move by the captain to bring himself back.
The length of Pat Cummins bowls is going to be the key.
And that was the moment in that test match
where it was just hold, hold, hold.
Okay. The ball feels scuffed, like it's going to start reversing.
Bring on Starky, bring on me, sense that opportunity, and then bang.
[announcer] In the air. Oh, what a catch!
What a catch that was!
That was absolutely sensational from Pat Cummins!
We knew when we bowled, we had to control our lengths.
We knew we had to set boring fields.
We held on earth.
The bowlers did an extremely amazing job.
They held their line in length and created pressure.
[announcer] Pull-balled him, that is the length.
That's absolutely perfect.
[David] That was that perfect example.
Took those wickets and was awesome.
[announcer] That looks bang in front.
It's that length again. Yeah, easy decision.
[Peter] Imran Khan said fast bowlers make the best captains.
But when we get to Pakistan,
that was a place that called for a bowling captain
and where a bowling captain could bring
certain sort of skills and awarenesses
to a series that a batting captain never would.
[announcer] Hazelwood-- good catch that time.
[announcer 2] And Pat Cummins becomes the first fast bowler
in this series to take five wickets.
He was our number one bowler, but also our captain.
And I think if you put that together, that can lift a group.
Australia has held an advantage all the way through the third test.
It is built again on an Usman Khawaja century.
Pat Cummins has taken the risk
and left an achievable target on the table.
With a day to play in the series,
Australia has had a hugely successful tour,
but doesn't have much to show for it just yet.
And when you can get a series that takes you into the last day
and all results are possible,
there's just no tension that is quite like it.
That's where test cricket's at its absolute best.
[announcer] We've had 14 days of an arm wrestle between these two teams.
[announcer 2] I think Pakistan is big time in this game.
There's plenty of time and not many runs when you look at it.
[David] Heading into day five,
you think you have a realistic chance of winning it.
But yet again, Babar Azam is there.
[announcer] If anyone can do it, this man can.
How good a shot is that?
Full toss to Babar goes--
tickles that one around the corner.
That's going to go all the way for four.
[announcer 2] Great shot. He's not going to miss out on that.
He's just going to cream that through the offside every single time.
[Marnus] There was a moment where, you know, the tide turned
and, you know, all of a sudden Pakistan looked like they could--
they could sneak this victory from nowhere, here.
[intense music]
[announcer] That's a boundary.
It's going to bring up 50. 21st 50 for Babar Azam.
[announcer 2] He's the captain, he's the calmness.
He's the glue for Pakistan.
It's very seldom that the test series gets drawn nil-all.
Just doesn't happen. Sooner or later, one side breaks.
[music intensifies]
[announcer] Big shot out into the leg side.
There's a man right underneath it.
Dropped.
[crowd exclaims]
[announcer 3] That is a huge miss.
[Peter] He'll be sitting there just praying
that Babar Azam makes another mistake.
[indistinct chatter]
One second, lads, one second.
Erm, gonna take the new ball.
Guys from the fire end start from this end.
Great work today so far. Much of the same.
We're going to get the chances.
Hang onto 'em. Big push for a couple a--
Two and a half hours.
Main thing, stay calm out there.
[Nathan] Smitty come up to me that morning.
So he put his arm around me as Smitty does sometimes and just...
He goes, "Mate, you gotta pump your chest out and
be the best fielder in the world, what you are."
[Steve] You know, I think they're intimidated by him.
He's played over 100 tests.
He's taken 400-plus wickets.
Just, like, have some confidence. Show them that you're the man.
[announcer] So now Nathan Lyon is going to be bowling
with the new kookaburra.
All three results in it, just like in Karachi on the last day.
For him to say that, really,
I know it gave me the confidence to go out there and do what I do best.
[announcer 2] Babar Azam is not going to give up easily.
He's going to keep fighting.
What did I do? Trusted myself, I guess.
[cheering]
[announcer] Oh, that's a great catch. That is an outstanding catch!
By the boot laces.
The crowd has been absolutely silenced.
What a brilliant catch that was.
[Steve] Once we got that wicket, we were quietly confident
that we were gonna get the job done.
[announcer 2] They know that this game is in their pocket now.
[upbeat music]
[exclaim]
[announcer 3] Here he goes. It's a big shot.
There's a man out there. What a catch that is!
[upbeat music continues]
[announcer] Bowled in stuffs out of the ground.
What a fitting end and what a man to do it.
He is an outstanding captain.
He is an outrageously good bowler is Pat Cummins.
What a team he has!
It's been 24 years, 15 days,
and Australia have won in Pakistan.
[uplifting music]
[David] To go 15 days and you win on that last day,
just the pressure relief...
[Peter] Cheers to those Australians.
They held their nerves like no Australian team
I've ever seen on the subcontinent.
That'll go down as one of the more satisfying victories
just because of how much it took out of us,
how much of a team effort it was.
We needed everyone to buy in.
It was-- it was awesome.
[cheering]
[Andrew] Congratulations.
Bloody outstanding at the series win in Pakistan.
You should be bloody proud.
The thing I'm most proud of is that we've stuck to a plan,
we stuck to it,
and on 15th day we got the reward.
So, awfully proud of this moment for you as a group
and you got what you deserved out there.
So, well done. Congratulations.
[applause]
Everything was amazing to get that tour up and running
and the way it did run was exceptional
and it was great to be a part of a series
that took cricket back to Pakistan.
[Usman] The legacy that the boys left while going to Pakistan,
being one of the major teams in the world say,
"No, we're going over, we're going to get back to the game,"
I think that's bigger than anything that we possibly could
have done leading up to that.
It's one of the biggest things I think I've been involved with,
and it's pretty special.
[Gerard] The early days of the Pat Cummins reign
has Australia dominant on home soil,
winning the Ashes and then this breakthrough moment in Pakistan.
But the challenges in international cricket are unrelenting.
Come Sri Lanka, could Australia do it again?
[man] Australia is in trouble.
[closing theme plays]