Sharjah: Australia's ODI captain George Bailey expects hosts Pakistan to 'doctor' the pitches to favour spin bowlers in the upcoming clashes between the two sides in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Pakistan entertain Australia for three One-Day International (ODI) games and two Test matches in a series starting with the first ODI here Tuesday.
"I still think teams are doctoring pitches to produce very large spinning wickets when we come and play them, which says to me that teams still think that we're vulnerable against spin," Bailey was quoted as saying by The Australian.
"The challenge for us is to become so good at spin that this is no longer required. Teams are then producing the best cricket wickets they can."
Dubai will host the second ODI Friday and the first Test starting Oct 22. Abu Dhabi will host the third ODI (Oct 12) and the second Test from Oct 30.
"I imagine the Dubai wicket won't change too much. I think we're playing (the ODI game) on the same wicket and I believe the Test wicket might even be the same as well. That's going to be a challenge," the right-handed batsman said.
But his Pakistan counterpart Misbah-ul-Haq was coy when asked about the type of pitches his team wanted.
"It's a secret. Even in the last game we saw that they were having trouble against Shahid Afridi and Raza Hasan, so we can exploit that," he said.
But he admitted that the Australia players' experiences in the Indian Premier League (IPL), which had some matches in the UAE, have helped them improve their ability to handle spinners on turning pitches.
Australia made a positive start to their tour with a six-wicket win in a one-off Twenty20 clash in Dubai, Sunday.
