Australia Captain Pat Cummins Reacts To Criticism Of Rawalpindi Pitch After Dull Draw Against Pakistan

Australian skipper Pat Cummins said he would leave it to fans and commentators to pass judgement on a dead wicket that saw his team's first Test in Pakistan in nearly a quarter of a century end in a tame draw in Rawalpindi on Tuesday. "I think the players always want a fair battle between bat and ball, and that's when I think Test cricket is at its best and most rewarding," the diplomatic Cummins said when asked about a pitch that yielded 1,187 runs for just 14 wickets over five days.

"It's for fans and you guys (media) to kind of watch it from the outside and kind of judge the spectacle."

Pakistan were 252 without loss in their second innings when the match ended without a result. Australia scored 459 in reply to Pakistan's first innings score of 476-4 declared.

"Turning up to a pitch -- probably not a traditional pitch -- you get here in Rawalpindi and coming away with a draw, it's not a bad result," Cummins said afterwards.

It was Australia's first Test on Pakistan soil since 1998, having declined to visit previously on security grounds.

With a draw assured, the Pakistan openers took the opportunity for batting practice ahead of the second Test in Karachi starting Saturday.

The final day was dominated by Pakistan's openers, with Imam-ul-Haq cracking his second century of the match and Abdullah Shafique scoring a maiden hundred.

Haq made an unbeaten 111 following up his first-innings 157, while Shafique finished on 136.

In doing so, they became the first Pakistan pair to put on a century opening stand in both innings of a Test against Australia, after teaming up for 105 on Friday.

Shafique was the first to reach his century, pushing seamer Cameron Green for a single to reach the mark in 209 minutes. In all, he hit 15