Speaking exclusively to PakPassion.net, former Pakistan opening batsman and coach Mudassar Nazar expressed his surprise at how the Dunedin wicket behaved in the recently concluded test match between New Zealand and Pakistan.

"The Dunedin wicket that I have previously seen and the one that I was expecting to see for the first test was one with plenty of seam movement and plenty of swing, I was expecting a bit of a flyer. However it turned out to be a bland track with only little assistance for the bowlers. I've never seen such a flat track in Dunedin" stated Mudassar.

Mudassar who is currently employed by the ICC as a development coach, has just returned from a stint in South Africa where he was working with some of the up and coming talent from the Associate members added "Yousuf's thinking was probably that the ball would do a lot on day one. However Pakistan should have batted first and ensured that it was New Zealand who were the team batting in the fourth innings at Dunedin. Bowling first was a defensive move by the Pakistan skipper and one that was probably based on not having much faith in the Pakistan batting lineup to bat well on day one".

Mudassar continued "I think Pakistan had a mental block batting last and chasing 250, it was the pressure of batting last and chasing down a score that got to the boys. However make no mistake they should have chased that score down on that track".

Mudassar felt that the current Pakistan top 3 would do quite well on Pakistani tracks but it's not set up to do very well on foreign pitches. "Its a frail top 3, one suited for flat pitches in Pakistan, but a little bit of movement and bounce and this top 3 will struggle. I really don't understand why Imran Farhat has been thrown in at the deep end with no international experience for such a long time. Surely when they selected him for the recent one day series in UAE he should have at least played one match instead of just sitting on the sidelines. It woud have boosted his confidence. That way if he had played at least one match, he would have not have been making his international comeback in a test match in New Zealand in November. It reminds me of when I was thrown into a test match in Australia having not played any cricket for nearly a month".

Responding to a question regarding the Pakistan starting eleven in Dunedin, Mudassar stated "I would have played Salman Butt. At least he would add some experience to the starting lineup and I fully expect him to play in the second test".