‘Yasir will be fit for Brisbane Test’

BRISBANE - Pakistan cricket coach Mickey Arthur says leg-spinner Yasir Shah should be fit to play in the day-night first Test against Australia at Brisbane from Thursday. Yasir missed Pakistan’s warm-up match against a Cricket Australia XI because of a back injury but Arthur said he “seemed fine” and was likely to play. He said: “You don’t want to deprive the Australian public the chance to see an unbelievable leg-spinner go about his business.” Arthur said Yasir, who has takent 116 wickets in only 20 tests, was integral to Pakistan’s plans for the Test at the Gabba ground. Yasir made his Test debut against Australia in the United Arab Emirates in 2014 and took 12 wickets in the series at an average of 17.25 to propel Pakistan to a 2-0 win. Arthur, a former coach of Australia, also said he would be looking for a better batting performance from the tourists after their middle and lower collapsed against the Black Caps in Hamilton last month and they lost the series 2-0. “It’s no secret we need to get some runs,” Arthur said. “Adapting outside our conditions is difficult. It is like Australia playing on the subcontinent but we are working hard on that.” Arthur also said he wants to prove Cricket Australia erred by sacking him as he returns as coach of Pakistan. South African Arthur, who was fired by Cricket Australia on the eve of the 2013 Ashes after a run of defeats and replaced by current national coach Darren Lehmann, will be plotting Pakistan’s strategy for the three-Test series that starts at the Gabba on Thursday. Arthur, 48, said there was a part of him that still had a point to prove to his former employers. “I wouldn’t be honest if I said otherwise,” he told reporters. “That’s what happens. It’s a ruthless world out there.” Arthur said he was coming to terms with his anticipated return to face his former team on the other side. “It’s pretty surreal really to be walking into the Gabba ... coming back as a visiting coach,” he said.