LAHORE - Australia star batter Marnus Labuschagne has called Australia’s historic tour to Pakistan an ‘eye-opening experience’, saying Pakistan exceeded his expectations.
In the latest edition of the PCB Podcast, Labuschagne, who scored 170 runs in three Tests, said: “It’s been an amazing tour. The Pakistani people have really accepted the Australian team. It was like a home game with the amount of crowd noise we’ve got in some of the matches.
“It’s been really an eye-opening experience as well, to what Pakistan’s like, obviously when you, haven’t been to a country, there’s a lot of speculation. You obviously paint a picture in your mind but, the country itself as far exceeded my expectations in terms of the picture and what the people are about,” he added.
“Cricket on the field has been really hard and competitive. But there’s been such great times and I’ve had a really good time with Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan, even Abdullah Shafique and Imam-Ul-Haq when they’re batting. It’s been really exciting and enjoyable that you can play a series where it’s competitive, but also friendly. Off the field, you can have a laugh about things that have happened and stuff like that,” Labuschagne asserted.
Shaheen Afridi, who took nine wickets in three Tests, said: “This series has brought players from either side closer than ever. We visited Australia in 2019 and also met their players during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, but almost six weeks together has helped bridge the gap. There were tough moments in the field of play, but off field everything was easy, relaxed and friendly.
“The incident with David Warner turned out to be an amusing one. It was the last ball of the day and I came very close to David on my follow through. David has a good sense of humour, so he also stayed there and it made a great shot for the photographers. It was a light hearted incident and it stayed that way, but both David and I enjoyed the social media reaction in the days that followed,” he added.
In the latest edition of the PCB Podcast, Labuschagne, who scored 170 runs in three Tests, said: “It’s been an amazing tour. The Pakistani people have really accepted the Australian team. It was like a home game with the amount of crowd noise we’ve got in some of the matches.
“It’s been really an eye-opening experience as well, to what Pakistan’s like, obviously when you, haven’t been to a country, there’s a lot of speculation. You obviously paint a picture in your mind but, the country itself as far exceeded my expectations in terms of the picture and what the people are about,” he added.
“Cricket on the field has been really hard and competitive. But there’s been such great times and I’ve had a really good time with Shaheen Shah Afridi and Mohammad Rizwan, even Abdullah Shafique and Imam-Ul-Haq when they’re batting. It’s been really exciting and enjoyable that you can play a series where it’s competitive, but also friendly. Off the field, you can have a laugh about things that have happened and stuff like that,” Labuschagne asserted.
Shaheen Afridi, who took nine wickets in three Tests, said: “This series has brought players from either side closer than ever. We visited Australia in 2019 and also met their players during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021, but almost six weeks together has helped bridge the gap. There were tough moments in the field of play, but off field everything was easy, relaxed and friendly.
“The incident with David Warner turned out to be an amusing one. It was the last ball of the day and I came very close to David on my follow through. David has a good sense of humour, so he also stayed there and it made a great shot for the photographers. It was a light hearted incident and it stayed that way, but both David and I enjoyed the social media reaction in the days that followed,” he added.