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A battered and bruised Pakistan side, still nursing the wounds of the disastrous second Test defeat, face the prospect of another mauling from Australia when the two teams clash here Saturday in the third and final Test at Sharjah Cricket Stadium.

With the series already clinched the cock-a-hoop Australians, who prefer to do the talking on the field rather than off it, are determined to complete the second successive clean sweep against a demoralised squad further weakened by the latest withdrawal of their 'cry baby' Shoaib Akhtar, declared unfit after complaining of a minor back niggle.

It is now a common ploy by self acclaimed world's best bowler to get himself ruled out by unseen injuries when things do not go his way. As usual Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has agreed to dance to his tune deciding not to risk him but declaring he would be fit to undertake next month's tour of Zimbabwe and followed by visit to South Africa.

Shoaib and the already sidelined Abdul Razzaq, if one believes in the working of the PCB are scheduled to leave for Pakistan early Saturday.

Another Australian victory here which cannot be ruled out considering the form and fortune of the two sides will make it sixth successive Test triumph and further plunge Pakistan cricket into crisis, self inflicted by the antics of Pakistan cricket management for whom everything is satisfactory.

As for the match itself the current form of Pakistan team carrying players whose fitness are in doubt, including skipper Waqar Younis and wicket-keeper Rashid Latif, makes it easy to predict anything but another facile victory for the Aussies who have no injury problems and are expected to field the same eleven that was brutally cruel in the second Test.

Pakistan, on the other hand, are likely to throw in the den possibly middle-order batsman Hasan Raza and rookie all-rounder Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan besides Shahid Afridi, who was flown in as replacement for the out-of-action Razzaq.

The men likely to get the axe are Imran Nazir and Misbah-ul-Haq, both on present form are not Test material. One other change could be return of either of the two fast bowlers Mohammad Sami or Mohammad Zahid in place of leg-spinner Danish Kaneria, a poor man's Shane Warne.

Unlike the second Test when the temperature soared to 51 Celsius the weather is expected to be more amiable and offer comfort to the players.

Reuters adds: The form of the Waugh brothers is not a concern as long as Australia keep winning, captain Steve Waugh said Friday.

Pakistan coach Richard Pybus provoked a row by suggesting that Waugh and his 37-year-old twin Mark might be reaching the end of their Test careers after failing to notch a century between them in 11 Tests since last year's tour of England.

"I want to score runs and we want to win every Test we play and that's the goal," said Waugh.

"I think when you see Australia play, you see a result and that's not happened everywhere. It's a very successful side and time will be the judge. We guys can still raise our side."

Steve has scored 31, 0 and 0 in this series while Mark has made 55, 0 and two but, more importantly to the Australia skipper, Australia have won seven, drawn three and lost just one of the tests since a Waugh last hit a hundred.

"Both of us got runs in the first innings for first Test in Colombo and then Shoaib turned the match for a while. We won the match in the end and that's what counts," he added. "We want to win every match we play. That's our thinking.

"We want to win the series 3-0. But the job will be a lot harder this time as I am sure Pakistan must have worked out some game plan of staging a comeback."

Pakistan would surely welcome two such experienced Test batsmen as the Waughs into their side after collapsing to their lowest scores of 59 and 53 in losing the second Test by an innings and 198 runs.

To add to his problems, Waqar will take to the field with a weakened bowling attack. "What has happened in the past can't be reversed, but we are looking for a much improved performance in this Test," said Waqar.

"The wicket is slow and we have an extra option with the inclusion of Shahid Afridi in the team. The loss of Shoaib Akhtar is a big blow, but then there is nothing we could do about it." "We are not concerned about the bowling department, but our batting has been pretty vulnerable."

Waugh said the one-sided nature of the second Test was not just caused by Pakistan's weakness, which augured well for the Ashes series against England starting next month.

"We played outstanding cricket (in the series) so you got to give credit the way we played and not concentrate on how badly Pakistan played," Waugh said. "We played excellent cricket and pressurised Pakistan batsmen into making mistakes and took our opportunities. We are ready for this Test and ready for the England contest."

Teams:

Pakistan (from): Taufiq Umar, Shahid Afridi, Younis Khan, Faisal Iqbal, Hasan Raza, Rashid Latif, Rana Naveed-ul-Hasan, Saqlain Mushtaq, Waqar Younis (captain), Mohammad Sami, Mohammad Zahid, Misbah-ul-Haq, Imran Nazir, Danish Kaneira, Imran Farhat.

Australia (probable): Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting, Mark Waugh, Steve Waugh (captain), Damien Martyn, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Brett Lee, Andy Bichel, Glenn McGrath.

Umpires: Steve Bucknor (West Indies) and Srinivas Venkataraghavan (India).

TV umpire: Asad Rauf (Pakistan).

Match referee: Clive Lloyd (West Indies).

© Dawn