over the two favourites first, though.Malaguerra is my selection to win the race, mostly because I cant find reason enough not to tip him.For starters

In the fall of 1999, Pakistan went to Australia with what they believed was the most talented squad they had ever had. They were barely six months removed from having lost a World Cup they thought was their own, and the series was thus presented as a time for revenge. The Test team had been plagued by inconsistency over the previous five years, but they could always put that down to infighting and to being led by sub-par captains. Under Wasim Akram, by contrast, Pakistans record was exemplary. Since losing in Australia four years earlier, he had taken charge of five Test series - winning four and drawing one. Even the lone drawn series, away to India in 1999, could be classified as a success, with the third Test of that tour being a victory on course to winning the Asian Test championship. The confidence they had going to Australia wasnt misplaced.A decade earlier Pakistans greatest Test team had gone to Australia having not lost a single one of their previous ten Test series - including two against the uber dominant West Indies. They returned with a one-nil loss. Surely this time it would be different?It was. But not the way they imagined it would be. Pakistan lost nine of their first ten matches on the 1999-2000 tour. That streak, which included all three Tests, began with their inability to play a 50-year old Dennis Lillee and ended with them being blown away by Australias second-tier attack. For the first time in over a decade Pakistan realised that even their best might not be good enough against the best.That has been the story of Pakistans tours to Australia. They have only ever won four Tests there - the last two in dead rubbers. The last time they won a live Test in Australia, the top three music acts on the Billboard charts were Gloria Gaynor, the Bee Gees and Rod Stewart, and Margaret Thatcher was still the leader of the opposition in England. No team has held sway over Pakistan quite like Australia has done.For a country and a fraternity that prides itself on being different and innovative, Australia presents the biggest challenge. Pakistan, after all, is the place where, despite having taken nearly 500 international wickets, Saqlain Mushtaq is still defined as the inventor of the doosra: innovation trumps achievement. And yet, however different they might present themselves as, there is an ideal they wish to emulate. Think of everything that former Pakistan cricketers, pundits and the majority of fans consider to be components of the essential character of Pakistani cricket. Words like mercurial or unpredictable do not feature; those are used by foreigners when referring to Pakistan. When Pakistanis project their best selves it is by describing the team in vaguely masculine terms. The belief in sheer pace, in the importance of legspin; the unhealthy obsession with aggression; the belief that all that matters is confidence; the sense that every inkblot in a Rorschach test is bound to be a moustache - these are borrowed from Australia. The reverence for these qualities has only increased since that fateful winter over the turn of the century. Quite simply, Pakistanis want their team to be Australia, or rather to approximate to their own interpretation of Australianism.Pakistan have attempted to learn from Australia too. Pakistans solutions after that tour of Australia in 1999-2000 were predictable - they set up a national cricket academy. Tauqir Zia sent Colonel Shujauddin to Australia to compile a report on how Australia became what they were at the time, and his solution was that academy. Every time a former player decries the state of domestic cricket, the solution he offers involves following the Australian model - fewer teams, more club cricket, and varied pitches. Never mind that England and India have done pretty well with big first-class systems, nor that the population or sports culture of Pakistan is a complete inversion of Australias; the solution is always to follow Australia.It makes sense too. Every desi kid has that one relative or family friend - the phupho ki beti (aunts daughter), if you will - who is presented as the model of what they should aim for. Considering its a desi family, the taunts and lectures mostly have to do with academics. The phupho ki beti is presented as the contrast to you - if only you studied as much as her, if only you were as obedient and courteous as her, if only you were her. Pakistan cricket is that rebellious kid who wants to create his own world. Australia is the phupho ki beti who will always hover over him like the sword of Damocles.And thats why Pakistans upcoming tour of Australia is so fascinating. Australia, at least until one Test match ago, found themselves in an identity crisis, where they began to question their beliefs. For once, even they wondered aloud. Meanwhile Pakistan were - at least until three Tests ago - the most successful team the nation has had in over two decades, despite all the problems theyve had to face, and they became that team by rejecting the pursuit of Australianism.Thus, this series becomes a fight for the soul of cricket - if Australia prevail, as they always do, the doubts of November will give way to a return to la-la land, where everything is rosy and the world doesnt change. But if the unthinkable happens, well, we might have to question everything weve ever been told. 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Patrick McCaw Raptors Jersey . The catch: It needs a lot of money, and it needs it fast. Norman Powell Jersey . Terms of the deal were not immediately available. The 26-year-old finished last season with Clevelands Triple-A affiliate in Columbus after signing with the Indians in August. Scott Heinrich runs the rule over the weekends racing and brings you all the best bets with UBET.Winterbottom StakesWestern Australias premier open-class sprint, The Winterbottom Stakes, is a race in two according to betting. In the orange-and-green corner we have the 2014 Darley Classic winner Terravista: in the red-and-yellow corner, the reigning Darley champ Malaguerra.Im with one of those runners, however Im not convinced the chances stop there. Lets cover the two favourites first, though.Malaguerra is my selection to win the race, mostly because I cant find reason enough not to tip him.For starters he is a top-class racehorse, as we saw at Flemington, but everything else is in his favour: the right trip (six from seven at 1200m), firm track, and Ben Melham should be able to get a nice sit just behind a good speed from gate one. If he gets an opening in the Ascot straight, he should be too good.Terravista was very good first-up off a lengthy break when finding only Redzel too sharp during the Melbourne Cup carnival. Hell strip fitter and is an obvious danger, but at the price Id prefer to be with the younger horse who may still have some upside.The locals did well last week in the Railway Stakes but these local sprinters look a rung or two below the standard set by the interstaters, and two other visitors of note are Takedown and Sheidel.Takedown is very interesting dropping back to what is certainly his best trip. He was good over further at Flemington and is another who has conditions to suit on Saturday. Might need luck from stall eight - that said, the past four winners of the Winterbottom have come from barriers 8-10 - but looks well worth an each-way ticket.Former WA mare Sheidel - who is nine from 10 at Ascot! - ran very well for fifth when leading them up in the Darley. She doesnt have to lead here and is a definite danger at a price under another fine Perth export, Damien Oliver.Recommended bet: Malaguerra to win @ $3.30 with UBET but include Takedown and Sheidel in all exotics.Best BetRosehill Race 9, No.6 Firsthand @ $4 with UBETThis four-year-old is building a very tidy record with three wins from just four starts.Lowered the colours of the smart Prince Of Brooklyn at just his second start prior to a spell, and last start beat another handy galloper in Sugar Bay Leonard when racing second-up.Crucially has race fiitness on his side on Saturday in a field comprising six first-up horses.ddddddddddddDrawn to get a sweet run on, or just behind, the pace and appeals as a very strong hope.Over the oddsMoonee Valley Race 6, No.2 Beluga Blue @ $7.50 with UBETA stakes-class mare who has returned to racing in excellent fashion, having won two from two in Adelaide since resuming from a spell.Beaten just three lengths in a Group I four starts back - and was then just behind the classy Chabaud in a Group III - yet here she is in a Benchmark 84 just 2.5kg above the minimum after Ben Allens claim. And is a mare in form!Looks massive overs and will be hard to hold out.Lay of the dayMoonee Valley Race 1, No.1 Invincibella @ $2.10 with UBETUndoubtedly the class runner but one or two question marks over this one.Is having her first run at Moonee Valley and first run over the mile - and she must also hump top weight in a small field where each of her rivals have won at either their most recent start or two runs back.Can win but shouldnt be entertained at such a short price.Under the oddsMoonee Valley Race 7, No.8 Little White Cloud @ $5 with UBETOne remarkable racehorse - and one remarkable training effort to get this comeback galloper to win at Flemington in his first start for three-and-a-half years.Back in 2013, Little White Cloud was a Group-class three-year-old, running second to the topliner Trading Leather before competing in the Irish Derby.Now seven - and with just six career starts to his name - the gelding finds himself in Australia, and is being asked to show the same zip second-up as he did three weeks ago; if the bounce factor means anything, it will mean something for this galloper.Even if he has come through his first-up exertions jumping, Little White Cloud is worse off at the weights against several rivals - including Hipparchus, who is 2.5kg better off for a 1.5L defeat - meaning improvement is probably required if he is to make it two from two in this country.Multi of the weekendMoonee Valley Race 3, No.1 Estaminet - PLACE @ $1.52Moonee Valley Race 6, No.2 Beluga Blue - PLACE @ $2.65Moonee Valley Race 7, No.9 Hipparchus - PLACE @ $2.40Rosehill Race 9, No.6 Firsthand - PLACE @ $1.75Multi odds: $16.92 with UBET ' ' '