PERTH, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 13: Shaheen Shah Afridi of Pakistan congratulates Naseem Shah after dismissing Marcus Harris of Australia during day three of the International Tour match between Australia A and Pakistan at Optus Stadium on November 13, 2019 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
PERTH, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 13: Shaheen Shah Afridi of Pakistan congratulates Naseem Shah after dismissing Marcus Harris of Australia during day three of the International Tour match between Australia A and Pakistan at Optus Stadium on November 13, 2019 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
PERTH, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 13: Shaheen Shah Afridi of Pakistan congratulates Naseem Shah after dismissing Marcus Harris of Australia during day three of the International Tour match between Australia A and Pakistan at Optus Stadium on November 13, 2019 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images)
PERTH, AUSTRALIA - NOVEMBER 13: Shaheen Shah Afridi of Pakistan congratulates Naseem Shah after dismissing Marcus Harris of Australia during day three of the International Tour match between Australia

'Horrendous' preparation will hurt Pakistan in Test series against Australia, says Dean Jones


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Former Australia batsman Dean Jones said Pakistan have not prepared well for the two-match Test series against the Aussies.

The visitors played three Twenty20s, a day-night tour game against Australia 'A' and a two-day match against Cricket Australia XI since landing in Australia.

Test veteran Jones said Pakistan just haven't had enough time to prepare for the Tests in Brisbane and Adelaide.

"I blame Pakistan's cricket board for their horrendous scheduling of this Test series," Jones wrote in his column for the Sydney Morning Herald.

"Pakistan have not played a Test match since early January. Do they honestly feel playing a three-day match at night and a two-day match in Perth will get them ready to be competitive against Australia?"

Jones said Pakistan's inexperienced pacers would struggle because of the lack of preparation and should have had more red-ball matches at the Test venues.

"The Test matches will be played in Brisbane and Adelaide and their bounce will be completely different to Perth," Jones added.

"Why didn't Pakistan schedule a three- or four-day match when their T20 matches against Australia were on in Adelaide or at the Gabba?

"Pakistan could have easily put together a decent team to take on a state side while the international T20s were on. Asian players need at least three matches to get used to our conditions and this itinerary will not help them much."

Pakistan have never won a Test series in Australia and last tasted victory in the longest in format Down Under when they won a dead rubber in Sydney in 1995. The first Test starts on Thursday at the Gabba in Brisbane, where Australia are unbeaten in Tests since 1988.

England squad

Moeen Ali, James Anderson, Jofra Archer, Jonny Bairstow, Dominic Bess, James Bracey, Stuart Broad, Rory Burns, Jos Buttler, Zak Crawley, Sam Curran, Joe Denly, Ben Foakes, Lewis Gregory, Keaton Jennings, Dan Lawrence, Jack Leach, Saqib Mahmood, Craig Overton, Jamie Overton, Matthew Parkinson, Ollie Pope, Ollie Robinson, Joe Root, Dom Sibley, Ben Stokes, Olly Stone, Amar Virdi, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood

The most expensive investment mistake you will ever make

When is the best time to start saving in a pension? The answer is simple – at the earliest possible moment. The first pound, euro, dollar or dirham you invest is the most valuable, as it has so much longer to grow in value. If you start in your twenties, it could be invested for 40 years or more, which means you have decades for compound interest to work its magic.

“You get growth upon growth upon growth, followed by more growth. The earlier you start the process, the more it will all roll up,” says Chris Davies, chartered financial planner at The Fry Group in Dubai.

This table shows how much you would have in your pension at age 65, depending on when you start and how much you pay in (it assumes your investments grow 7 per cent a year after charges and you have no other savings).

Age

$250 a month

$500 a month

$1,000 a month

25

$640,829

$1,281,657

$2,563,315

35

$303,219

$606,439

$1,212,877

45

$131,596

$263,191

$526,382

55

$44,351

$88,702

$177,403