``It was quite humiliating at Rawalpindi in the first Test. We played poorly. The batting, except for Saeed Anwar and Salim Malik, never really recovered after our poor showing in the first innings,'' Sohail said today.

Pakistan lost the opening Test by an innings and 99 runs and were outplayed in every department of the game after Australia accumulated 513 runs in their first innings in reply to Pakistan's 269 all out. The home side managed only 145 in the second innings.

``In the second Test we are going in with a totally different frame of mind and hope we will bounce back in the series with much better cricket,'' the captain said.

The wicket at the northern border town of Peshawar is thought likely to favour the batsmen.

Pakistan have brought Ijaz Ahmed into the squad and although out of formhe does have a formidable record against Australia having scored two Test centuries against them.

``He will make a lot of difference to the make-up. Salim Malik is also batting well. What we need is good opening partnership to have a launching pad for a big score,'' Sohail said.

``We do not ever underrate Australia, they are one-up already in the series and we would not like to lose the series before it is over. We have a good team and have to click in unison to dent Australia,'' he said.

The Rawalpindi drubbing was a rude awakening for Sohail and the side.

Aussie cricketers face pay cuts

Sydney: In a development that may further heighten tension between top Australian cricketers and the country's cricket board, the players, negotiating for a year with the board for more money, face pay cuts of up to 40,000 Australian dollars (approx. Rs 10 lakhs) this season.

Captain Mark Taylor, Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath, Ian Healy and the Waughs Mark and Steve would all lose $10,000 to 40,000 a year inpayment as part of the restructuring of the players' payment pool by the Australian Cricket Board (ACB), media reports said today.

Under an agreement reached last month with the Australian Cricketers' Association (ACA), the ACB increased the pool amount by $1.2 million, but cut the payments of the top six players from $200,000 to $160,000-190,000, with the money going to increased funding for state-level Sheffield Shield players.

While champion spinner Warne feels the pay cuts are necessary for the good of the game, several other top players, including Mark Waugh are not happy about it.

``You need some sort of foundation in cricket and Shield cricket is the foundation for it, and I think Shield players are the big winners,'' ABC quoted Warne as saying.

But the Daily Telegraph said the latest development would heighten tension between the players and the ACB, with ACA president Tim May saying he wasn't impressed. ``I am very disappointed for the fellows because they have given great displays forAustralian cricket over the past year,'' the paper quoted May as saying.