 As England arrived for the series, the Australian side were still in the midst of their tour of Pakistan, their first under new captain Mark Taylor, where they lost a close series 1–0 with batsmen taking most of the plaudits.Michael Bevan, Michael Slater, Mark Waugh and Steve Waugh had provided most of the Australian runs, while Warne was the principal bowling threat, picking up 18 wickets in the series.Injuries to Steve Waugh and wicketkeeper Ian Healy stymied their approach somewhat, but they were unlucky to lose the series which effectively turned in Pakistan's favour with a last wicket partnership of 57 between Inzamam ul-Haq and Mushtaq Ahmed that sealed victory for the hosts in the First Test, The Australians identified Warne as the prime challenge for the visitors, with Australia's seamers on the decline.