Rather than sulk after Perth,the Pakistanis begged for andgot an unscheduled two-day practice game in Melbourne. Then they were set back by injuries to speedster Khurram Shahzad and spinners Abrar Ahmed and Noman Ali,another occupational hazard for touring sides. But they did not despair.
Come Boxing Day,captain Shan Masood won the toss and leapt at the chance to bowl first on a pitch curator Matt Page thinks he has nearly trained at last after seven years in the job and enticing overhead conditions.
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On paper,Pakistan’s seam attack only seemed like an attack. To augment the accomplished Shaheen and Hasan Ali,there was Aamir Jamal,who played his first Test only last week,and left-armer Mir Hamza,who debuted against Australia in 2018 but has played only two more Tests since. They didn’t bother with a specialist spinner. They have nearly 100 fewer wickets between them than Mitch Starc.
The Pakistanis found and used prodigious swing,both ways,also some disconcerting bounce,and beat the bat repeatedly. You can point to some naivete about an ideal length. Appropriately for Boxing Day,the only driving was to the beach.
But you can’t deny that Pakistanis were willing and their effort was sustained. They had little luck,due or self-made. But they were not deterred. The Shafique catch went down,but no heads.
Don’t forget that they were bowling initially to two greats among openers. Later,it was a pair of former No. 1s,prodigious runmakers. Warner and Usman Khawaja were limited to a single pull shot each. Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne were made to labour and sweat. Fluency and flair would have to wait.
In the increasingly gloomy hour after lunch,Australia advanced by merely 23. Yes,it’s probable that Australia’s formidable seamers would have taken more wickets in such an environment,but it’s moot to dwell on it. That’s the business of Wednesday and Thursday.
After lunch,the Pakistanis rushed back on the field. When the rain closed in,they left reluctantly. When it cleared three hours later,they bounded out. They were up for this. At length,Jamal worried out Smith and thought he had Labuschagne lbw,too,but was not authenticated by DRS,and between times had to be treated after making a diving catch at fine leg. To borrow from the winter sport here,he left nothing out there.
The day finished as it began,with a snick to slip,this as Travis Head flashed at Salman. This time,Masood could not hold on as it flew high and fast to his left. This was still Australia in Australia after all. But it was also more a blinder nearly taken than another sitter dropped. That’s how Pakistan looked at it.
If they go on this way,this Pakistan team will endear themselves to Australian crowds. Perhaps they have already. In the face of a gloomy forecast,a 60,000-plus crowd was a pleasing turn-out. Many were Boxing Day theatre-goers,but even if the crowd dwindles on Wednesday,enough have seen to give their respect.
Test cricket needs teams who come to play. Pakistan have made a good impression. Next they have to make a dent.
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