Australia lost three wickets on a rain-affected Boxing Day at the MCG, patiently crawling towards 3-187 at stumps on day one of the second Test against Pakistan.
After winning the toss and electing to bowl first on Tuesday, the tourists failed to take advantage of the favourable conditions in the morning session, but started to unearth breakthroughs in the early afternoon.
However, heavy rainfall meant only 66 overs were possible at the iconic venue before a delayed closure at 7pm local time, with a couple of dropped catches giving the hosts a narrow advantage at stumps.
Marnus Labuschagne (44*) and Travis Head (9*) were unbeaten overnight.
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Warner ROASTED for ‘horrible’ dismissal | 00:52
‘GROUNDHOG DAY’ FOR SLOPPY PAKISTANIS
It was overcast, the Kookaburra was swinging, the pitch was green and Pakistan had four quicks at their disposal.
The stage was set for the Pakistanis to create early inroads after captain Shan Masood won the toss and elected to bowl first at the MCG. Australian skipper Pat Cummins confessed he would have made the same decision, acknowledging the conditions on Boxing Day morning favoured the bowlers.
Having won the series opener in Perth, Australia was one victory or draw away from retaining the Benaud-Qadir Trophy, and with the looming threat of rain hanging over the Victorian capital, early wickets were crucial.
Pakistan needed to expose Australia’s middle order in the first hour, and despite some wayward deliveries throughout his opening spell, Shaheen Shah Afridi created the chance in the third over of the day.
The left-armer’s outswinger found the edge of David Warner’s bat, with the catch flying towards Abdullah Shafique at first slip. However, the regulation chance was grassed.
“It was as easy a slips catch you’ll see,” former Australian batter Mark Waugh said on Fox Cricket commentary.
Former New Zealand wicketkeeper Ian Smith continued: “It looks like a guy who’s fielding in the slips for the first time.”
Shafique’s dropped catch sucked the life out of the Test match, with groans resonating around the iconic venue. There were no other chances offered in the opening hour of play as Warner and Usman Khawaja combined for a 90-run opening partnership, putting Australia in a dominant position.
Pakistan’s Test side has become synonymous with dropped catches and misfiled, which plagued the tourists on day one of the series opener in Perth. There was understandably a feeling of deja vu on Tuesday morning.
“I don’t know whether ‘I Have Got You Babe’ is playing in the background, but this is Groundhog Day again,” former Australian spinner Kerry O’Keeffe declared.
“They have made mistakes again, Pakistan. We thought they would learn from Perth. On the evidence of the first hour, no. That was a simple chance, Abdullah Shafique.
“The first opportunity must have been snaffled. Suddenly the total is 0-34 and the sun is shining brightly. Hello Groundhog Day.”
‘JUST TRYING TO SURVIVE’: MARNUS’ SLUGGISH START
It took 75 deliveries for Marnus Labuschagne to find the boundary rope on Tuesday afternoon.
The Queenslander, who has been far from his best in the Test arena this year, broke the drought with a late cut through gully after the rain delay, evoking a generous applause from the Melbourne crowd.
Labuschagne’s slow strike rate of 36.67 on Boxing Day could be partially attributed to the challenging conditions and Pakistan’s disciplined bowling after the lunch break, with the seamers repeatedly peppering a good length on fourth stump.
However, Australian cricket legend Adam Gilchrist queried whether Labuschagne was focused only on survival rather than keeping the scoreboard ticking along. Gilchrist compared Labuschagne’s mentality to himself facing England all-rounder Andrew Flintoff in the United Kingdom 2005, and former Ashes rival Michael Vaughan agreed.
“He’s struggled to find his rhythm,” Vaughan said of Labuschagne’s batting this year.
“I’m not too sure if there’s been a technical change, or just mental.
“To me, he’s just trying to survive those channel deliveries.
“I get the sense with Marnus that he’s just thinking about survival.”
Labuschagne has averaged 37.09 in Tests this year, reaching fifty on four occasions in 24 innings. The 29-year-old has been particularly vulnerable to deliveries in the channel outside off stump; the right-hander averaged 64.7 in that zone in Tests before 2023, but that figure has dropped to 17.4 this year.
During the recent Ashes series in England, Labuschagne on several occasions fell victim to England’s quicks while fishing outside the off stump; and Pakistan’s bowlers did their homework, targeting that area on Tuesday afternoon.
However, Labuschagne weathered the storm, literally and figuratively, to remain unbeaten at stumps on day one, ensuring Australia had bragging rights overnight.
Marnus Labuschagne Test strike rate
2019 – 55.44
2020 – 53.94
2021 – 49.06
2022 – 62.22
2023 – 43.20
WARNER’S LUCK AGAINST PAKISTAN RUNS OUT
On Christmas Day, Pakistan’s players and staff arrived at the MCG with an assortment of gifts for the Australians and their families.
But the tourists saved David Warner’s present for Boxing Day morning.
The New South Welshman never quite looked comfortable in the middle on Tuesday, rarely finding the middle of his bat, while a handful of chances flew past his outside edge.
“He looks out of sorts David Warner,” former New Zealand wicketkeeper Ian Smith on SEN.
“He can’t really get his timing. He is working overtime here. He just can’t get his rhythm going. He looks fidgety. He doesn’t look as if he’s got his balance right.”
Former Australian spinner Kerry O’Keeffe continued on Fox Cricket: “They had Warner frozen. Frozen feet. A bat searching.”
The veteran opener was on 2 when Abdullah Shafique dropped the soda at first slip, denying Shaheen Shah Afridi an early breakthrough in the third over of the day.
Warner had been gifted an additional life, and the 37-year-old is renowned for making the most of his second chances in the middle, particularly against Pakistan.
The left-hander averages 80.83 against Pakistan in Tests, and that figures balloons to 116.33 on home soil. Although his talent can’t be denied, Warner has received plenty of support from the opposition.
During the 2016 Boxing Day Test against Pakistan, Warner was bowled by Pakistan quick Wahab Riaz on 81, only to be saved by a front-foot no-ball. He ended up scoring 144.
Three years later, during the 2019 Gabba Test against the same side, Warner edged behind off debutant Naseem Shah on 56, but replays showed the teenager had overstepped as well. He scored 154 in a thumping innings victory.
The following week, Warner was cruising on 226 when he chipped a delivery from Pakistan debutant Muhammad Musa towards gully, only for the right-armer to be pinged for a front-foot no-ball. He finished with a career-best 335 not out.
During the recent World Cup in India, Warner was on 10 when he top-edged a short delivery from Afridi, with Usama Mir spilling the regulation chance. He then smacked 163 from 124 balls.
Last week, Warner was cruising on 104 when he hit a chance towards mid-on, but Pakistan debutant Khurram Shahzad misjudged the catch. He ended up scoring 164.
Even the famous meme of a disappointed Pakistani cricket fan originated from a dropped catch during the 2019 World Cup, when Warner was handed an extra life by the Pakistanis on 106.
Australia won all six of the aforementioned matches, and Pakistan’s sloppy fielding was partly to blame on each occasion. However, Warner couldn’t make the most of his reprieve on this occasion, falling for 38 on the final delivery of the morning session.
In these seven knocks, Warner scored 520 additional runs following a Pakistani error in the field. Costly, to say the least.
‘ASKING FOR TROUBLE’: AUSSIE OPENERS THROW IT AWAY
Day one of the Boxing Day Test belonged to the hosts, but both of Australia’s openers will be ruing their dismissals at the MCG on Tuesday.
David Warner and Usman Khawaja combined for a 90-run opening partnership, but neither raised the bat for a half-century in the first innings.
On the final delivery before lunch, Warner lazily swatted at a wide delivery from Pakistan spinner Salman Ali Agha, edging the ball with no footwork through to Babar Azam at first slip.
It was a sloppy dismissal from the veteran opener, and former Australian batter Mark Waugh didn’t mince his words on Fox Cricket commentary.
“That’s a horrible shot, there’s no other way to describe that,” Waugh said.
“He’d be so disappointed to get out to that delivery.
“It was asking for trouble.”
Khawaja’s dismissal was just as preventable, with the Queenslander fishing at a delivery that could have easily been left alone.
Facing Pakistan seamer Hasan Ali early in the afternoon session, the left-hander looked to guide a length delivery through gully, but instead steered a regulation catch towards Agha at second slip.
Khawaja, the leading run-scorer in Tests this year, begrudgingly trudged off with his head dropped. Having survived a challenging morning session, the 37-year-old had thrown away his wicket to a tame delivery outside his off stump.
‘CONFIDENCE IS NOT THERE’: LEGEND SHREDS PAKISTAN FIELD
With 45 minutes of the morning session in Melbourne, Pakistan captain Shan Masood put a deep point on the boundary rope, allowing David Warner and Usman Khawaja to rotate the strike with ease.
It was a strategy Australian skipper Pat Cummins employed frequently throughout the recent Ashes campaign in England, but the legendary Wasim Akram, watching from the Fox Cricket commentary box, was not impressed.
“I don’t know about you guys, but that field protection in a Test match on a juicy pitch first 45 minutes, that shows to me the confidence is not there,“ Akram said.
“As a batter, there is a massive gap between extra cover and the gully fielder … pressure is off for the batter.”
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