Australia v http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755, 1st Test at Lord’s, Day One: Plays of the day
Day of the debutants – I:
Pakistani cricketer http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahzaib-Hasan-c2488 and Umar Amin, a chance to exhibit their wares in the tournament.
Things did not seem too changed in the first Test match of the series against Australia, as Afridi decided to give two more youngsters a break on a huge occasion like this. Umar Amin got his chance to make the Test match debut after having played in the other formats of the game, while Azhar Ali was afforded his first international cap in any of the formats. Shoaib Malik was the batsman who missed out.
Both are middle order batsmen and expected to bat at the number three and four position.
All the bravado apart, one has to ask this; what would have happened had Pakistan lost the toss and were inserted in? The pitch had enough in it for the pace bowlers, and Doug Bollinger, Ben Hilfenhaus and Mitchell Johnson could have had a nice little time with the cherry.
They say that the brave make their own luck. Afridi had definitely been brave.
Day of the debutants – II:
It was not as if Australia was too behind when it came to doling out caps to the new guys. However, in case of http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Green-c60723’ and it would have been a moment to cherish for both of them.
Paine had been allowed this opportunity after the regular wicket-keeper Brad Haddin was injured and Paine had side-tracked the others like http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Graham-Manou-c1504 and Luke Rochi to capture their second wicket-keeper’s slot. Paine’s batting in the ODIs has meant that the side would have benefitted from his presence in the middle-order.
The second selection was from a long-term planning perspective. Smith is a leg-spinner and is blond and a hope for the Australian public to become the next Shane Warne. Smith replaced the other main spinner in the side, Nathan Hauritz, who has been doing the spinning chores for some time now.
Both had an ordinary day with the bat though, scoring a paltry eight runs between them.
The Collapse, a la Pakistan:
Pakistan is known to collapse from good positions, but the shoe was in the other foot. At one stage, Australia seemed to have recovered from the early loss of a couple of wickets. They were cruising along at 171/2 with Simon Katich and Michael http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 going about their business in full earnest and with the tea approaching, it looked like the side would go into the break having an upper hand.
However, off the last ball before the end of the second session, the umpire sent Clarke packing, LBW, and the Aussies took tea at 171/3. Post tea, the capitulation had begun. Katich, who had scored an 80 was dismissed by Mohammad Asif, while Marcus North, Paine, Smith Ben Hilfenhaus and Mitchell Johnson came in and went so quickly, it was difficult for spectators to keep track of who was taking up the bat for the Aussies. Australia had lost seven wickets for 58 runs by close and the Pakistani side were firmly in the game.
Ponting overtakes Lara:
Australian captain Ricky Ponting overtook the great Sir Brian Lara for the number of runs scored in Test match cricket when he had scored his 26th run in the innings. He is now 46 runs short of 12k, and around 1050 short of where Sachin Tendulkar is currently in Test cricket.
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