Watson takes five as Australia dismiss Pakistan at Lord’s
Shane Watson has added his name to the new honours board for “neutral” Test matches at Lord’s as Australia dismissed Pakistan for a paltry 148 on day two at the home of cricket.
The all-rounder’s career-best Test figures of 5-40 ensured his side headed into their second innings of the match with a 105-run lead over their “hosts” as Australia made short work of their opposition in overcast and drizzly conditions in London.
After Australia finished day one on 229-9, Michael Hussey and Doug Bollinger pushed Australia past the 250-run mark in the opening session of the second day, with Hussey along the way posting his half-century, before Mohammad Aamer finally rattled Bollinger’s stumps to end the http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746 innings on 253 and claim his fourth scalp of the innings.
Certainly the seam duo of the teenaged Aamer (4-72) and Mohammad Asif (3-63) made the most of cloudy conditions at Lord’s during the Australia innings as they troubled the batsmen with their swing, but as the Pakistan openers padded up it was time to learn more about the quality of the Australian total, one way or another.
Ben Hilfenhaus, who missed the series against Pakistan during the Australian summer through injury, quickly found conditions to his liking in his first Test since last November as the pacemen generated movement off the pitch and drew the edge from Imran Farhat (four) in the seventh over as debutant Tim Paine registered his first catch behind the stumps in Test cricket.
Before lunch he had his second, as the two Tasmanians again teamed up to dismiss Azhar Ali for 16 in his maiden Test innings, a ball moving away from the right-hander tickling the edge of the bat and landing in the wicketkeeper’s gloves.
The second session lasted just one over before bad light forced players off the field, but just two balls after play resumed again it was Mitchell Johnson who snaffled the third wicket of the innings as he found the edge of Umar Amin’s bat with a sharply rising ball, the likes of which the paceman struggled to produce at the ground during last year’s Ashes series.
It was an ideal start for Ricky Ponting’s side and things were about to get a whole lot better when Shane Watson entered the attack, the all-rounder trapping Umar Akmal in front for five and with the first ball of his next over dismissing his brother Kamran in the same fashion with a well-executed in-swinger as http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 languished at 83-5.
It was a dismissal that brought http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Shahid-Afridi-c2482 to the crease and the Pakistan skipper was clearly in the mood to exact revenge on Watson for his two wickets, flicking him for four off the second delivery he faced, then two balls later finding the boundary again and then clearing it with the final ball of the over.
Boom Boom began http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326’s third over with a four, added another and smacked a second six before the medium-pacer – who held his nerve and his line in the face of the Afridi onslaught – claimed his man for 31 after an attempted drive headed skywards and fell into Johnson’s hands.
Two balls later Doug Bollinger sent Aamer back to the pavilion for a second ball duck, and as the Pakistan innings rapidly fell apart the fast bowler had Umar Gul caught at slip.
As his teammates fell around him, opener Salman Butt had remained Pakistan’s sole bastion of defence, but 63 patient runs after his innings had started the clatter of his stumps brought it to an end as Watson sent a fuller delivery through his defences to claim his fourth scalp of the day.
His fifth came when http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Danish-Kaneria-c1314 sent a thick edge to the slip cordon where young leg-spinner Steven Smith, who didn’t get handed the ball during the innings, held onto the catch.
Wickets continued to tumble as Australia commenced their second innings, with Watson (31) the first man out and Ponting following soon after, a duck ensuring his poor batting record at Lord’s has not improved in this match.
Once again it was Simon Katich who held firm for the Aussies in the middle, ending the day on 49 not out. Play will recommence on day three with Australia on 100-4 after Michael http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120 (12) and Michael Hussey (duck) also fell early after solid knocks in the first innings.
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