Pakistan gain edge as Tuesday Test starts

Australia 9/229 (70 ov, S Katich 80) v Pakistan, T1/2 D1 at Lord's

Security considerations have determined that Pakistan are the nominal home team for this two match series which began on Tuesday (is this the first time that a Test match - at least one involving Australia - has begun on that day of the week?)

To my surprise, the Pakistan bowlers generally bowled as if they'd played most of their cricket in England, so well did they use the conditions at Lord's after Shahid Afridi won the toss and (as they say nowadays) "chose to field" .

Mohammad Aameer (18-2-66-3) and Mohammad Asif (17-5-53-3) kept Australia in check for much of the short day. The former took the crucial early wickets of Shane Watson and an out of sorts (by his standards) looking Ricky Ponting, while the latter broke the only substantial partnership on the stroke of tea when he had Michael Clarke lbw for a measured 47/77b (8x4). He followed up soon after the interval when he had Simon Katich caught behind for a characteristically gritty 80/138 (9x4) and then bowled Marcus North for a duck.

2/171 thus became 5/174, and it didn't improve as Umar Gul put Tim Paine out of his misery and Danish Kaneria removed Steven Smith and Mitchell Johnson, from both of whom good things with the bat had been expected, cheaply. Mike Hussey is hanging in there for 39*/75b (5x4, 1x6) but from this position even 250 would look a good score.

If the conditions continue to be bowler-friendly Australia may not be as perilously positioned as they appear to be at the moment. If the rain forecast for each of the next few days materialises then a draw can't be ruled out, either.


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Cricinfo Bulletin.

Fox Sports report with link to video highlights.

Katich leads Australia's methodical buildup

Australia 231 & 4/333 (114 ov, S Katich 106, M Hussey 67 S Watson 65) lead New Zealand 264 by 300 runs with 6 second innings wickets in hand T2D3 at Hamilton

Simon Katich's Test cricket style 106/279b (12x4) underpinned Australia's solid progression towards a position of considerable strength. All the other batters except for Ricky Ponting supported him: Hussey mirroring Katich's strike rate, Watson, Clarke and North driving a gear or two higher. The NZ attack was, as NZ attacks often are, honest rather than penetrative: it's hard to see the (also honest) NZ batting chasing down what looks like more than 400 in the 4th innings.

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Cricinfo Bulletin

Rain best chance of saving Pakistan: T3 D4

Pakistan 301 & 4/103 (34.2 ov) need another 335 runs with 6 wickets in hand to beat Australia 8/519d & 5/219d (48.4 ov, S Katich 100, R Ponting 89) T3 D4 at Hobart.

A day's play that contained few surprises. Simon Katich and Ricky Ponting added 191 for the second wicket: Katich stroked a fluent 100/138 b (13x4) and outscored Ponting, who was nevertheless in good touch before he was, after a refrerral, adjudged caught behind off part-timer Shoaib Malik for 89/122b(12x4) A late pre-declaration flourish saw wickets surrendered in the interests of the match (and perhaps future weather) situation.

Needing to bat for a day and a half or. less probably (though not impossibly on the Bellerive wicket) score 438 runs Pakistan then struggled to 4/103 before rain intervened.

The match has thus gone into a fifth day. Pakistan will hope that play then is curtailed, not by their batting meltdown but by the weather.


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Australia sort of comfortable against below par Pakistan: T1 D1

Australia 3/305 (90 ov, S Katich 98, S Watson 93, R Ponting 57) v Pakistan: T1 D1 at MCG

A good day for team Australia if a slightly disappointing one for Shane Watson and Simon Katich. Both were out - yet again - in the 90s, after putting on 182 for the first wicket against some modest Pakistan bowling and frequently slapdash fielding. No doubt the kerfuffle which produced the run out will be shown on TV and YouTube (follow the link below to watch the Foxtel highlights if you're in Australia). TV adjudication was required to send Watson, the crowd's preferred survivor, on his way for 93/191 b (11x4) .

Katich had started less confidently, was dropped early, but rode his luck well enough to nudge his way yet again to the brink of a century before being caught at backward point, where he'd been dropped early on, for 98/226b (5x4).

Ricky Ponting had cast aside any doubts about his fitness and took his place in the side. After winning the toss and electing to bat on what looked like a good typical MCG drop in wicket he came to the wicket with 182 on the board and peeled off a quickfire 57/60b (7x4), latterly in partnership with an assured looking Mike Hussey who on 38* is well placed to resume on D2 with nightwatchman Nathan Hauritz, another who had a temporary cloud over his fitness before play.

Pakistan were disadvantaged by an injury to leg spinner Danish Kaneria, who was in good form in the recent series v New Zealand. Unlike Ponting and Hauritz he was left out. Whether it was also wise to omit Umar Gul, who was not in good form in New Zealand, remains to be seen. His replacement Abdur Rauf didn't exactly set the world on fire today.

Australia can feel comfortable, well sort of comfortable, with today's effort. It would irritate the team that the curse of the 90s has struck in so many ways this season, but 99.99% of cricketers at all levels would, once they'd regrouped after being dismissed, be pleased enough with a score in the 90s.


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Still no century but Australia comfortable after D1

Australia 3/339 (90ov, S Katich 99, S Watson 89, M Hussey 81*) v West Indies T3 D1 at WACA Ground Perth

Simon Katich and Shane Watson again got Australia off to a cracking start, but as here in Adelaide neither was able to notch a century. Watson was caught behind for a belligerent 89/130b (15x4) while Katich, for the second time in Tests was dismissed for 99, on this occasion caught at square leg from 177b (10x4), Nevertheless their contributions, and that of Mike Hussey who looked much better than at Adelaide in making 81*/155b (10x4), offset the cheap dismissal of Michael Clarke and the retirement of Ricky Ponting with an injured elbow.

Much has been said about injuries to key players on each side. Shiv Chanderpaul and Adrian Barath couldn't take the field for the Windies whereas Australia only lost Peter Siddle from their Adelaide XI. With relative unknown Clint McKay making his debut Australia's attack is far from its strongest though the loss of two top order opposition batsmen should make their collective task easier.

The West Indies attack was, not surprisingly on a first day WACA wicket, more steady than penetrative. Gavin Tonge who'd been talked up (and not only by his own side) as a quick bowling prospect was disappointing on his Test debut though Kemar Roach continued to look good.

Key question for D2, or session one thereof: will Mike Hussey make a century?

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Big day for long form cricket

Today three Tests are being played around the globe: Australia v West Indies T1 D1 at the Gabba, New Zealand v Pakistan T1 D3 at Dunedin and India v Sri Lanka T2 D3 at Kanpur.

Not bad for a format that's frequently written down, if not out. Or are the time and scheduling demands (think 7 match ODI series) of the shorter forms such that much of the Test schedule has to be shoehorned into an ultratight time frame?

At Kanpur, India (642, inc centuries to Gambhir, Sehwag and Dravid, 60s to Laxman and Yuvraj ) have enforced the follow on against Sri Lanka (229) so a win is possible there. As I post play on D3 is still in progress.

At a cool and sporadically wet Dunedin New Zealand have, after losing a wicket to the first ball of the match, held the initiative though whether the two days remaining are enough to force a result is questionable.

Foxtel is showing the Dunedin game live, though there's no coverage as far as I can tell (even on Fox Sports News) from Kanpur.

On Australian free to air TV the Channel 9 coverage (both HD and SD picture quality far superior to Foxtel's SD), Richie Benaud and co plus some new features, eg live feeds of players' heart rates, has held my attention apart from a few shifts to bucolic Dunedin.

As it's turned out the widely predicted Australian walkover hasn't yet manifested itself. 5/322 (Katich 92, Hussey 66, Ponting 55) isn't a bad total, yet every time Australia seemed to be getting on top a wicket fell to the persistent West Indies attack.

Of course with Ramnaresh Sarwan out of the Windies batting lineup this may turn out to be a winning score.

PS Another long form game, the 4 day Tasmania v South Australia Sheffield Shield match at Hobart is also being played (though pretty much ignored by the mainstream media). The home team gained first innings points: 389 (thanks to Ed Cowan's 225) to 363, but is wobbling at 3/39 in its second innings. Peter George's 10 wickets to date have kept the Redbacks in with a sniff of outright victory but with only a day to play on the Bellerive wicket this may be hard to achieve.

Australian batting implodes: Ashes 09 T2 D2

Australia 8/156 (49ov, M Hussey 51, J Anderson 4/36) trail England 425 (101.4 ov, A Strauss 161, A Cook 95, B Hilfenhaus 4/107) by 269 runs with 2 second inns wickets in hand: Ashes 09 T2 D2 at Lord's)

The low point, if it can be called that, of England's day came at the outset when Andrew Strauss was out without adding to his overnight score. His individual 161 (268b/22x4) turned out to be more than the first 8 Australian wickets, in a stunning form reversal from Cardiff, could muster.

Yes, the conditions may have been more favourable for quick bowlers than at Cardiff, yes there may have been a contentious dismissal or two, but the fact remains that England barely faltered in amassing what should be an impregnable position.

The only two Australian batters who showed any form were Mike Hussey, who'd missed out in the First Test, 51 (91b/8x4) and Simon Katich 48 (93b/ 6x4).

Weather and bad light cut the day short, and may do so for the next three scheduled ones but it's hard to see Australia, despite Hussey's positive spin in the post play media conference, getting out of this one without a heavy defeat.

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Katich-Ponting partnership keeps Australia in game: Ashes 09 T1D2

Australia 1/249 (71 ov, S Katich 104*, R Ponting 100*) trail England 435 on first inns by 186 runs with 9 wkts in hand : Ashes Test #1 Day 2 at Cardiff

As a spectacle the match remained attractive during the first session as the English lower order, led by Graeme Swann's 47/40b/ 6x4, thumped the Australian bowlers for another 99 runs from only 101 balls.

On a pitch where the ball occasionally removed divots 435 looked pretty good.

When Australia batted Phillip Hughes kept the momentum going with 36/54b/ 5x4 in what we now recognise as his unique style. Neither James Anderson nor Stuart Broad could exploit Hughes' weakness against well directed short bowling as Steve Harmison had done in the England Lions game. Andrew Flintoff at second change (why didn't he open the bowling?) lifted the team with a fiery spell which removed Hughes and would have done the same to Simon Katich but for a dropped return catch.

Thereafter Katich gradually overcame his early scratchiness and Ricky Ponting, who was in pretty good touch from the outset, restored the match as a contest. Their unbroken 189/ 56ov 2nd wicket partnership made the England attack look increasingly bland. Both men reached their centuries just before stumps, when Katich was 104*/219b/8x4 and Ponting 100*/155b/8x4.

Given the uncertainty about the wicket (and perhaps the weather) Australia will need many more runs to minimise the risk of defeat. Victory may be unlikely but after Adelaide 2006-07 not impossible. For the moment a draw looks the likeliest outcome, but if you can watch the first couple of sessions of Day 3, and not just to watch Ponting, if he stays in, in top form.

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Australia looks good on paper, despite obvious cracks

Australians 8/337 (90 ov, M Hussey 143* S Katich 95, T Bresnan 3/36, S Harmison 3/67) v England Lions: Day 1 at Worcester.

After all sorts of off-field distractions including Michael Vaughan's retirement , Andrew Flintoff's reprimand for missing a team bonding trip to Ypres and a crackbrained proposal from the ICC president to reduce Tests to four days traditional first class cricket for the Australians resumed today at Worcester, a traditional English cricket ground.

Unlike the days when Worcester hosted the first in a series of preliminary matches (and Don Bradman invariably produced a century or double century) this is the only scheduled first class match before the Test series begins

While the 8/337 doesn't seem a bad day's work for the batting side, the scorecard reveals that without Mike Hussey's 143* and Simon Katich's 95 there's little scope for complacency, let alone hubris. Phil Hughes' weakness outside off stump was exposed, Ricky Ponting played an uncharacteristically airy shot to slip, Michael Clarke and Brad Haddin were ordinary, while Marcus North looked out of his depth.

The Lions' pace attack did well: Steve "Lazarus" Harmison bowled with both fire and accuracy, the wiry Graeme Onions continued his excellent 2009 county form while the stockier Tim Bresnan came back well after a wobbly start . Sajjid Mahmood had a few moments, though Adil Rashid looked as if he needs more time to prepare himself for the longest form of the game (but I still believe he's a great prospect).

The Sky Sports TV coverage was most appropriate: its customary professionalism ( underlined by occasional crosses to the England v Warwickshire practice match) had a bucolic tinge which reminded me of a line from John Arlott's poem about cricket at Worcester "And the bar stayed open all day". In these politically correct times no commentator would dare admit on air (or in verse) to having a drink in the workplace (aka at the ground) : Michael Atherton's icecream (from the Dean's Ices van) was the closest to this, but if the obesity police have their way perhaps he'll be either reprimanded a la Flintoff or, as we say in these parts, on the outer. I hope not.