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It shouldn’t have been close. It shouldn’t have been remotely close. But, thankfully for Australian fans, the home side was able to just defend 490 in the final innings, defeating Pakistan by 39 runs in the first Test of the series.
Here are five talking points from the first Test at the Gabba.
Australia’s skipper had made a habit of holding on to absolute screamers during the recent Chappell-Hadlee series against New Zealand, so it came as a bit of a shock when he dropped a catch early in the final session of Day 4.
That didn’t end up being too much of a problem, as the reprieved Sarfraz Ahmed was cleaned up soon after by Mitchell Starc.
Then Smith dropped another.
This time, there was no immediate relief for him as Asad Shafiq kept batting… and batting… and batting to the point where Pakistan were within 50 runs of the unlikeliest of victories.
Thankfully a brute of a ball from Starc once again saved the skipper’s blushes, ending Shafiq’s stand on 137.
And then Smith made up for his earlier blues with a run-out to seal the win. And he made a lazy 193 in the Test.
Maybe he’s actually not human.
There were a few contentious captaincy decisions from Smith throughout the Test – not enforcing the follow-on, having a single slip at times during Day 5 – but none were quite as perplexing as asking the umpires for Day 4 to be extended by eight overs in the hope of forcing a result before stumps.
That the umpires agreed to the extension was also unusual, but they really shouldn’t have been asked the question in the first place.
Australia’s bowlers, who had already toiled for more than 30 overs in that final session, were looking tired well before the originally-scheduled end of play, and it showed in the extra half hour.
Rather than persevere with the patient, searching tactics which had served them so well throughout the match, they chased wickets, seemingly desperate for the Test to be over before the final day.
The result was a shot in the arm for Shafiq and his tail-end partner, Wahab Riaz, who combined for a very welcome 50-odd runs in the extra overs. Although Jackson Bird, who surely cemented his place in Australia’s XI with an excellent outing, snared Wahab in the final over of the night, the extra time helped Pakistan a hell of a lot more than the hosts.
Plus, it meant the day’s play didn’t end until 11pm (AEDT). Much as I love day-night cricket, running until an hour before midnight on a Sunday night is stretching the friendship.
When Australia’s re-jigged selection panel announced a re-jigged side for the Adelaide Test against South Africa in the wake of a horror showing in Hobart, the changes were made with an eye to strengthening the batting order and preventing any more calamitous collapses.
In came two in-form batsmen, Matt Renshaw and Peter Handscomb. Both have impressed in their two Tests to date, Renshaw proving a judicious opener who puts a hefty price on his wicket and Handscomb providing both grit and class in the middle order, despite a back-foot-reliant technique which could be found out in the coming months.
However, the two batsmen who came into the side without the weight of Sheffield Shield centuries behind them have struggled. Matthew Wade has failed twice with the bat and has missed a couple of chances behind the stumps, while Nic Maddinson has scored just 5 runs from three innings.
Few could fault the latter’s second innings effort in Brisbane, when he was caught on the boundary chasing quick runs for the team, but his two previous innings have only emphasised the concerns over his place in the side which were present when he was selected.
Were Shaun Marsh fit for the Boxing Day Test, one would assume the in-form left-hander would come into the side for Maddinson. But with Marsh’s broken finger casting him in serious doubt for the second Test, Maddinson probably won’t be going anywhere.
Unfortunately for the New South Welshman, the same can be said for his critics.
Touted as the best leggie since the great Shane Warne, Yasir Shah’s first foray onto Australian soil was disappointing, to say the least.
Faced with a bevvy of left-hand batsmen, Yasir was content to persevere with a leg-stump line, only rarely tossing the ball up outside off. He also seemed reluctant to come around the wicket, a tactic which paid dividends against England’s left-handers during Pakistan’s mid-year tour to the Isles.
There are a number of mitigating circumstances for Yasir; he’s been carrying a back injury in recent times, and the mammoth workload from the first innings (he bowled 43.1 out of 130.1 overs during Australia’s first dig) can’t have helped.
Still, it was an unimpressive outing from Yasir in Brisbane, and one that he, and Pakistan, will no doubt be hoping to improve on in Melbourne.
Speaking of which…
At the end of Day 2, with Pakistan performing a batting capitulation which has become all-too-familiar for Australian fans, the opening Test didn’t look likely to last the weekend, and the signs were there for yet another whitewash for a travelling Pakistani side.
Thankfully, it ended up providing a truly thrilling finish, with Shafiq’s brilliant innings and the resistance of Azhar Ali and Younus Khan breathing life back into the series.
With Mohammed Amir bowling well from day dot and the traditionally spin-friendly decks at the MCG and SCG set to provide Shah with some more assistance, we have an evenly-balanced contest on our hands.