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An embarrassing Australia suffered one of their worst days in Test cricket on day one of the second match against Pakistan at Headingley.
After opting to bat first, they were rolled in humiliating fashion for 88 in Leeds – the national side’s worst Test total in a generation.
Ricky Ponting’s shell-shocked bowling attack then failed to take advantage of the seamer-friendly conditions as Pakistan advanced to 3-148 at stumps, a lead of 60, in a stunningly lop-sided day in Yorkshire.
Medium-pacer Shane Watson (2-12) salvaged a small amount of pride by claiming two late scalps while Umar Akmal (8no) and Umar Amin (1no) were the unbeaten batsmen.
It has been a long time since Australia were so comprehensively outplayed, the performance reviving memories of the opening day of the 1997 Ashes series at Edgbaston when Australia were dismissed for 118 and England reached 3-200.
The brilliant Pakistan swing bowling trio of Mohammad Aamer (3-20), Mohammad Asif (3-30) and Umar Gul (2-16) earlier used the overcast conditions to perfection, producing wicked late swing to skittle Australia in 33.1 overs.
The last time Australia posted a lower score was back in 1984, the tally of 76 coming against a rampant West Indian attack consisting of Malcolm Marshall, Joel Garner and Michael Holding on a lightning-fast WACA pitch.
It was Australia’s fifth batting collapse in six Tests on English soil and the performance provided further evidence of the side’s inability to cope with the swinging ball in this country.
Australia had come into the match with a 1-0 lead in the two-match series and in pursuit of a record 14th straight Test win over Pakistan.
Since his fateful decision to send England in at Edgbaston in 2005, Australian captain Ricky Ponting has batted first in the 27 times that he has won the toss.
But from the outset on Wednesday, this looked like a decision he will live to regret.
Pakistan’s bowlers brilliantly exploited the swing-friendly environment as Australia lost their last ten wickets for 68 runs following an opening stand of 20.
Aamer got the ball rolling by pinning opener Simon Katich (13) in front before Asif dismissed Shane Watson (5) eight balls later.
Gul found a gaping hole between bat and pad in knocking back vice captain Michael Clarke’s (3) middle stump while Asif showed that Ricky Ponting’s (6) brilliant record at the ground counted for little on Wednesday.
Even the normally reliable Mike Hussey (5) couldn’t stem the flow of wickets with Gul adjudged to have trapped him in front, although the ball might have been slipping down the leg side.
Marcus North (16) looked to be guiding Australia to lunch but medium-pacer Amin had him caught behind.
Aamer was inspired after the break, bowling Steve Smith (10) and Mitchell Johnson (0) with two stunning deliveries immediately after lunch.
He produced an excellent inswinger that was too much for Smith to handle and followed that up with an even better ball to Johnson that moved sharply and cleaned up his off-stump.
Ben Hilfenhaus (3) survived the hat-trick delivery and pushed Australia beyond the nation’s lowest Test total against Pakistan of 80 in Karachi in 1956.
However, he was run out going for a third soon afterwards and Tim Paine (17) was the last man to go.
In response, new Pakistan captain Salman Butt (45) led the way against an errant attack before being bowled by Hilfenhaus.
Watson dismissed Imran Farhat (43) and Azhar Ali (30) late in the day to give Australia something to cling onto as bad light forced an early close.
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