Aggression is the key to Australian success on Boxing Day

Going into the Brisbane Test, the Australians were hot favourites and later looked set to seal an easy win.

However, the courageous batting of Asad Shafiq and the Pakistan tail-enders provoked a remarkable comeback that saw Pakistan fall short by just 39 runs.

The Boxing Day Test will provide a more even chance for Pakistan to come out firing, not needing to battle the turn and bounce of the pink ball.

A man who has the potential to combat the pressure of the rejuvenated Pakistan line-up is Peter Handscomb.

The Victorian has already shown immense promise in Australian whites, scoring a century, a half-century and of course, scoring the winning runs against South Africa in the third Test.

On his home ground, Handscomb will be able to acclimatise to the conditions quickly. Instead of providing a support role to the experience of Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja, he will need to unleash the aggressive batting that we know he’s capable of.

Hopefully, this will pave the way for another young batsman, Matt Renshaw, to follow in his footsteps and continue to build on his form after an impressive 71 in Brisbane.

Despite this, the pressure shouldn’t be placed on Australia’s youngsters, as the team’s success ultimately depends on how the leaders of the team perform.

This has been exemplified by Smith, who was the leading run scorer in Brisbane. The Australian skipper amassed a total of 193 runs and was named player of the match.

Now that Smith has done his bit for his side, it’s time for the team’s other leaders to stand up and fight for an Australian victory.

A leader who can certainly unleash some aggression through his batting, is opener David Warner.

Warner has made starts recently and combined well with Renshaw.

But instead of worrying about Renshaw’s development, Warner needs to worry about his own form at the top of the order, as his damaging innings in recent times have often been the difference between a win and a loss.

On a pitch that will certainly favour the batsmen, Warner will will have an excellent platform to set up a powerful innings that his teammates can follow.

However, the batting wasn’t the problem in Brisbane – it was the bowling.

It took the Australian bowlers 23 overs to claim the final two wickets of the first Pakistan innings, which put the pressure back on the Aussies.

In spite of this, Smith elected not to enforce the follow-on, which ended up causing more harm than good.

The match lasted until day five – a prospect that certainly didn’t look likely after Pakistan’s response to Australia’s first innings total of 429 was less than impressive.

The bowlers struggled in the heat and the tiresome conditions of a day five wicket.

But as usual, it was Mitchell Starc to the rescue, bowling an explosive bouncer at Shafiq to put the Aussies back on course.

Starc was missing support from fellow fast bowler, Josh Hazlewood, who failed to take a wicket in the second innings.

Of course, it’s quite natural for bowlers to have off days, but with South Australian young gun, Chadd Sayers knocking on the door of debuting, Hazlewood will be feeling the pressure to perform at the MCG.

The fast bowler is a prolific wicket-taker and never seems to show any signs of nerves, which will be the key to ensuring that he can bounce back on Boxing Day.

Fellow fast bowler Jackson Bird, like Handscomb, has had some experience playing at the MCG.

Despite playing for Tasmania in the Sheffield Shield, Bird has previously played for the Melbourne Stars in the Big Bash.

Bird made a handy contribution in Brisbane, claiming six wickets in the first Test to complement the explosive pace of Starc.

However, he is yet to unleash the fire power in his bowling. Though he has consistently contributed and got the job done, he has never shown some threatening aggression that really challenges the opposition.

Bird will be given the opportunity to prove to selectors why he deserves his spot in the Australian side.

The formula is quite simple. More aggression equals a higher chance of victory against the fired-up Pakistan attack.

And if any side can show some aggression, it’s certainly the Australians.

The pressure on the Aussies will be higher than ever – especially due to the questions surrounding the make-up of the changing Test side.