Oz land first blow in Boxing Day Test

MELBOURNE, December 26

Australia made a solid start to the Boxing Day Test against Pakistan today but rain washed out a chunk of play and tight bowling restricted them to 187/3 at the end of the opening day.

When they put the ball in the right areas, they challenged our front-foot defence. A lot of play and misses... They didn’t give us too many freebies, which in Perth I felt they did a bit — David Warner, Australia Opener

Marnus Labuschagne, who made 44 not out, and Travis Head, who was unbeaten on 10, will resume tomorrow as the hosts seek a victory that would seal a series triumph with the third and final Test to spare.

After an emphatic 360-run victory in the first Test in Perth two weeks ago, the world Test champions were looking to quickly drive home their advantage when they were put in to bat on a greenish wicket at Melbourne Cricket Ground.

Pakistan needed something to restore their morale after a heavy defeat as well as a couple of injuries. Left-arm seamers Shaheen Afridi and Mir Hamza soon got the ball moving both ways to trouble the Australian openers.

David Warner, playing the penultimate Test of his career, should have departed for two in the third over when he edged an Afridi delivery to the slips only for Abdullah Shafique to ground a regulation catch.

It was not until just before lunch that Pakistan finally winkled Warner out for 38, the opener loosely reaching for a wide delivery from spinner Agha Salman and edging it to Babar Azam in the slips.

“It was quite challenging,” said Warner. “When they put the ball in the right areas, they challenged our front-foot defence. A lot of play and misses... They didn’t give us too many freebies, which in Perth I felt they did a bit. So yeah, it was a tough start.”

Usman Khawaja, sporting the names of his daughters on his boots as part of his continuing feud with the ICC, lasted another six overs before he edged a Hasan Ali delivery to Salman in the slips for 42. Labuschagne and Steve Smith came through a thorough examination before tea. — Reuters

Brief scores: Australia: 187/3 (Labuschagne 44*, Khawaja 42; Salman 1/5)

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