Weatherald praises Head's "hard-work" in seeing off Archer's initial burst in Brisbane Test

Brisbane [Australia], December 5 (ANI): Following a fluent half-century that helped Australia secure an all-important first innings lead in the Brisbane Test, Australian batter Jake Weatherlad spoke on his partnership with opener Travis Head, saying that he did a "lot of hard work" seeing off a lethal Jofra Archer early in the innings.

After England scored 334 runs in the first innings courtesy a century from Joe Root and 76 from Zak Crawley, Australia had to face the new pink ball. Opener Travis, who had unleashed a brutal 83-ball 123 in the Perth Test and chased down 205 runs on the second day of the Test, controlled his natural game, seeing off Jofra's initial burst.

Weatherald was leading the charge with his fiery cuts, drives and pulls. Head, who had batted till 27 balls and scored just four, was dropped by Jamie Smith. After three maiden overs, it was Weatherald's powerful cut against Gus Atkinson which opened the scoring. While Head was dismissed for a 43-ball 33, with three fours and a six, Weatherald slammed his maiden Test fifty in just 45 balls, with nine fours and a six. Of Australia's first 36 runs, he had made 28 runs.

Speaking about how Head helped in Australia and him in seeing off Archer, Weatherald said during the post-day presser, "Heady did do a lot of hard work today, he had to get through Jofra in the first part. We know how good he is as a bowler with that new ball with his extra pace."

"He did an amazing job. He sat down one end and took four overs off him, which was massive for me and it is massive for the game really too. Joff is obviously a high-class class, and sometimes you have got to respect good bowlers, and that's what we did quite well today," he added.

Speaking on his cut shots, Weatherald hilariously remarked that it became his go-to-shot because of his short height and limited technique.

"When you are short like me and cannot hit the ball down the ground with my technique, the cut shot is one of those things you have got to cash in on. And a place like (The Gabba) is quite good for that," he said.

Australia did have their moments of recklessness, with Cameron Green exposing his stumps while preparing for a short ball by Brydon Carse, but got hit with a yorker, which cleaned up his stumps. Also, Steve Smith's awkward pull fell into hands of Will Jacks at deep backward square leg, with the English all-rounder pulling out an unbelievable catch. The loss of Green and Smith to Carse and Josh Inglis to skipper Ben Stokes at a score of 329 threatened to not let Aussies go far, before a counter-attack by Alex Carey gave Australia a cushion of 44-run lead in the first innings, with four wickets still left.

"You would probably say that some of the shots were a bit reckless at times, but at the same time, they backed themselves. As a group, that is what we want to do. In general, I think it came off quite well," he said.

"I think we are quite an adaptable batting group at the moment," he said. "Obviously, Heady will always go about it the way he does. But for me, I am just seeing and reacting and trying to get in good positions. I did not actively go out there and play any differently than I normally would. It just ended up that way. It is a really good wicket to bat on," he concluded.

England opted to bat first and started the day at 325/9. They scored 334 runs in 76.2 overs, with Joe Root, who cracked his maiden Test ton in Australia (138* in 206 balls, with 15 fours and a six) and Zak Crawley (76 in 93 balls, with 11 fours) leading the scoreboard.

Left-armer Mitchell Starc, who surpassed Pakistan icon Wasim Akram to become the most successful left-armed pacer in Tests, was the pick of the bowlers with 6/75, with Brendan Doggett, Scott Boland and Michael Neser getting one wicket each.

In their first innings, Australia started off strongly with a 77-run opening stand between Travis Head (33 in 43 balls, with three fours and a six) with Jake Weatherald, who scored a fierce 72 in 78 balls, with 12 fours and a six, forming a fine 69-run stand with Labuschagne as well. Another fifty stand followed between Labuschagne and Steve Smith (61 in 85 balls, with five fours and two sixes), and a 95-run stand came between Cameron Green (45 in 57 balls, with seven fours) and Smith.

Brydon Carse (3/113) and Ben Stokes (2/93) struck quickly, reducing Australia to 329/6, but Alex Carey (46* in 45 balls, with five fours) and Neser took the Aussies to 378/6 and a lead of 44 runs. (ANI)

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