David Warner makes a gesture just for his critics, Usman Khawaja makes a statement and Pakistan struggles in the field as Australia makes a dominant start to the series.
The Aussies ended day one on 5-346 and in control against the tourists, who let a number of chances go down in front of 16,259 supporters at Perth Stadium.
Here are five quick hits from the first day of the Test series.
- David Warner dominates as Australia take charge of day one against Pakistan
- Scorecard from the first Test in Perth
1. Pakistan’s (first) horror drop
Losing the toss, being asked to bowl, Pakistan needed wickets urgently on day one, especially as David Warner was cutting loose T20-style. at better than a run a ball.
So when Usman Khawaja skied a top edge off Aamir Jamal when on 21, Pakistan must have breathed a sigh of relief.
However, Abdullah Shafique, tracking back from first slip, dropped Khawaja in frankly comedic fashion.
Even a crowd accustomed to watching the West Coast Eagles all year would have expected the 24-year-old to claim the mark.
However, the Pakistani opener turned his head away at the crucial moment, opened his hands, the ball hit his chest and bounced away for four runs off his boot.
Khawaja was eventually out for just 41, so the mistake only cost 20 more runs. But the psychological blow was far more damaging.
2. David Warner’s ‘silencing’ celebration
After all the criticism and all the column inches, David Warner was always going to score yet another Test century to send those critics muttering back to their keyboards.
It wasn’t always pretty, playing and missing as the ball swung early on, but it was aggressive right from the off.
Warner passed 50 at better than a run a ball and not long after ended up on his back after heaving a massive six back over fine leg.
He slowed after lunch as Pakistan’s bowlers tightened their line, with more plays and misses, but clipped the ball over gully to reach his 26th Test century before celebrating with a snarl, a trademark leap and then … something else.
He put a hand to his lips and then took it up and away with a flourish.
It was maybe meant to be a pointed shushing gesture to his critics, but due to the bulky gloves and some less then perfect mime-work, it looked a bit more like he was taking a drag.
“There’s gonna be criticism but you’ve gotta take that but there’s no better way to silence them than putting runs on the board,” he told broadcasters at tea.
3. Another shocking drop
Warner had reached his century, Pakistani heads were dropping. What the tourists needed was something to spark them.
Instead, it was another shocking mistake in the field that cost them.
Warner pushed Agha Salman up over extra cover, but didn’t quite get enough on it, sending the ball straight to Khurram Shahzad.
Shahzad backed up, held up his hands and then watched the ball go over his head, through his hands before bothering to jump.
Warner was on 105 at the time — he made a further 59 runs before holing out.
4. Usman Khawaja’s statement
After the ICC said Usman Khawaja was not allowed to comment on the Israel-Gaza conflict by displaying “All lives are equal” on his shoes during the Test, the Australian star said he would comply but would fight the ruling later.
In the meantime, Khawaja, one of two Muslim men to play Test cricket for Australia, put tape over the writing on his shoes and donned a black armband while batting on day one.
The ICC allows players to wear black armbands for personal bereavements like the death of a loved one, but there is precedent for cricketers using black armbands to make political statements.
At the 2003 World Cup, Zimbabwe’s Henry Olonga and Andy Flower wore them to “mourn the death of democracy in Zimbabwe” after Robert Mugabe’s administration rose to power.
The ICC acknowledged the clear political statement was technically against the rules but chose not to take any action against Flower and Olonga, instead requesting they not wear the armbands for the rest of the tournament. They complied.
5. Another miss? Really?
Stop me if you’ve this one before, but Pakistan missed a regulation chance to get an Australian batter out.
The damage had really been done by the time Warner was on 141 as the shadows grew long late in the day, but there was still time for one last frustrating stuff-up in the field.
The Aussie opener shuffled down the pitch to Salman, who had done an admirable job as a part-time spinner in trying circumstances and beat the outside edge on this occasion.
But the ball spun past the shoulder of almost stationary wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed and into the hands of first slip Babar Azam. He had a shy at the stumps, but by that point Warner was comfortably back in his crease.
One egregious miss per session. Perfectly balanced, as all things should be.
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