Melbourne, December 27: Mitchell Johnson immediately justified Ricky Ponting’s bold first-innings declaration with the wicket of Imran Farhat shortly before the tea break.
Ponting closed Australia’s innings at 5 for 454 less than an hour into the second session on Sunday, and Johnson pressed home the hosts’ advantage by trapping Farhat lbw to a tailing delivery in his second over.
Just five sessions in, Pakistan already face a mountainous climb to remain competitive in this match. Michael Hussey (82) and Nathan Hauritz (75) may have taken Australia’s unconverted century tally to an unflattering 20 for the summer, but not before they had propelled the hosts into a position of dominance. Each of Australia’s first five batsmen passed the half-century mark, the nightwatchman included, leaving Pakistan to lament their series of botched chances from the previous day.
Like Watson, Simon Katich and Ricky Ponting before him, Hussey appeared in superb touch on a flattening MCG surface. Strong on the cut-shot and off his pads, the veteran left-hander provided further reason to believe the worst of his extended form trough was behind him as he registered his 19th Test half-century with a degree of fluency and poise all but absent in his batting for much of 2009.
But with a ton in sight, Hussey fell victim to the impressive Saeed Ajmal, who posed a constant threat to the Australians with deft changes of pace, flight and turn. Ajmal rapped Hussey on the pads while attempting to sweep and was awarded a well-deserved wicket by Billy Doctrove – one upheld by the video umpire on appeal.
Ajmal might well have had Hauritz, the nightwatchman, dismissed earlier in the morning with a direct-hit run-out. Replays showed the ball striking the stumps with Hauritz short of his ground, however they could not prove definitively whether the bail was entirely out of the groove. Hauritz advanced his total to a career-best 75 with a series of strokes more befitting the Twenty20 arena before eventually falling victim to Abdur Rauf via the video. He was ruled lbw by television umpire Asoka de Silva after being initially spared by Rudi Koertzen, the on-field official.
Of some concern to the Australian camp was Hauritz’s grimacing reaction to a quick single taken late in the first session. A groin injury almost ruled him out of the Boxing Day Test – Steven Smith, the New South Wales legspinner, was called in as cover – however his introduction into the attack after just nine overs of the Pakistan innings allayed concerns.
The early use of Hauritz, coupled with the surprise declaration, were the latest in a series of aggressive captaincy moves from the formerly conservative Ponting. An early declaration and a rare enforcement of the follow-on in Brisbane last month set the tone for the summer, and the Australian captain maintained course in the first innings at the MCG with his ruthless pursuit of Pakistan.
Doug Bollinger and Peter Siddle bowled with pace and menace in their opening spells to Salman Butt and Farhat, but it was Johnson, bowling first change, who made the breakthrough. His dismissal of Farhat to a delivery that swung subtly into the pads took his summer tally to an impressive 18 wickets.
——Agencies