1st match: Australia v Pakistan at Melbourne, 12 Jun 2002 John Polack |
Pakistan innings: |
In most senses, the contest between arguably the two most highly skilled teams on the contemporary one-day international circuit began in underwhelming fashion. The conditions were cold; the atmosphere was restrained rather than rippling with the violent electricity of many limited-overs games in Melbourne; and the match failed to reach great heights.
Crowd numbers were also disappointing, with the majority of the patrons (the occasional multitude of a tour group aside) conspicuously dotted around the stadium.
Perhaps it was the case that Melbourne's populace knew something that the promoters didn't: namely, that the two most heavily-billed players of the series - speed merchants Shoaib Akhtar and Brett Lee - would both be on the sidelines. Akhtar's hopes of playing were arrested by a hip injury. Lee, a recent recidivist in the crime of expensive bowling in one-day internationals, was meanwhile presented with the news that Andy Bichel had been preferred to him in Australia's eleven.
But, while their twin absences deprived the two attacks of their fastest practitioners, and denied the crowd a chance of winning a $25,000 prize, pacemen remained the game's early drawcards.
Glenn McGrath (1/22), in particular, portrayed few signs of rustiness from a seven-week layoff, harnessing early moisture in a drop-in pitch to confound Pakistan's upper order with both pace and bounce. He found an outside edge from Shahid Afridi (1) in the third over, and then forced Imran Nazir (39*) back to the dressing rooms, ultimately even to hospital, with a suspected fractured forearm when he snaked a ferociously-bouncing ball back at him from just short a length.
On a tricky surface, the early batsmen uncovered few ways to counter their hosts - the extent of their struggle confirmed as the scoreline creaked to 1/8 after the opening six overs. Having duly gained an advantage from almost the very outset of the match, Australia then proceeded to guard it as preciously as a gold bar at Fort Knox.
Inzamam-ul-Haq (33) threatened a Pakistan recovery in useful liaisons with Yousuf Youhana (19) and Younis Khan (16) but, in sympathy with a succession of fallen teammates, departed before he had offered sufficient evidence of his ability to drive, cut and pull the ball with power.
In between times, Bichel (3/30) applied most of the screws, building on excellent recent returns for Worcestershire by forcing Inzamam and Younis to direct catches to wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist off outside edges and luring Azhar Mahmood (1) into cutting a regulation catch to point. Leg spinner Shane Warne (1/27) conceded nine runs from his first over but was also a model of miserly efficiency for the most part.
Nazir ultimately returned to the crease once the sixth wicket had fallen, but positives remained few and far between for the visitors. The part-time spin of Darren Lehmann (2/23) accounted for two further wickets as batsmen chanced their arm at balls turning away from them, and Gilchrist continued to enjoy a proverbial field day behind the stumps.
Not even three missed catches from the bowling of Shane Watson (1/38) - one emanating from a horrible mix-up as Damien Martyn and Ricky Ponting misjudged the flight of a steepling Wasim Akram (13) drive - could fundamentally weaken the Australians' grip.
Ultimately, it wasn't until Nazir launched into a series of meaty drives in the final overs that any kind of rally was sparked.
While the elements insulated the protagonists from thunder and lightning and shut out pouring rain, so Pakistan's ability to threaten an accurate attack was almost completely shut down.
© CricInfo
Date-stamped : 12 Jun2002 - 14:45