Key events
68th over: Pakistan 231-7 (Jamal 13, Shaheen 12) Lyon to Jamal, two through cover. Then beats the edge and then takes it in consecutive deliveries, but into the ground. Slip and leg slip. Jamal drives at width but on the bounce to cover this time. Drinks, with Pakistan behind by 87 runs.
67th over: Pakistan 229-7 (Jamal 11, Shaheen 12) Starc on for Cummins now, that long run in. Just one slip with this older ball, as well as a gully and a short leg standing a few paces back for Shaheen. Left-arm over the wicket to left-hand bat. Mostly defends, but gets surprised by a short ball that doesn’t get up and slams him on the gloves. He’s ok.
66th over: Pakistan 229-7 (Jamal 11, Shaheen 12) Vegemite on toast! Talk about a smear, Shaheen gets down on one knee and swipes Lyon over midwicket for another bouncing boundary. Unconvincing but it works this time.
65th over: Pakistan 223-7 (Jamal 10, Shaheen 7) A run going fine for Shaheen. Jamal aims a more powerful swing at Cummins but only gets one to fine leg. Cummins around the wicket to Shaheen, in at the pads but the Pakistani paceman keeps it out.
64th over: Pakistan 221-7 (Jamal 9, Shaheen 6) There goes Shaheen! Lyon back on, and the tall left-hander shuffles down and smears him over mid on. Not by much, but gets four. Keeps the strike too with a push square. The deficit is down into double figures.
63rd over: Pakistan 216-7 (Jamal 9, Shaheen 1) So it’s Shaheen Shah Afridi at 9, which is too high for him really, he’s a slapper of the ball more than a player of actual innings. Can lump a couple of sixes before he hits one up in the air, but the latter comes along soon enough. Starts with a gentle run off the hip today. Now to Jamal – does he look to advance the scoring from here, as the more accomplished batter? Not to that ball, which seams sharply, goes over leg stump, swings after it passes, and nearly beats Carey who stops it on the bounce wide to his left. That went miles off the straight. Jamal ducks the shorter one to follow. Cummins 4 for 44 so far.
WICKET! Rizwan c Warner b Cummins 42, Pakistan 215-7
There he goes. Did the lack of strike play a part? Misreads the pace off the pitch, must like Shafique yesterday. Sees a driveable length wide of the stumps, throws his hands through the line of the ball. Cummins has two covers in place, Warner squarer and closer, and Rizwan is too early on the shot, half sliced, straight into those reliable hands for the 89th catch of Warner’s Test career.
62nd over: Pakistan 215-6 (Rizwan 42, Jamal 9) A shot! A shot from Jamal. Gets strike after Rizwan’s glance, and lays into a pull against Hazlewood. Leathers it well in front of square. Then takes a run to mid off and again flirts with a second as Marnus lines up the stumps. Labuschagne is one of the best ground fielders in the world these days, you can’t take him on. Rizwan pulls behind square to keep the strike. The deficit is down to 103.
61st over: Pakistan 208-6 (Rizwan 40, Jamal 4) There it is, not quite in the groove is Rizwan – plays it out past cover, takes the first, never a second but he takes off. Jamal sends him back. Labuschagne again fast in getting rid of the ball, and his throw from halfway to the boundary at cover only just misses as Rizwan dives in. Would have been a third umpire forensic job had it hit.
Australia with a leg slip in for Jamal now, and he’s not sure about his ducking technique anymore. Turns and gets hit by a short ball in the back of the shoulder. But then gets the bird out again to get under Cummins, and again Cummins wants the toe of the bat. Hands on head. Gets a leg bye, Rizwan another run.
60th over: Pakistan 205-6 (Rizwan 38, Jamal 4) A slightly different duck from Jamal, twisting to his left rather than bowing straight at Hazlewood, but the periscope is up again and it’s close to the ball again. Blocks the full ball to close the over and Rizwan will see some bowling next.
59th over: Pakistan 205-6 (Rizwan 38, Jamal 4) He’s hogging the strike! Beaten by Cummins a couple of times, but Jamal glances a run from the fifth ball of the over. He’s doing a lot of leaving. Good temperament in support. You just wonder if this time out of the action will unbalance Rizwan, who started so productively.
58th over: Pakistan 204-6 (Rizwan 38, Jamal 3) Rizwan pulls a run first ball, happy to give Jamal the strike, and there’s a lot more ducking. I think the Australians are interested in this periscope bat situation. Josh Hazlewood also has an “oooh” to himself after his short ball on off stump doesn’t miss the bat by much. Jamal pushes away a run to point to end the over.
57th over: Pakistan 202-6 (Rizwan 37, Jamal 2) Having kept strike, Rizwan launches a bottom-handed drive hard at mid off and can’t score. Cummins opening proceedings for the day. Hits the next one through cover on the up, diagonal bat, and is thinking of running four but Labuschagne gets rid of the ball so quickly after sliding into its path at deep cover. Three runs, Jamal on strike and he dips down like the wooden bird that fills in for Homer at the power plant, leaning forward at the waist to go under the ball. Only problem is that his action leaves the bat poking up in the air behind him, and Cummins nearly nicks the toe of it with that short ball. The look on the bowler’s face, he knew it was close. Hard dismissal to plan for.
56th over: Pakistan 199-6 (Rizwan 34, Jamal 2) Like many a long-distance swimmer, Hazlewood is straight in the channel. Rizwan is happy to go fishing in those waters, twice reaching out to steer Hazlewood away for two. Then thwacks across the line with a cross-bat shot off the front foot to get a mistimed under edge behind square for one run.
Revised start is 10:45am, which is 25 minutes away. So half an hour early becomes 15 minutes late.
The hessian covers are coming off the pitch now.
I think it’ll pass over pretty quickly.
Well, I was too optimistic. Bit of misty drizzle has come in over the MCG, so our early start will now be a late start.
Or it’s some other number of minutes that I’m yet to determine. Anyway, we’ll be on soon.
Remember we start half an hour early to make up for the rain on day one. Which is in four minutes. So stand by.
Meanwhile, Andy Bull has pulled together the votes for our Guardian men’s Test team of the year. Thoughts?
Here is the wires report on yesterday’s day of play.
Preamble
Geoff Lemon
Good (Australian) morning, Christmas bike gang. I say that because I assume that you have all received bikes for Christmas, and by now you have installed the pedals and lights and reflectors and you are ready to cruise around your neighbourhoods in a big OBO phalanx.
Day three in Melbourne has dawned cloudy and dull so far, but not much in the way of rain predicted or evident, so with any luck we get the full day again. It just won’t be the gold and blue colour scheme of yesterday. Wonder if it will do anything to aid bowlers. Australia’s quicks were really good yesterday after Nathan Lyon got the first wicket, especially Pat Cummins with his burst that took out the well-set Abdullah Shafique before Babar Azam.
Pakistan slid a long way after that, from 124 to 1 all the way to 170 for 6. By stumps that score was up to 194, with Rizwan to resume on 29 and Aamer Jamal on 2. They have a lot of work to do with their team still 124 behind.
Let’s see what they can do.
