Date-stamped : 04 Oct94 - 10:24 Pakistan v Australia, First Test Match played at National Stadium, Karachi, 28 Sep - 2 Oct 1994 ====> Day 1, 28 Sep 94 Half centuries by Michael Bevan, Steve Waugh and Ian Healey lift- ed Australia to 325-7 at the close of play on the opening day of the first Test. The Pakistan bowlers enjoyed a successful morning session, which saw the tourists reduced to 95-4. But Australia, 110-4 at lunch and 239/5 at tea, dominated the post-lunch period with brilliant batting by debutant Bevan (82), Waugh (73) and Healy (54 not out). Waugh and Bevan carved the resurrection of the Australian innings with a 121 run fifth- wicket partnership. Healy and Warne (22) chipped in with useful scores too. Contributed by Syed.M.Ali (sma@dcs.ed.ac.uk) ====> Day 2, 29 Sep 94 Spin demons take their turn at worn wicket - Trent Bouts Australia are well poised to turn a tide of history after a spin-inspired collapse cut the heart out of Pakistan`s batting on the second day of the first Test. On a wicket ageing ahead of its time, Shane Warne (3-49) and Tim May (2-55) rocked the home side either side of tea. At stumps they were 7-209 chasing Australia`s first innings of 337. Pakistan have never been beaten in 30 Tests at the National Stadium where they have won 16 and while this match is far from decided, that record is at least under serious threat. Thanks to fast bowlers Glenn McGrath and Jo Angel lending support with a wicket each, Australia captured 6-47 in a two-hour stretch late in the day. It was a dramatic tumble for Pakistan who were sitting sweet at 1-153 thanks to a spirited opening stand of 90 in 100 minutes between Saeed Anwar (85) and Aamir Sohail (36). This Australian squad has come here determined to rid itself of the shroud from previous tours of poor results and shabby di- plomacy. There was something to encourage everyone in that respect yesterday. Even the cynics would have smiled when Khizar Hayat ruled Pakistan captain Salim Malik lbw. Salim(26) raised his bat as if to suggest he knicked an inside edge on the full-pitched ball from Angel. A similar protest cost Mike Atherton money in England recently. Here it lent credence to those who have staunchly defended the independence of home um- pires. Warne claimed the initial wicket when he deceived Sohail with a wrong`un and teased a catch to Michael Bevan at mid-wicket. But it was off-spinner May who triggered the collapse. He had Saeed caught at shortish cover trying to drive a beautifully flighted ball that flew infinitely faster to Mark Waugh`s hands. The batsman`s innings was typically full of high enter- tainment but he tempted fate once too often, having already given Angel several sniffs in his opening spell. Soon after tea, May had Zahid Fazal superbly caught by a diving Boon at short leg and the pressure on the Pakistani batsmen was suddenly intense. At the other end, McGrath produced one of the best spells of his brief Test career, extracting some movement out of the wicket. In a six-over stint he conceded just three runs and claimed the wicket of Basit Ali for a duck. It was a courageous effort by McGrath, making light of the earlier frus- trations and the absense of his injured senior partner Craig McDermott. The wicket laid only six weeks ago is already coughing up dust like a fourth or fifth day wicket the Australians might find at home, and its most devious times lay ahead. Yesterday there were few real demons in the strip, however, Warne did make it `go boo` to Inzamam-ul-Haq (9) and Rashid Latif(2) in the space of 10 balls. Both batsmen were beaten by the amount of turn on leg- spinners which flew off the edge and into the hands of Mark Tay- lor. The new Australian captain has enjoyed little personal success on tour so far, whether in the field or at the crease. But his takes yesterday were among some of his best. He can only hope the brief net session post-stumps with Bob Simpson can lift his bat- ting the same way. A number of ball inspections by umpire Dickie Bird that were so conspicuous during the Australian innings were not so apparent yesterday. It is understood Bird had some concerns about wear and tear on the ball and even showed it to Steve Waugh when he was batting. Waugh told Bird the damage was common enough on wickets in Pakistan and there was no suggestion of any action be- ing taken. The Australian innings closed rapidly once Ian Healy top-edged a cut to wicket-keeper Rashid Latif off Waqar Younis in the fifth over of the day. Healy added just three runs to his overnight to- tal to finish with 57 but his work on Wednesday, while oversha- dowed by Michael Bevan`s debut 82, was almost as valuable. Given the meagre resources in the tail, runs from number seven are likely to play a major role in Australia`s forunes. Waqar and Wasim Akram from one of the best clean-up combinations in the game and provided further evidence yesterday in claiming the last three wickets for two runs in the space of 12 balls. Thanks :: `The Australian`, 30 Sept. 1994 Contributed by Chris.Godfred (chris@*.met.unimelb.EDU.AU) ====> Day 2, more The legend of Shane Warne was heard in yet another foreign tongue today as he led Australia to a dominating position in the first Test against Pakistan at the National Stadium. Tonight, the Australians will be entertaining a dream of their first victory in this country for more than 30 years. When stumps were drawn, Pakistan were 7-209 in their first innings, trailing Australia by 128 and haunted by the certainty that they will have to bat last against the mercurial Warne on a pitch that is taking more spin each passing hour. The match changed dramatically after lunch today. Pakistan had won the morning session comprehensively, bowling out Australia for 337 and then seizing on bowling from Jo Angel that was the antithesis of his name to speed to 0-69 at better than four an over. But from the moment Warne picked up the ball for a preprandial aperitif, the game was played at a different pace, and in due time, to a new tune altogether. Pakistan scored 140 for the rest of the day at barely 2.5 runs an over, and lost seven wickets, five of them in a momentous final session. Australia`s mastery was consummated in the last hour when captain Mark Taylor snapped up two boot-high catches at slip from Warne nine balls apart, and Angel (1-52) trapped Pakistan captain Salim Malik lbw. Hitherto, both Taylor and Angel had had dismal matches; suddenly Australia could do no wrong. Now 1988 is nothing but a dim memory. For comparison, after the second day of the first Test here in 1988, Pakistan were 6-438 and still batting, Javed Miandad having completed a double century. Today`s play had started so very differently from how it fin- ished. The Pakistanis have such a talent for snipping off tails that you wonder they are not a nation of sheep farmers. Wasim Akram (3-75) and Waqar Younis (3-75) did not even bother to take the available new ball in the morning as they rounded off Australia`s first innings at 337, the last four wickets falling for merely 12. The capitulation of Australia`s bottom order, and the failure of the top order, were like parenthesis around the block of runs made by Michael Bevan, Steve Waugh and Ian Healy, and served to underline their value. Saeed Anwar and Aamir Sohail maintained Pakistan`s momentum at the start of the innings. Angel bowled as if he was homesick for the WACA ground, pitching more often than not in his half of the pitch, and was duly punished, particularly by Saeed. But the introduction of Warne (3-47) after 16 overs immediately altered the style of the game, slowing the scoring until Sohail (36) lashed a little intemperately at what was perhaps a top- spinner and sent a high catch to mid-on. This was a pati- ence pitch, Taylor had said before the game, and now Australia knuckled down to play a waiting game. Tim May (2-55) and Glenn McGrath (1-37) were no less heroic than Warne, just a little less exotic. Their toil was rewarded in a rush around tea. Faced with this cannier bowling, Saeed had res- trained his attacking instincts until after three hours, he was within striking distance of a century. A towering six over long- on from Warne might have relaxed his vigilance, for three overs later he drove May loosely and directly to short cover where Mark Waugh held a sharp catch. Four May deliveries later, but on the other side of the tea break, Zahid Fazal (27) prodded forward and David Boon dived like a swallow to take a brilliant catch at short leg. McGrath, meanwhile, very nearly had had Salim Malik caught by a sprawling Taylor at slip, and then coaxed Basit Ali (0) into an extravagant square drive that was comfortably caught by Bevan at cover point. Australia now had taken 3-4 in six overs. An hour later, there was another brace of wickets for Warne, nine balls apart, as both Inzamam Ul Haq and Rashid Latif sent catches to Taylor at slip. Taylor`s jubilation, after a duck and a pair of missed catches, was a statement on the way the match had turned. Thanks Greg Baum, Sydney Morning Herald. Contributed by David.Mar (mar@Physics.su.OZ.AU) ====> Day 3, 30 Sep 94 Mark Taylor's mind must have been a vortex of conflicting emotions today as he became the first man to make a pair on his debut as Test captain, but his Australian team edged closer to what would be an historic victory over Pakistan. David Boon's mind was fixed resolutely on that win as he outlived two chances, a controversial incident involving Pakistani leg- spinner Mushtaq Ahmed and a hat-trick delivery from Wasim Akram to make 85 not out. That innings redoubled in value near stumps when Australia's cause was set back gravely by three rapid dismissals. Mark Waugh (61) was bowled by Waqar Younis to finish another century partnership with Boon, and Michael Bevan and Steve Waugh were shot out for ducks in consecutive balls by Akram in the next over. Australia had lost 3/3 in six balls, and limped back into the dressing room at 5/181. But its lead is 262, and although the pitch remains firm, both Pakistani spinners were extracting significant spin. Shane Warne's fingers are clicking, Pakistan's batting is talented, but brittle, and a fourth innings target of beyond 250 will surely be beyond its powers. More than two days remain. It was another eventful, absorbing and frequently tense day at the National Stadium. Australia took the last three wickets of Pakistan's first innings in just more than an hour in the morning to establish a first innings lead of 81. Australia's second innings began disastrously when Taylor hung out his bat, latterly just an accoutrement, at a delivery angled across him in Waqar's first over and wicketkeeper Rashid Latif accepted the catch. It was all that umpire Dickie Bird, who has witnessed plenty of tragedy in his record 61 Tests, could bear to formalise the dismissal by raising his finger. Taylor had made only one duck in his 54 Tests before this match, and had never made a pair in first-class cricket. It will scarcely improve his humour to know that both Richie Benaud and Allan Border also made pairs while leading Australia. He has now made only one double- figure score in seven innings on tour, and his form, until now dismissed as the rub of the green, must now be officially a concern. Boon's innings was distinguished by courage and class, and also laced with adventure, once being sat on his backside during a Wasim Akram barrage. He chanced at 28 and 58, and would not be budged in the confrontation with Mushtaq at 38 when the leg- spinner claimed to have caught-and-bowled him. Bird, after consulting his partner Khizar Hayat, allowed him to bat on. It was a hot and sticky day in Karachi, and it became even clammier after this moment, which will strain the hitherto civil relationship between the two sides. Thanks Greg Baum, Sydney Morning Herald. Contributed by David.Mar (mar@Physics.su.OZ.AU) ====> Day 5, 2 Oct 94 Last wicket pair add 57 to earn Pakistan thrilling win A last-wicket stand of 57 between Inzamamul Haq and Mushtaq Ahmed carried Pakistan to a thrilling one-wicket victory over Australia in the first test on Sunday. The touring team appeared set to go one up in the three-test series when leg spinner Shane Warne picked up four wickets to reduce Pakistan to 258 for nine. They had begun the final day on 155 for three. But Inzamam-ul-Haq, who scored 58 not out, and Mushtaq (20 not out) frustrated all of Australia`s attempts to dislodge them. The winning runs came from four byes after Ian Healy had missed a chance to stump In- zamamul Haq off Warne. Warne -- named man of the match -- took five wickets in the innings and eight in the match. Thanks Reuter. Contributed by cric8wala (sidi@iastate.edu) ====> Day 5, more The National Stadium was once more Australia`s heartbreak hotel today when they lost the first Test to Pakistan by one solitary wicket. And not even legendary English umpire Dickie Bird`s judgement that it was the best Test in which he has stood could console them. Champion leg-spinner Shane Warne was nearly Australia`s hero again, taking five wickets in an innings for the sixth time in his 27-match career, to bowl Pakistan to the threshold of defeat at 9-258, seeking 314 for victory. Warne won the hollow honour of man-of-the-match. But Pakistan`s man-of-the-moment was Inzamam Ul Haq, who came in at No. 8 to thump 58 not out and share half-century partnerships with an ill Rashid Latif (35) for the eighth wicket and Mushtaq Ahmed (20 not out) for the 10th wicket that won the match for his country. It was Mushtaq`s highest Test score, and his stand of 58 with Inzamam was the largest ever last-wicket partnership to win a Test match, reflecting their cool as cricketers, but also the unchanging blandness of the pitch. It came down to a confrontation between Inzamam and Warne. With three needed, Inzamam stepped out to Warne, only for the ball to take a fine deflection from his front pad and run away past wick- etkeeper Ian Healy to the boundary rope. Warne appealed for lbw, but umpire Dickie Bird was already signalling four leg-byes, thereby finishing the match. Inzamam raised his arms in the universal gesture of triumph, and said later it was a greater moment than winning the World Cup in 1992, in which he also played the decisive innings. The Australi- ans fell to their haunches and Healy swatted down the stumps. No-one was more broken than fast bowler Jo Angel, who was livid to have had his appeals for caught behind against Basit Ali and lbw against Inzamam turned down by umpire Khizar Hayat in con- secutive overs. Angel was reported for dissent, but escaped with a caution from match referee John Reid. So ended one of the great Test matches, one that was never out of reach of either side, but never in the firm grasp of one or the other, was never dull, never lacked quality and was never going to finish in a draw. ``God is great,`` chanted the crowd as the match drew towards its screeching climax, and in that moment, His game was surely Test cricket. Bird, an immortal among umpires, said it was the finest of the 61 Tests in which he has stood. The Australians may not immediately see the game in such a divine light, but when time lightens their heavy hearts, they will real- ise they were gallant to the point of heroic, for they were re- duced to two specialist bowlers for most of the last innings. Opening bowler Glenn McGrath has a groin strain and remains high- ly doubtful for the second test, starting in Rawalpindi on Wednesday, and off-spinner Tim May was under treatment this morn- ing for a stiff neck and was sparingly used. ``To nearly win a Test match with only two front-line bowlers is a great effort,`` captain Mark Taylor said. ``We`re disappointed because if you take out the first session, we were never really behind. Right at the end, we finished up behind on the score- board.`` Taylor said Australia now had two clear options. ``We can either allow ourselves to be devastated, and come out and play poorly on Wednesday,`` he said. ``Or we can harden ours and come out and beat them. We CAN beat them. I prefer the latter.`` This match changed course four times today. In the first hour- and-a-bit, Pakistan lost 4-27, three to Warne`s guile and top- scorer Saeed Anwar (77) when Angel clutched a brilliant return catch. Then Inzamam and a cavalier Latif, vomiting attacks not- withstanding, shared 52 in an hour to renew Pakistan`s hopes. Steve Waugh trapped Latif lbw, and when Waqar Younis swiped Warne straight up in the air, Australia looked to have the match in their safekeeping. But the last stand, last word, and last laugh all belonged to Pakistan. It was the first time Pakistan have made more than 300 in the fourth innings to win a Test, and so by the narrowest of margins, it kept intact several proud records. They still have not lost to Australia at home since 1959, still have not lost here other than to the West Indies since 1969 and still have never lost a Test in Karachi. Further, it will take a superhuman effort from Australia to beat Pakistan in the series, which has not happened here since 1980. Poor Australia maintained their uncoveted record of failing in narrow squeaks, and not even a change of captain has changed their luck. It was their third photo-finish defeat in less than two years, following a one-run loss to the West Indies in Ade- laide and a five-run loss to South Africa in Sydney. This was the seventh one-wicket result in Test history and Australia have been involved in four, winning one and losing three. They have also lost two of the four closest matches by run margins, and have played in the only two ties in the game`s history. Thankfully, this match was on its merits, over four almost com- plete innings, in equal conditions, almost without rancour and with no more dispute about umpiring than is usual in any close, high-stakes cricket match anywhere in the world. It is not a com- plete guide, but it is worth noting that Hayat and Bird gave four lbw decisions each, Hayat three in Pakistan`s favour and one to Australia, Bird in the reverse ratio. But it was a not-out decision given by Hayat in favour of Inzamam when he was 18 and played across a full ball from Angel that will burn longest in Australian memories. Thanks Greg Baum, staff reporter with the Sydney Morning Herald. Contributed by David.Mar (mar@physics.su.oz.au) ====> Post-match Report, 3 Oct 94 Wicketkeeper and new vice-captain Ian Healy today took the blame for Australia`s defeat by Pakistan in the first Test as certainly as he would have liked to have taken the last-ball stumping op- portunity that would have won the match for Australia. ``There`s no doubt that`s a chance we`ve got to take to win a Test match. That`s not good enough as far as I`m concerned,`` Healy said with a candour that he clearly did not learn from the Australian Cricket Board`s pocket media brainwashing manual. ``I feel very responsible for the loss. It`s all the worse be- cause we`ve never won over here, and we`re looking to do certain things in the next year, and that weighs heavily on my should- ers.`` Healy, bowler Shane Warne and batsman Inzamam Ul Haq all thought the crucial ball was about to hit the stumps to deliver victory to Australia. ``I had decided to go to the pitch to force it out to the leg where there was only one deep fielder,`` Inzamam told Pakistani journalists. ``I missed it. I thought: `I am bowled`, and my heart sank. Then I heard Mushtaq [Ahmed] calling for a run. I could not believe it.`` What happened was that the ball slipped at ankle height past off-stump, underneath Healy and away to the boundary rope. Most watchers were misled by umpire Bird, who signalled leg byes, and it did not emerge until later that Inzamam might have been stumped. ``I`ve stumped him about 20,000 times last night, but I`ve just missed the one that counted,`` said Healy, who also said he ex- pected to be haunted by the moment for a long time. ``I`ve com- pleted my player profile now, I`ve finally got a `biggest disap- pointment in cricket`. ``I saw it come past the bat, saw him move his feet, so basically I wasn`t watching the ball as well as I would have liked. For me to be seeing the stump, my eyes were just off the ball a little bit. I thought it was going to hit the stump, and that`s what stuffed me. It probably kept a bit low, I don`t really know. Height I don`t think was a problem. It was basically just the distraction of the off stump.`` Warne and Australian coach Bob Simpson both absolved Healy from blame. Said Warne: ``It pitched middle and leg, turned a little bit and kept really low, skidded along the ground. I was hoping it would hit the stumps, I s`pose... it just missed off stump.`` Simpson said: ``You can`t blame Ian. The ball scurried too low for him to take it, and it almost makes you feel the outcome was predetermined. If he had carried off that stumping, it would have been one of the greatest of all time. Ian is disappointed because he is such a perfectionist.`` The second Test of the series starts in Rawalpindi on Wednesday, and Healy said he would have preferred not to have had to play again so soon. ``I`d rather a month, or at least a week,`` he said. ``It`s going to be hard to get back to it. There`s going to be a confidence thing there for sure. But that`s my job, to play well again. I have to make sure I`m a positive influence on the team next week.`` If the sting of the story of this magnificent Test match was in the tail, it is the lack of sting in Australia`s tail that they will have to address over the next 48 hours, for it is perhaps the difference between the teams. Australia`s last four wickets realised a meagre 26 runs in two innings in this match, while Pakistan gathered up 187 runs for the same wickets, including the match-winning 57 shared by In- zamam and Mushtaq for the 10th wicket yesterday. The problem is that Australia`s lower order batsmen are not equal to the brilli- ance of Wasim Akram and Waqar Younis, and it will only get worse in Rawalpindi, where the pitch is likely to suit the pacemen. We know already that this series will be decided in the fine mar- gins, and this is one. None the less, Australia should not be distraught. Unlike their culpable defeats by South Africa and the West Indies in the last two seasons, this was not a case of a team failing to stand up in the clutch, but of someone having to lose one of the tightest and most engrossing matches in history. The teams were so evenly matched that by my reckoning, they won five sessions each, with honours shared in the other four, and neither won an entire day. Every Australian made a contribution, even Mark Taylor, whose captaincy was first-class, his pair not- withstanding. The mere fact that the Pakistanis made more than 300 in the fourth innings to win is enough to prove that it was deserved, and certainly there is a fearlessness about their cricket that can only be admired. Thanks Greg Baum, staff reporter with the Sydney Morning Herald. Contributed by David.Mar (mar@physics.su.oz.au)