Melbourne’s infamous weather again played the starring role in another frustrating day of the second Test in Melbourne, after which Pakistan sit 310-6 from the 101.2 overs so far possible between frequent and lengthy delays.
Rain came for the final time at 5.15pm local time and two of the great heroes of the day were the MCG ground staff – whose backs will ache from the constant placement and removal of the covers – and those manning bars around the MCG, where thousands of Melburnians happily drank well into the afternoon despite the limited prospects of play.
In a cricket sense, what remained of the day was dominated by the monastic batting performance of Azhar Ali, who athletically tucked into the odd long hop from Nathan Lyon but otherwise eschewed anything close to extravagance. His patient, unconquered and potentially game-shaping innings of 139 from 287 deliveries has stretched across every minute of play so far.
Azhar’s secondary brilliance is how indelibly he dispels the tired cliches of Pakistani batsmen as zany innovators and impetuous stylists, though you wouldn’t call the results effortless. Across two days now he has batted with something close to total command of both the Australian bowlers and local conditions. The key is rarely deviating from what works; a wide, bobbing stance that allows him to quickly swivel away from the short stuff typically served up in Australia and an expert eye for spotting runs, which came freely today off all bar the miserly Josh Hazlewood.
The Melbourne chapter of the Nathan Lyon fan club came back to earth with a thud as the elements prevented much in the way of meaningful spells of spin bowling, though Lyon received far rougher treatment than part-timers Steve Smith and Nic Maddinson when they had a whirl before the arrival of the second new ball.
Azhar’s somewhat predictable co-conspirator here was Brisbane Test centurion Asad Shafiq, whose even 50 came in a partnership of 115 runs and was broken only by some wicked away movement from Jackson Bird, with Steve Smith accepting an edge at second slip for the first wicket of the day. In the aftermath Shafiq looked back down the pitch as though he’d been betrayed by a lifelong friend.
His ascendency poses an awkward question for Pakistan if captain Misbah and his veteran colleague Younus continue to wane at their present rate. As it stands Shafiq – by far the youngest of the trio at 30 – is the most prolific Test centurion of all time from his No. 6 slot and it seems a pity to mess with something so effective, but there is surely a temptation now to bump him further up to maximise his talents.
Compared to the calm partnership that preceded his own union with Azhar, Sarfraz Ahmed was skittish, arriving and departing in a flurry of blasé strokes and muddle-headed charges down the wicket. He injudiciously nicked to slip and gave Hazlewood overdue reward for his unstinting accuracy from both ends; his bowling vigil started a touch after 10am but didn’t pay off until 4.39pm.
Hazlewood’s 11 overs on Tuesday contained six maidens, leaving him with 2-33 from 26 overs of priceless fast bowling. An event more typical of his luck in this Test came in the over following Sarfaz’s departure, when a thick edge from Mohammad Amir sailed barely six inches over Usman Khawaja’s head at third slip. It was the only way Pakistan looked like scoring boundaries off the New South Welshman, whose gigantic boots must have to be declared as excess baggage when he travels the world.
Khawaja protested he had lost sight of that chance among the crowd but did so knowing replays would reveal his late reaction to the edge, perhaps understandable in a day of such yawning gaps in the collective attention span. Bird’s 3-91 from 29 overs further consolidated his canny work on day one.
In the end it was the unlikely Amir who provided the breeziest moments of action in his undefeated 28 from 23 deliveries, a cameo that contained six boundaries and briefly lifted spirits on a grey and dismal day in Melbourne. Day three, you would hope, will shine on someone other than Azhar.
