Hosts gain strength from persistence, ability

Brisbane, Nov 7: Sheer persistence, along with the ability to string nearly two days of solid cricket together and a batting line-up which combines both talent and capability has taken Australia to a position of strength in the first Test.

While Australia continued from where they left off on the previous day in terms of piling on the runs, Pakistan's performance was patchy. There was more purpose in their bowling than on the second day and that brought results in stages but on a wicket which is getting increasingly batsman-friendly there was still a lack of control. To batsmen of the calibre Michael Slater who continued his innings for the greater part of the mornings session and Mark Waugh, in particular, anything which is wayward in the slightest will not go unpunished. Pakistan's bowlers delivered far too many loose balls and paid the price.

The morning session, however, belonged totally to Pakistan with Australia losing four wickets for 95. Mushtaq Ahmed, who showed a little more control at times today, did the early damage. While Greg Blewett's leg before wicket decision seemed fortuitous for Pakistan, Mushtaq tempted Justin Langer into a most injudicious stroke at that stage of his innings.

It was apparent during the first session of play that after the second day's disappointing performance with the ball as well as in the field Pakistan were determined to get back in the game and this they did so rapidly.

Slater mistimed to mid-wicket and departed but not until he had moved on to 169, the third highest score in his 53-Test career. How Pakistan must have regretted letting him off on a straightforward catch on the second day after which he had gone on to add a further 91 to his score. The last of the morning's successes came on the stroke of lunch, Shoaib Akhtar found a line edge of Steve Waugh's bat.

Consistency was still lacking in Pakistan's performance today at they lifted their game at times and then slackened, allowing the batsmen to take control. Their morning's work though had been satisfactory and when Shoaib had Ricky Ponting leg before wicket straight after resumption, Pakistan were right back in the game with only mark Waugh of the specialist batsmen remaining.

The middle session of the day saw pakistan give it away again. Their fine earlier effort counted for little with Mark Waugh and Adam Gilchrist wresting the initiative. Pakistan's bowlers fed both batsmen, bowling to their strength and paying the price for it. Even Shoaib, who steamed in and bowled with his usual enthusiasm for most of his 17 overs, allowed Mark Waugh to play off his legs. That is a strength in Waugh's batting and it was fed repeatedly by the bowlers including captain Wasim Akram as well.Pakistan were made to toil throughout the period between lunch and tea with both mark Waugh and Gilchrist giving a fine display of free scoring. This was when Pakistan lost control and the run rate soared. The 50 partnership came in 40 minutes from just 52 balls and it wasn't until Waugh reached the high eighties that he showed the first signs of some caution.

Gilchrist on the other hand was allowed to plunder the bowling and maintaining the tempo the pair brought up the hundred of the partnership from 104 balls. Mushtaq, whose bowling had been so ineffective during that period, was brutally hit for five boundaries in one over. Gilchrist cut, swept and drove with ease and raced to his first Test fifty on his debut from just 46 balls. The Pakistan leg-spinner could extract very little turn from the pitch and his googly, which used to be his chief weapon and one which he used to great effect seems to have become non-existent.

Moin, whose work behind the stumps as well as with the bat has been practically without blemish, muffed a simple stumping opportunity with Waugh on 96 and well out of his crease.

In the final session of the day pakistan began to show some urgency, claiming four wickets. Waugh was the first to depart but not until he had reached the three figures for the seventeenth time in Tests and then Shoaib yorked Gilchrist after a highly entertaining 81. Although the next two wickets went in rapid succession, Shane Warne held up the proceedings until rain brought the covers on for the night.

With a first innings lead of 148 to Australia and, perhaps, more to be added in the morning, Pakistan, with two days remaining, have a major task in their second innings.