da betcris： Perth, Nov 27: Any hopes that Pakistan mighthave entertained of salvaging something fromthis final Test diminished rapidly as thematch progressed on the second day
da betsul： A Jalil28-Nov-1999Perth, Nov 27: Any hopes that Pakistan mighthave entertained of salvaging something fromthis final Test diminished rapidly as thematch progressed on the second day.Parading his unquestionable prowess for thefirst time in this series, Ricky Pontingstruck a test career best 197 as he and JustinLanger, resuming their overnight stand put thegame beyond Pakistan. In the process they puttogether the highest partnership for anywicket between the two countries. The factthat from Langer’s eventual dismissal for aninnings-reviving 144 until the last wicketfell on 451, Australia had lost six for 70mattered little as the door had already beenshut on Pakistan.Pakistan have been totally outplayed duringthe two days of this Test. Their batsmen havenot been able to cope with Australia’s attackon the fast, bouncy pitch and the bowlers havebeen flogged. Despite Pakistan having arguablythe world’s best bowling attack, it haslargely been ineffective. It had been muted bythe strips in Brisbane, in the first Test, andHobart in the second.Here too it has made little impression in thefirst innings and it can be said with a degreeof confidence that it will not be given muchof an opportunity the second time round as inall probability Australia will not need to batmuch then, if at all.Save for Saqlain Mushtaq’s 6 for 46 spell inHobart, the bowling has largely been quiteinnocuous. Despite all the fanfare about histilt at the 100mph mark, Shoaib Akhtar hadonly five wickets at an average of 66 afterthe first two Tests and now, in Perth, he hasadded one more victim to his name. SkipperWasim Akram also has been unspectacular by hislofty standards. He has five in the series at56.00.Mohammad Akram’s 5 for 138 was an excellenteffort but the lack of penetration inPakistan’s bowling generally has beenruthlessly exposed by the two centurions ofAustralia today. The pace bowlers fell intothe common trap of bowling too short on theworld’s quickest strip.Mohammad Akram’s fine performance was somewhatblemished by the severe reprimand from thematch referee John Reid. His clash with ShaneWarne during the latter part of Australia’sinnings, was deemed by the referee to be”intentional and, more importantly,avoidable”. As it happened, it wasn’t a hugeincident. Akram had stuck an elbow out andmade contact with Warne as he ran for a singleoff Akram’s bowling.A statement issued by the match referee afterthe disciplinary hearing said that Akram had”apologised and showed a sense of remorse forhis actions” which happened in the heat of themoment.Shane Warne himself has been surrounded bycontroversy over his remarks about a teammate. Pace bowler Scott Muller who played inthe first two Tests against Pakistan (makinghis Test debut), has been upset that hissenior team-mate (Warne) was heard to say thathe “can’t bowl, can’t throw”. The slur, madeon the field during the second Test in Hobart,was picked up by the television microphonesand heard publicly. It had resulted from aninaccurate throw by Muller from the out-field.It is felt that the remark reveals a crack inthe team spirit. Warne denies making offendingcomment but the matter has caused a greatuproar and the Australian Cricket Board hasbeen quite concerned that it should not createa rift within the team.
