Teen ensures shaky start to Warner’s happy homecoming

Throughout a torturing two months of Ashes cricket in England, David Warner was targeted relentlessly by a crafty veteran at the top of his game who afforded the Test opener no margin for error, and barely any room to breathe.

On his return to familiar turf at the Gabba on Friday, Warner found himself pitted against a comparatively greenhorn attack and, while he rates 16-year-old Pakistan pace tyro Naseem Shah a "superstar" in the making, the difference in game scenarios is starkly reflected on the scorecard.

In 10 Ashes innings against England – and more pointedly, their rampant spearhead Stuart Broad – Warner amassed 95 runs at an average of 9.5 per innings which led to questions about his capacity to recapture his previously dominant Test match standing.

Over the course of a single day's batting against Pakistan at the Gabba on Friday, Warner scored 151 and was dismissed just once (although it didn't count), which means he does not yet boast an average for the Test summer and will resume his already epic innings on Saturday morning.

While much is made of Warner's familiarity with Australian pitches, the lack of swing and seam movement from the local Kookaburra ball, and his heightened confidence born of past triumphs at home, the crucial difference between the Ashes and Friday was the bowlers he faced.

Broad began that five-Test series this year with 437 wickets from 126 Tests – the eighth-most successful bowler the game has seen – and knew precisely how and where he would zero in on Warner's technical fallibilities against the swinging ball.

The three-pronged pace attack that Pakistan put on the park for the opening Domain Series Test at the Gabba shared combined experience of 12 Tests and 40 wickets and, as Australia's end-of-day tally of 1-312 confirmed, tended to bowl like it.

Where Broad charged in around-the-wicket, and mercilessly fired the ball into Warner's front pad and had it nibble away towards the slips, Pakistan's seamers found it tough to land consecutive deliveries in the same area.

If they tried to get the ball to swing, they were punished for over-pitching and when they corrected by pulling back their lengths, Warner was waiting on the back foot to punch into and through gaps in the field and put his rivals under pressure through explosive running between wickets.

The need to feel anxiously in front of his eyes to try and negate Broad's swing in the UK was replaced by the reassurance to play the ball late, knowing there was little movement and surety of bounce.

And he also knew the enervating Brisbane conditions would eventually take a toll on Pakistan's two young quicks – teenagers Naseem and Shaheen Shah Afridi – as well as test the endurance of Imran Khan, who is aged 32 but is playing just his 10th Test.

"Today I had a little bit of luck, and that's what you need in the game," Warner said at day's end, citing his recall to the crease after being caught behind for 56 from what was shown to be a no-ball by Naseem.

"Over there (the UK), I didn’t have any luck at all.

"In England, the ball moves quite a bit and quite early.

"So you're almost playing that line of where the ball is, and then it obviously swings, or it can nip and you can get into bad positions and you probably play out in front a little bit.

"In Australia, you can be quite tight and quite late, and before this game I had quite long hits (in the practice nets).

"I just worked on being nice and still, watching the ball out of the hand and making sure I was playing the ball underneath my eye line."

The flash of fortune that allowed Warner to complete his return as a formidable Test cricketer, and into the top 10 of Australia's all-time century scorers, might have arrived in the day's 27th over, but it was effectively commissioned in the ninth.

On two consecutive occasions in that over – Naseem's second of his nascent Test career – the teenager notably overstepped the front crease but neither transgression raised the attention or adjudication of English umpire Richard Kettleborough.

By failing to police the youngster's flagrant infringements, Kettleborough ostensibly ensured they would be repeated.

And so it was when Warner reached 56, and allowed his otherwise steely concentration to lapse with what should have been dire consequence.

The left-hander had engaged in some feisty exchanges with his brash young Pakistan rival, even though he's less than half Warner's age.

Image Id: FEEF74C0B4E7459B8E8BC6A6C45296E6 Image Caption: Naseem stares down Warner at the Gabba // Getty

Their duel had begun at 10.31am when Naseem took the ball for the first time in Test cricket, and immediately pushed the speed gun past 147km/h as he challenged Warner's reaction times and footwork.

As former Australia fast bowler Brett Lee cooed from the commentary box about Naseem's "beautiful action", and comparisons were drawn between his lithe style and that of former greats Dennis Lillee and Darren Gough (England), Naseem showed he's as confident as he is combative.

He had begun his third over adopting the around-the-wicket ploy that had worked with such devastating effect for Broad in the Ashes, and the nature of the contest immediately changed.

Within a handful of deliveries, Warner was forced to cantilever himself beneath a fizzing bouncer that veered towards the opener from Naseem's newly created angle.

Image Id: B205FB6E15FE4A2D8EE1CE13B5AD9873 Image Caption: Warner ducks under a rapid delivery from Naseem // Getty

Come the end of that over, as Warner dropped his gloves to safely evade another searing short ball, the veteran's thoughts on the youngster's audacity were obvious as the arrival of drinks brought an uneasy truce.

With Naseem finishing his follow-through almost beneath the grille of Warner's batting helmet, the Australian tucked his bat beneath his armpit with the flourish of buccaneer re-sheathing a cutlass.

As the fired-up fast bowler and his cagey quarry fell into lock-step towards the refreshments, Pakistan's experienced leg-spinner Yasir Shah ran in from his fielding position to insert himself between the bristling pair, and exchanged some light-hearted words with Warner.

Yasir also retrieved Naseem's newly acquired Test cap from umpire Kettleborough, a task the rookie quick had neglected in his haste to escalate his battle with Warner.

Image Id: 967C841970364EF088C351DB08092D0A Image Caption: Players leave the centre wicket at the first drinks break // Getty

But it was a contest the Australian would ultimately win, albeit with the reprieve that came after he dropped to one knee and tried to swat Naseem dismissively, with the resultant catch to the keeper overruled by third umpire Michael Gough's retrospective no-ball decision.

Naseem might have ended his first day as a Test bowler without a wicket (0-65 from 16 overs) and with cramp in his left calf that forced him from the field in the final hour, but Warner saw enough in their spirited exchanges to know he has a bright future at international level.

"He's quite skiddy, he's got a nice, fluent action but he won't get a harder Test than his debut," Warner said.

"To go out there and bowl at the Gabba, to keep coming back in and having to back up the overs in that heat … you ask any Test bowler who's played here and had to keep coming back, it's very, very challenging.

"He kept his speed up quite a lot throughout the whole day.

"Obviously at the back end he cramped up a little bit, but he charged in and there's a superstar there.

"Just like Mohammed Amir (now retired from Test cricket) when he came on the scene for the first time, he was rapid and had us all in a pickle – he was a world-class bowler.

"Their depth is ridiculous, and having other guys like Musa (Khan) and (Muhammad) Hasnain who I faced in the recent Twenty20s as well.

"If Waqar Younis (Pakistan bowling coach) can get a hold of them and get their line, and lengths, and engines going, they're going to be a force to reckon with in the future."

Domain Test Series v Pakistan

Australia squad: Tim Paine (c), Cameron Bancroft, Joe Burns, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Michael Neser, James Pattinson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner

Pakistan squad: Azhar Ali (c), Abid Ali, Asad Shafiq, Babar Azam, Haris Sohail, Imam-ul-Haq, Imran Khan Snr, Iftikhar Ahmed, Kashif Bhatti, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Musa Khan, Naseem Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Shan Masood, Yasir Shah.

First Test: November 21-25, Gabba (Seven, Fox & Kayo)

Second Test: November 29 – December 3, Adelaide (d/n) (Seven, Fox & Kayo)