Amid talks of his impending retirement from the traditional format of the game, veteran Australia opener David Warner batted at his dominating best on Day 1 of the first Test against Pakistan. The 37-year-from Paddington in New South Wales notched up a stupendous 164 off 211 balls at Optus Stadium, Perth, Thursday. (Scorecard | Cricket News)
With his whirlwind century, Warner silenced all the critics, including his former teammate Mitchell Johnson, who were questioning his right to decide his retirement match.
Warner treated Pakistani bowlers with disdain, cutting loose on poor deliveries and even dismissing the good ones for boundaries. And one particular shot stood out.
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In the 22nd over, Warner got down low and picked up the second delivery -- on a length and angling into him -- then used his body to get inside the line and lofted the ball with an audacious scoop over long leg. Result, a six. Shaheen Afridi, having witnessed Warner in a T20 cricket mood, could only murmur a few words to himself. Meanwhile, Pakistan great Wasim Akram couldn't help but gush, commenting "unbelievable" on air in reaction to the six.
Watch David Warner's six off Shaheen Afridi here:
Afridi did break the opening stand, worth 126 runs, with the wicket of Islamabad-born Usman Khawaja (41 off 98) in the 30th over. Marnus Labuschagne later joined Warner in the middle and though both eventually departed, Australia ended the day with a commanding 346/5 on the board.
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Australia captain Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bat first in ideal conditions. The Aussies are coming off a victory last month at the ICC ODI World Cup in India and also won the World Test Championship final earlier in the year. Pakistan haven't won a Test match in Australia since 1995, and only played one previous series in 2023.
Playing XIs
Australia: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steven Smith, Travis Head, Mitchell Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood.
Pakistan: Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Sarfaraz Ahmed (wk), Agha Salman, Faheem Ashraf, Shaheen Afridi, Aamer Jamal, Khurram Shahzad.
