Ponting lead Aussies charge

Daniel Laidlaw

Australia put their unconvincing lead-up form behind them with an impressive seven-wicket victory over Pakistan in the second NatWest one-day match in Cardiff.

After losing to Middlesex and tying with Northants, Australia recaptured their form in the match that mattered with a confident display against a surprisingly overwhelmed Pakistan.

Ricky Ponting stroked a stylish 70 and Michael Bevan and Steve Waugh hit comfortable half-centuries as Australia announced their presence in England by easily reeling in Pakistan's 257 after an unbeaten 91 from Yousuf Youhana had rescued Pakistan from 85/6.

The match began with the news that Brett Lee, who was not supposed to play in the one-day series as he regained fitness ahead of the Ashes, was a shock inclusion for the Australians. It was less a surprise tactic and more an emergency measure, though, as a hamstring injury prevented Jason Gillespie from playing after Nathan Bracken and Damien Fleming were overlooked with niggling injuries. An underdone Lee duly suffered and after an early wicket returned bloated figures of 1/85 from 10 overs.

Pakistan, minus the injured Wasim Akram, won the toss and batted on a pitch conducive to competitive limited-overs cricket. Australia, who went into their first game well short of usual form, appeared to have remembered the type of cricket that has made them so successful even with a side slightly depleted by injury.

Shahid Afridi departed cheaply, caught by Mark Waugh off Lee for 11 to give the fast bowler a welcome wicket in his first international match since January, but Saeed Anwar and Abdur Razzaq carried the score 38 before Shane Warne struck in a manner reminiscent of his first Test in England in 1993.

With his first international delivery of the 2001 tour, Warne had Razzaq stumped for 9 as the all-rounder overbalanced and lifted his back leg, which allowed a fumbling Gilchrist to dislodge the bails as he gained control of the ball. Pakistan were left in uncertain territory when, in the same over, the in-form Inzamam-ul-Haq recklessly charged his second delivery and attempting a huge heave was stumped without scoring.

Ian Harvey, a master at limited-overs bowling at the domestic level in England, had Pakistan half out when he got one to nip back alarmingly to Younis Khan, trapped in front for 13 after Anwar had earlier been dismissed by Harvey for 35. Warne then collected his third scalp when he had Azhar Mahmood caught behind defending a fast leg-break that jumped off the pitch for Gilchrist to hold on the second attempt.

That left Pakistan a seemingly hopeless 85/6 after 23 overs but as so often happens in one-day cricket, an apparently doomed innings was resurrected by a lower order partnership that steered the total beyond 200. Demonstrating Pakistan's formidable depth in batting, Yousuf Youhana and Rashid Latif launched a counter-attacking partnership that first rescued Pakistan from mediocrity before guiding it to a position of authority as the Australian bowlers strayed.

Lee was flayed and Martyn and Symonds taken for 21 and 23 from four overs respectively as Youhana and Latif blossomed in a seventh-wicket stand ultimately worth 124 from 127 balls. Latif was eventually run out for 66 as a result of indecisive calling from Youhana but the resuscitation job was mostly done, capped off only by late boundaries from the impressive Youhana, who punished Steve Waugh for steadfastly refusing to deploy a fine leg fielder with fours in that region off Lee and Harvey. Glenn McGrath, who bowled with typical economy, returned to capture a couple of tail-end wickets and give his figures of 2/22 a glossy touch as Pakistan were bowled out for 257 with a ball to spare, Youhana unbeaten on a superb 91.

In pursuit of 258, Mark Waugh and Adam Gilchrist commenced confidently until Shoaib Akhtar bowled Gilchrist for 13 with the total at 20. The Rawalpindi Express, striving for speed over control, was rewarded when, from around the wicket, he pierced Gilchrist's shaky defence and bowled the left-hander with sheer pace. Gilchrist, on the back foot, failed to get to the pitch of the ball and may be destined for a spot lower in the order while in England.

Enter Ricky Ponting. The one-day No. 3, who endured a nightmarish tour of India, began to put his form demons behind him with a glorious innings of 70. Against furious fast bowling by Waqar Younis and Shoaib a few loose balls were inevitable and Ponting capitalised with a series of splendid drives. Mark Waugh was also at his fluent one-day best as Australia reached 50 in only the seventh over. It soon became apparent that Shoaib was physically suffering and after struggling to complete his fifth over was forced to leave the field with an apparent recurrence of a mysterious stomach ailment.

Waqar replaced himself and Shoaib with seamers Abdur Razzaq and Azhar Mahmood to little effect as Waugh and particularly Ponting scored freely at better than 6 per over. As the runs flowed and the partnership grew ominously, Pakistan's earlier intensity dropped and the side began to lose enthusiasm. Waqar failed to inspire but got a break when Razzaq removed Waugh with the score at 112. Waugh succumbed to a common one-day dismissal on 47, attempting to guide a short length ball to third man but instead getting a thin edge behind for Younis Khan to complete his first catch as substitute wicketkeeper. Younis kept competently throughout the Australian innings after Latif was reportedly kept off the field with dehydration after losing 2 litres of fluid while batting.

Waugh's dismissal aside, Australia continued to maintain a comfortable run rate of better than a run a ball with Ponting reaching his half-century from just 49 deliveries. As Ponting swept the game away from Pakistan with strokes all around the wicket, one could only wonder: Where the heck is Saqlain Mushtaq?

Here was a batsman in Ponting, who in the recent past had suffered hellishly against the off-spin of Harbhajan Singh, gaining confidence with every stroke as he played himself in against the unthreatening seam of Razzaq and Mahmood. The attacking move would have been to introduce Saqlain almost as soon as Ponting reached the crease but instead Waqar inexplicably delayed his star off-spinner's introduction until 21 overs and 66 Ponting runs had elapsed with Australia more than half way to the target. Pakistan could not afford to hold him back and it cost them a legitimate chance of victory.

Ponting added just four more runs after Saqlain's belated entry to the bowling crease, losing his head and his wicket in the off-spinner's second over by sweeping down the throat of long on. It was a thoroughly perplexing shot given the situation and his role of anchoring the innings but it proved emphatically that Saqlain should have seen action much earlier.

Steve Waugh joined Michael Bevan with the score at 142/3 and the pair batted with considerable ease on the flat pitch, rapidly cruising towards victory as both sides went through the motions for at least the last 50 runs. Bevan added another undefeated half-century to his collection and Waugh did likewise in an unbroken partnership of 116, seeing the Aussies home with 7 wickets and 4.2 overs remaining.