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Australia is looking to build on its advantage after a commanding win in the first Test in Perth, while Pakistan desperately needs to find form to get back into the series.
Scroll down for live updates from what’s sure to be a rammed MCG on an iconic day in Australian sport.
11.25AM: WASIM’S WARNING FOR BBL STAR RAUF
Pakistan cricket legend Wasim Akram has warned Haris Rauf risks being forgotten if he continues to prioritise T20 cricket over Test matches.
Rauf opted out of the Test tour of Australia to play in the Big Bash League for Melbourne Stars, a decision which was condemned by the Pakistan Cricket Board.
“Haris Rauf has got pace, we all know that. If he wants to play at this level, Test cricket, if he wants to, it’s a very simple solution,” Akram said on Fox Cricket. “You go play first-class cricket, at least play five-six games, bowl some spells and get your body strong and then come back (to) Test cricket. But I suppose his advisers all around him want him to be a T20 specialist. And remember, nobody remembers T20 performances. It’s Test cricket we talk about all the time.”
11.10AM: TEAMMATES’ SUPPORT FOR KHAWAJA
with Jacob Kuriype
Mitchell Starc has echoed captain Pat Cummins’ support of Usman Khawaja after the opener’s plans to don stickers of a dove with an olive branch on his bat and shoes were vetoed by the ICC.
Khawaja called out the ICC for “double standards” via Instagram on Monday night, posting a montage of images including his bat, and the bible verse on Labuschagne’s bat alongside the ICC’s regulations.
“We’re all right behind Uzzie there and his views and how he wants to go about it,” Starc said on SEN Radio ahead of play on day one of the Boxing Day Test. “Certainly he has got the backing of the changeroom. Some inconsistencies that have gone on in the past – it is what it is. The changeroom certainly supports him in his views there.”
“Yes, we’re cricketers and we’re certainly out on the field to perform in what we do, but we’re also humans with feelings and beliefs and I think it’s a space to express those as well.
“There’s obviously a line but certainly our changeroom backs anyone with views on the world or issues or what may be. In Uzzie’s case, he’s certainly got the backing of the changeroom and how he feels about the situation at the moment.”
10.43AM: WARNER DROPPED
That is a huge early let-off for David Warner and a big miss from Pakistan.
Shaheen gets the edge from Warner and it flies to first slip at a great height for catching.
But Abdullah Shafique hardly gets a hand to it and Warner has an early reprieve.
“Can you believe it? Afridi can’t. Big life for Warner. That is the worst possible start for Pakistan. You can not be giving these sort of chances to this sort of batting line-up. That’s pretty well as simple as it gets,” says Adam Gilchrist on Fox Cricket.
On Channel 7, Waqar Younis says: “As easy as it gets. If you’re not going to catch these, you’re going to be in trouble.”
10.40AM: NO BOLAND FOR BOXING DAY
Scott Boland took more wickets in his fist 10 Tests than Glenn McGrath or Shane Warne … but will he play an 11th?
Life’s tough on fringe quicks these days. Because every match counts in the new World Test Championship, rest and rotation have become dirty words.
Pat Cummins, who once said Boland was his favorite player, was very optimistic about Boland getting a go this season despite his omission at his beloved MCG against Pakistan in the second Test.
READ MORE FROM ROBERT CRADDOCK HERE…
10.25AM: WHY PAKISTAN BOWLED FIRST
Pakistan captain Shan Masood says the recent success of teams which have bowled first at the MCG was a factor in his side’s decision to field on day one of the Boxing Day Test.
He told Fox Cricket: “Just having looked at the MCG for the past three years, the bowling first side has done well. There’s been a bit of weather around, so we’d just like to (take) every opportunity we do with the ball.”
Masood acknowledged sending the Australians in was a risk, but wanted to back his bowlers to extract something from a pitch which has been under covers for the past two days.
“I think (the pitch) has changed. We were at the T20 World Cup here last year. Pretty similar look. You could see even then there was a lot of lateral movement,” he said.
“So we can expect that to stay the same through the course of the game. Hopefully it won’t crack up like Perth, at the end of the day, that’s why we’ve took that risk to bowl first.
“And I think there will be enough for the bowlers. But there’s always something for the batsmen. Whoever plays well, there’s always value for your shots and we’ve seen decent scores at this ground as well.”
Pakistan legend Wasim Akram has his doubts.
When asked whether the visitors have enough firepower to trouble the Australian batters, he said: “It’s going to swing. That’s why they won the toss and elected to field. Firepower? Maybe not. The pace is not there. But experience with Hasan Ali coming in and Mir Hamza coming in, they won’t give away unnecessary runs and that’s what I think they should do when they come on to bowl.”
10AM – TOSS
with Jacob Kuriype
Australia will bat first after Pat Cummins lost the toss was sent in by Pakistan captain Shan Masood.
Defying tradition somewhat, Masood opted to take the ‘risk’ of bowling first after spotting a decent amount of grass on the MCG wicket. The tourists have gambled on a seam-heavy attack, naming four quicks alongside the part-time spin of Agha Salman.
Australia named an unchanged line-up from the XI who demolished Pakistan in the first Test in Perth – meaning hometown hero Scott Boland will not get a chance to repeat his Boxing Day Test heroics of years gone by.
Cummins said he was eager to have a bowl also under overcast skies, but admitted he wasn’t too disappointed to give David Warner and Usman Khawaja an early shot at setting the tone on Boxing Day.
“(Winning in Melbourne) would be the cherry on top,” Cummins said of the prospect of finishing 2023 with another victory.
TEAMS
Australia XI: David Warner, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Travis Head, Mitch Marsh, Alex Carey (wk), Mitchell Starc, Pat Cummins (c), Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazlewood
Pakistan XII: Imam-Ul-Haq, Abdullah Shafique, Shan Masood (c), Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan (wk), Agha Salman, Hasan Ali, Aamir Jamal, Mir Hamza, Shaheen Afridi
SKULL BACKS PAKISTAN TO BOUNCE BACK
Former Australia spinner Kerry O’Keeffe believes Pakistan is better set-up for success in the Boxing Day Test than it was for the series opener.
The touring side has rung the changes for the MCG encounter, with wicketkeeper Safaraz Ahmed dropped for Mohammad Rizwan after a lean outing in Perth. All-rounder Faheem Ashraf has also been omitted, while seamer Khurram Shahzad has been ruled out through injury. Replacing the duo will be two of Hasan Ali, Mir Hamza and spin-bowling all-rounder Sajid Khan.
“I think Pakistan look stronger (than the first Test),” O’Keeffe told Fox Sports News. “They’ve omitted Sarfaraz Ahmed, and brought in Mohammad Rizwan – that’s a plus, Rizwan has form against Australia.
“Faheem Ashraf leaked far too many runs last Test, Hasan Ali will probably play, he’s a striker, he gets people out.
“And Sajid Khan is their spinner … can he bowl Australia out on the last day? That’s the question. He’s a 30-year-old journey man, he’ll support the quicker bowlers, but it’ll be the seamers that determine whether Pakistan win this Test match.”
Australia has confirmed an unchanged XI.
HEAD EYES DUAL MILESTONE
If this year has belonged to any Australian cricketer, it’s Travis Head.
Head etched his name into cricketing folklore with a matchwinning century in the World Cup final, but it’s against the red ball he has truly made his presence felt.
The southpaw is Test cricket’s second highest run-scorer in 2023 (902 at 45.10) and will achieve a career first if he tallies 98 runs in the Boxing Day match. That would take him to 1000 Test runs in a calendar year for the first time and past 3000 career runs.
The one batter to have enjoyed a more prolific Test year is Usman Khawaja (1168 at 55.61). Speaking to the vastly differing roles they play for the side, Khawaja has faced more than double the deliveries Head has in 2023 – 2689 to 1183.
Steve Smith with 852 runs at 42.65 rounds out an all-Australian top-three for Test run-scorers in the calendar year.
Despite a stint on the sidelines with an injured calf, Nathan Lyon is top of the tree for Test wickets with 43 at 23.62.
INDIA-PAKISTAN BLOCKBUSTER WOULD BLOW BOXING DAY AWAY
Waqar Younis has backed the idea of a blockbuster Pakistan-India Test at the MCG.
“Why not? That would be awesome,” the former Pakistan captain told ESPN.
“We played Australia back in the days, I think, in England and that was really happening because England has got a lot of Pakistan (community).
“It was a packed house.
Just imagine Pakistan-India playing here at the MCG with 100,000, over 100,000 people.
“It’d be awesome.
The push for the MCG to be used as a neutral venue to host the two countries in a one-off Test or series gathered momentum after more than 90,000 fans watched the rivals in Melbourne during the T20 World Cup.
The Victorian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Victorian Tourism Industry Council and State Government all threw their support behind the concept.
Wasim Akram told this masthead in September: “I think the MCG as you saw in the last World Cup would be the perfect venue.
“Pakistan would also be an ideal venue if India wants, but if India wants a neutral venue, then I think Australia would be an ideal place.”
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