As expected, Australia bounced back very strongly to put them in a driving seat just on the 2nd day of the 1st test match being played at the neutral ground, Lords.

The young and the weak batting line-up got exposed to a surprise package in the form of Shane Watson, who five wicket haul got Australia a valuable lead of 105 in the 1st innings. Barring Salman Butt, who almost carried his bat, with a fine 169 ball innings of 63, none of the other batsman could occupy the hot seat at the crease. Bowling with a hint of movement on a nagging wicket-to-wicket length, Watson ripped through Pakistan's lower middle-order after Ben Hilfenhaus had prised open the top, with only Salman Butt and Shahid Afridi providing any measure of resistance, albeit in dramatically differing styles. Butt picked his shots wisely to top-score with 63, while the captain Afridi marked his first Test for four years with a bedlamic 31 from 15 balls. But Watson did for both in a remarkable 7.5-over spell, to leave Australia's first-innings 253 looking like a formidable score. With 15 wickets falling on the second day, to go with the nine that Pakistan claimed on day one, the prospect of a three-day finish cannot be ruled out, especially if the weather remains as overcast and seam-friendly as it has been so far. And with that in mind, Katich's calm contributions are likely to prove to be the difference between the sides in the final analysis. But the stand-out performance on the second day was that of his opening partner Watson, whose second string surged to the fore as he claimed not only his first five-wicket haul in Test cricket, but became the first man to inscribe his name on the newly unveiled neutral honours board in the away dressing-room.
As mentioned in my previous column, the batting weakness of Pakistan could be the deciding factor in the series. It is high time the selectors call back Md. Yusuf and Younis Khan atleast during the 2nd test match to look a more formidable line-up. At the sametime, have these existing young brigades being guided by the Senior pro. Going by the attitude of Pakistan's selection policy, one feels bad for Umar Amin and Azhar Ali, and one more failure, will put their career in serious jeopardy. For this and more, please click on to Ramkumar RNs Blog