A more positive David Warner erased his England nightmare in one innings, writes Ian Chappell

Fortune favoured David Warner as he rediscovered his touch at the Gabba. The same couldn’t be said of the opener when he was stuck in a Stuart Broad stranglehold during the Ashes, says Ian Chappell.

Marnus Labuschagne has quickly made the Australian No. 3 role his own.

In a classic case of making up for lost runs, David Warner erased painful memories of his paltry Ashes series by going big at the Gabba and reinforcing Australia’s reputation for being unbeatable at the ground.

Warner found a couple of willing allies in his trusted opening partner Joe Burns, who just missed a century, and the amazingly consistent Marnus Labuschagne, who had the satisfaction of scoring his debut Test hundred at home.

Suddenly Australia’s top-order woes of England were a distant memory.

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David Warner jumps for joy after his droughtbreaking hundred at the Gabba.

Warner’s Ashes series was a disaster: a combination of Stuart Broad’s dominance and the bad luck that dogs a player when he has “one of those series”.

What haunted Warner in England — bad luck — reversed gears at the Gabba and the feisty left-hander was good enough to capitalise in familiar fashion.

Where in England it looked like Warner’s feet were stuck in clay, at the Gabba they moved freely and positively and the runs flowed from his bat.

Early on he received a peach of a delivery from Imran Khan that Warner drove at and missed by a fraction. In England, that ball clips the edge of his bat and he’s back in the pavilion watching Steve Smith accumulate runs.

Then came the clincher, the sign that lady luck had turned her smile, not her back, on Warner.

On 56, Warner slashed at a ball wide outside off stump and this time the ball did clip the edge and was caught by the keeper — the first Test wicket to the talented 16-year-old Naseem Shah and a promising start for the Australian opener cut short.

Warner’s Ashes will go down as a disaster.

But wait, the delivery was a dreaded no-ball. For an amazing fourth time in his career, Warner received a mid-innings reprieve and profited to the tune of a century.

It was a hundred filled with determination, entertaining shots and palpable relief as the landmark received, by Warner’s usually exuberant standards, a muted celebration.

They say fortune favours the brave and there’s no doubt Warner was more positive in his outlook than when he was being relentlessly hunted by Broad in England.

There was also the sadly familiar lack of imagination shown by the Pakistan captain Azhar Ali, who quickly turned to defence when Warner chose to attack.

The lack of awareness of what it takes to successfully capture wickets on good Australian pitches, which has haunted many a visiting captain, was clearly on display again at the Gabba.

David Warner drives through the covers on his way to a century.

Where Australia’s captain Tim Paine remained calm and positive when wickets didn’t arrive as expected, Ali quickly placed fields that had no hope of containing, let alone dismissing, aggressive Australian batsmen.

Touring sides often focus their attention on preparing for the extra bounce provided by Australian pitches, but they neglect to address captaincy in unfamiliar conditions and the result is usually terminal.

Paine was aided and abetted by a very good Australian attack that featured a revived Mitchell Starc and the usual sterling performance from Pat Cummins.

Although he’s a less-volatile on-field character, Cummins reminds me a lot of the indefatigable Dennis Lillee. Lillee was always the last one in our 70s team to believe that victory was unattainable.

Cummins has a similar belief he can overcome any odds, and that trait has vaulted him to the prized position of Australian attack leader.

Marnus Labuschagne has quickly made the Australian No. 3 role his own.

‘THE GABBATOIR’

Australia’s enviable reputation as giant killers at the Gabba is largely explained by one remarkable statistic: Pakistan’s opening stand of 75 is, incredibly, the highest ever at the ground in the first innings by a touring side.

Opponents rarely get off to a strong start at “The Gabbatoir” and from there things tend to slide downhill.

Pakistan did show some resolve when the impressive Naseem produced a probing spell to finally claim the wicket of Warner, and Yasir Shah’s best spell in Australia was rewarded with the unthinkable — the dismissal of Steve Smith for a low score.

Unfortunately for the visitors, Labuschagne was not to be denied and this gritty but aggressive batsman dominated proceedings. Labuschagne, who volunteered for the No. 3 spot when he first arrived on the Test scene, has now made this strangely troublesome spot his own.

Suddenly Australia’s top order is looking solid and strong, a wonderful complement to their already heralded attack.

This is bad news for a Pakistan side struggling to come to grips with Australian conditions and likely facing a day/night Test trailing in the series.

Originally published as A more positive David Warner erased his England nightmare in one innings, writes Ian Chappell