Australia put heat back on India in Perth Test

Greens shoots of hope emerge for Australian cricket on new, dicey pitch in Perth

Australian skipper Tim Paine remains unbeaten on 16 after day one of the second Test in Perth. Picture: Getty Images

There’s cracks in the pitch, the ball is flying high and shooting low, there’s seam and there’s swing, but Australia have managed to coax a trio of half-centuries in trying conditions to establish a solid foundation on the first day of Test cricket at Perth’s new stadium.

Marcus Harris, in just his second Test, topscored with 70 while his opening partner Aaron Finch (50) and Travis Head (58) helped Australia to 6-277.

“I thought we batted really well today,” Finch said after play. “It’s always tough to judge a wicket until two teams have batted on it.

“I think when you win the toss and bat, to get through the toss five or six down is a goal. Not so much runs, as opposed to the position you see yourself in the game.

“No doubt with the wicket there were some challenges at times, we saw the second new ball went around a little bit, even the old ball went around a little bit.

“It’s going to be one of those games that is an absolute grind for both sides. The position we are in, we would have taken that at the start of the day, no doubt, especially winning the toss and batting. But you are never content with a position.”

At first glance India had opened the door to Australia in the series, apparently making a mistake at the selection table and making another with lengths in the first session.

Tim Paine won the toss, batted and his openers capitalised on the early opportunity presented, getting to lunch without losing a wicket and getting to 100 in the same state. The second 100 was more hard-earned and had a higher casualty count, but they are still in the battle.

The pitch started to trouble the batsmen as the game progressed and India have troubles with Ishant Sharma coming off the ground with what they later said was cramping.

After an intensive session with Ricky Ponting the day before, Finch cobbled together a half-century that will settle his and everybody else’s nerves.

Fresh from his debut in Adelaide, where he looked good for a pair of 26s, Harris trended toward the second half of Justin Langer’s assessment of his early career: “mediocre with flashes of brilliance”.

The local who made the trip across the desert to play for Victoria is a Test batsman and one of those green shoots Australian cricket was hoping would sprout after the ball-tampering bushfire scorched its earth.

Harris just looks like he belongs where Finch looks like he’s trying to fit in. The left-hander offered just one chance on his way to 70 and when he was removed it was not the result of an error on his part.

Another green shoot is Head, who followed up his half-century in the first innings in Adelaide with the third of his short career yesterday but his dismissal late in the day was atrocious. Aiming a huge drive at a ball from Mohammed Shami, he was caught at third man like a club cricketer.

Shaun Marsh almost deserved letters of apology. He battled hard and was beaten often but only because of the difficulty of batting early in the second session.

He fell, cutting straight into the hands of Rahane at first slip just short of a half-century. It was an unfortunate lapse.

The Optus Stadium wicket was said to be dangerous like the WACA of old, but it was Virat Kohli’s bowlers who couldn’t find the key to unlock it early.

There is bounce there but like many visiting sides in years past, the seamers pitched too short. Glenn McGrath observed they were bowling Adelaide lengths on a Perth wicket and there are few better credentialed to make such an observation.

The pitch and the match emerged from their slumber after lunch. The relentless west coast sunshine sucked what moisture there was from the clay and suddenly things got hard and fast for the batsmen.

It is not the bounce so much as variations of it, that will hurry the conclusion of this game.

All predictions about pitch behaviour are generally off the mark, but the early evidence is this one will break like a plate at a Greek wedding. Players had barely wiped the food from their lips after lunch when a ball from Shami that was pitched back of a length simply failed to get up above grass height.

Australian cricket hasn’t seen a grubber like that since the bad old days at the MCG. The curator has left a lot of grass on this wicket — and left the cover on as much as he could in the lead-up — because he knew it would need to retain all the moisture it could to remain intact.

The unpredictability of the bounce was demonstrated no better than in the 49th over when part-time spinner Haunama Vihari got one to snort up from back of a length to Harris who was trying to cut but managed only a bunt to slip.

Batting should get harder as the game progresses and India will not want to be chasing too many in the last innings.

Where the going had been easy early, it was fiendishly difficult for those that followed the opening pair. Australia lost 4-36 either side of tea.

Usman Khawaja faced a torrid spell from Jasprit Bumrah, before falling for 5 while Peter Handscomb’s ambition got the better of his judgment. He’d only faced 16 deliveries for his 7 before Kohli miraculously intercepted an audacious attempting to flick the ball over the slips.