Perth (Australia): David Warner carried a limited-overs mindset into the test arena with an unbeaten 72 from 67 deliveries to help Australia reach 117 without loss Thursday in the first session of the series opener against Pakistan.
Usman Khawaja, wearing a black armband, was unbeaten on 37 after surviving a dropped catch, the only seriously close call in 25 overs dominated by Australia.
Pat Cummins won the toss, opted to bat first in ideal conditions and Australia’s opening pair scored 14 in the first over from Pakistan pace spearhead Shaheen Shah Afridi to set the tone.
The Australians are coming off a victory last month at the Cricket World Cup in India and also won the World Test Championship final earlier in the year.
Pakistan hasn’t won a test match in Australia since 1995, and only played one previous test series in 2023.
Khawaja and Warner both scored runs through or over the slips early against a relatively inexperienced attack. Shaheen (0-45 off nine overs) caused some trouble despite conceding runs and Khurram Shahzad bowling maidens in his first two overs in test cricket and beat both edges of the bat.
But Warner, who is set to retire from test cricket after this series, started to play more aggressively in the seventh over, hitting back-to-back boundaries off Shaheen. He cut the first over point and whipped the next ball to the leg side to lift Australia to 34-0.
The hosts passed 50 in the 10th over and Warner raised his half century in the 15th, reaching 50 from 41 balls with a slashing boundary against Faheem Ashraf.
Khawaja was on 21 in the next over when he top-edged a length delivery from Aamer Jamal and skied the ball above the cordon, where Abdullah Shafique fumbled the ball running back toward the boundary.
Pakistan’s only other close call was in the 20th over when Warner was on 59 and survived a loud appeal for lbw on the first ball of Shaheen’s second spell. Pakistan challenged the not out decision but DRS tracking showed the ball was going over the stumps.
Two overs later, Warner went even further into one-day mode when he crouched and flipped a delivery from outside off stump way over the fine-leg boundary for his first six of the innings, following 11 boundaries.
The 36-year-old Khawaja wasn’t allowed to wear shoes branded with a “all lives are equal” humanitarian message, so he wore a black armband instead on Day 1.
The International Cricket Council intervened Wednesday after Khawaja indicated he planned to wear shoes during the match that featured messages to highlight the loss of innocent lives in the Israel-Hamas war.