New Pakistan Test captain Shan Masood has stamped his authority with a big hundred which left Australia’s batting hopefuls waiting longer for a final chance to press their claims.
The Prime Minister’s XI served in flawless situations in Canberra, while Usman Khawaja said he “doesn’t care” who becomes his first spouse when David Warner retires.
Masood, who finished with 4 tonnes in 30 fits, spent more than six hours on the pitch to post an unbeaten 156 in his first match as Pakistani captain after star batsman Babar Azam resigned from his role in all formats following a disappointing World Cup. campaign.
The tourists were tested from the start thanks to an impressive first impression from speedy South Australian Jordan Buckingham before taking advantage of the situations to triumph 6-324 on the first day of the four-day match.
Masood’s commanding innings meant a long day in the field for Australia’s best batting prospects, with Cameron Bancroft and Matt Renshaw spending large parts of the day in the slip cordon along with Cameron Green at gully.
Green sent down 19 overs for WA in the Sheffield Shield last week but did not bowl at all on Wednesday, leaving only his batting to mount a final push for a Test spot.
With Marcus Harris, the quartet will embark on a “battle” for the vacant spot at the test that is expected to open up after the Sydney test when Warner retires, but Khawaja on Wednesday didn’t settle for expectations.
“I’m not in the ‘bat-off’ that other people are talking about right now,” Khawaja told SENQ Breakfast.
“I think (the coaches’ decision) is to move on a lot more than that. . . You can’t select groups based on their form. You have to form groups based on who you think is the most productive player.
“If we had teams that were fit, the Australian team would be replaced every two weeks, so you can’t do that. “
After pouring cold water on the prospect of Queensland team-mate Marnus Labuschagne being promoted so he could sign him, Khawaja said he had no preference among specialist starters vying for the job.
“To be honest, I don’t care,” he said.
“It will be attractive to see which direction they go. Actually, I don’t know. . . I think (running errands this summer) plays a role. “
“But I think if you go back a little bit in the last five years, every single entrant would have gotten a race truck (in that span). “
The 23-year-old Buckingham continued his strong form in the Sheffield Shield to be the Prime Minister’s chosen XI on Wednesday with a 3-63 victory.
He came on as the first substitution and played with more precision than fly-half duo Mark Steketee and Nathan McAndrew, catching the edge of left-hander Imam ul-Haq with a pass that allowed goalkeeper Jimmy Peirson to leave Pakistan 1-18.
Peirson came close to the stumps and made a brilliant catch on the side of his leg to give Buckingham his third ground, completing a quick 41-pointer by Pakistani veteran Sarfaraz Ahmed in the final session.
Todd Murphy (1-90 off 22 overs) was targeted early by Masood but fought hard to tighten his economy rate and was later rewarded with the wicket of Saud Shakeel, who chopped a straightening delivery onto his stumps.
Bancroft highlighted the last ball of the day by catching Faheem Ashraf with a hand to his right at first slip to send Faheem Ashraf out for 17.
Originally published as Pakistan’s captain, Shan Masood, scores a hundred points opposed to the Prime Minister’s XI.