Watch cricket highlights: Day 1 of the 1st Test at Lord’s – Australia vs Pakistan played on July 13, 2010
Scoreline: Aus 229/9 Katich 80, Clarke 47, Hussey 39 | Aamer and Asif 3 each, Kaneria 2
He might not have got even a 50, but apart from his little burst in the 2nd T20, this is probably the best Clarke has played (in any format) since he was last at Lord’s during the Ashes. Beautiful. And I’m not even a Clarke fan.
Comparisons with players of different eras is always a risky thing to do. But during one of those post-match talks in the recent T20s, Rameez Raja claimed Aamer at this stage of his career was far ahead of what Wasim was at the same stage. Big, big thing to say. So, let’s forget about the Wasim thing for a while and consider just this – of all the Pakistani bowlers over the last year and a half, barring 1 day in a test in Aus (where he was sick and was puking all over the field) you can’t really look back and recall Aamer having an off-day. That’s probably all he should be judged by, though he does look the stable type capable of handling higher expectations and opinions.
For Aus – You can be certain Bollinger-Johnson will have their say, with Hilfenhaus (if the conditions stay similar) probably doing an Asif. And with two debutantes in the Pak side, Salman Butt and later Afridi will be critical in a shepherding role.
Test cricket is brilliant.
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