Australia paceman Josh Hazlewood has praised the bravery of Steve Smith and expects the previous skipper to place his physique on the road but once more when he returns to a cracking Optus Stadium wicket.
Smith was struck twice by rising Shaheen Afridi deliveries on Saturday, however he made it by way of to stumps unbeaten on 43.
The 34-year-old’s steadying knock helped Australia get well from 2-5 to achieve 2-84, an general lead of 300 with two full days to play.
With the Optus Stadium deck beginning to crack up and create a number of worries, runs could possibly be exhausting to return by.
Pakistan employed a bodyline-style strategy to Smith, and a late blow to his left arm notably harm.
Marnus Labuschagne additionally copped punishment, with the No.3 despatched off for scans after being struck on the little finger of his proper hand by a wildly seaming Khurram Shahzad supply.
If scans present a fracture, Labuschagne might miss the Boxing Day Test.
Labuschagne was dismissed for 2 a short while after copping the blow, however Smith will probably be out to face the music when play resumes on Sunday.
Hazlewood is backing Smith to take any extra hits in his stride.
“He’s incredibly brave,” Hazlewood mentioned.
“I think it’s probably going to be tougher to play the short ball than in the first innings.
“Batting seemed fairly robust there on the finish. I feel the cracks are beginning to positively come into play.”
Pakistan’s batting coach Adam Hollioake has identified a part of the wicket that could prove to be a crucial weapon for the bowlers.
“I walked on the market in between innings and there’s an space on an excellent size one thing between six metres and 7 metres,” Hollioake mentioned.
“It’s just a little bit exterior off stump. It’s small in the intervening time however let’s examine if that opens up.
“I mean it’s not as bad as some of the ones we’ve seen in the history of the WACA. It’s not alarming.
“But it is one thing to intention at. I feel it will be within the batsman’s thoughts just a little bit.”
Assuming they avoid a massive collapse, Australia are expected to declare approximately midway through day four, with a lead in excess of 450.
After that, all eyes will turn to Nathan Lyon as the star offspinner attempts to snare Test wicket No.500.
Lyon’s three first-innings wickets lifted his tally to 499, and he had the chance to take the 500th then and there before Travis Head snared the wicket of No.11 Shaheen.
Australia could see the funny side of the situation.
“Travis mentioned after they replay your five hundredth wicket, you do not need it to be a tail ender, you need it to be an excellent wicket on the prime,” Hazlewood mentioned with a smile.
“We’ll see it occur within the second innings hopefully.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
