The Australian keeper was unable to dislodge the bails, providing a reprieve for the Pakistani opener.
Australia was yet to claim a wicket in the first Test against Pakistan and Day 2 presented a prime opportunity. Abdullah Shafique, who was batting on score of 39, successfully defended a Nathan Lyon delivery with a front-foot stroke. The ball found its way to Marnus Labuschagne at silly mid-on, who promptly returned it to Carey behind the stumps. Despite Shafique standing outside the crease, the Australian keeper was unable to dislodge the bails, providing a reprieve for the Pakistani opener in the initial innings.
“He touched the stump, but the bails didn’t move. The bails didn’t come out of the groove and there was a moment where Shafique had his foot in the air,” explained Isa Guha on the Fox Cricket broadcast.
Fortunately for the hosts, the missed chance did not come back to haunt them, as Lyon managed to dismiss Shafique later in the day.
Prior to this, Australia had posted a formidable total of 487 in the first innings at Perth Stadium. This impressive score was fueled by David Warner’s 164 and Mitchell Marsh contributing 90 runs. Aamer Jamal, making his debut in Test cricket, shone for Pakistan by claiming six wickets, and at the end of the day, Pakistan stood at 132/2.
“Probably would have liked to have a couple of wickets, but we’re happy with the score we got. We need to come back tomorrow and hit the right areas once again. We probably missed our lengths a bit, will have a chat tonight and come up better tomorrow. I think both teams would have wanted to bowl a bit fuller, the way Jamal bowled, stump-to-stump was terrific. The ball wobbled a little bit, I think we did a good job in keeping the runs down,” Carey said afterwards.
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A bit to unpack here as Alex Carey comes ever-so-close to taking the bails off behind the stumps #AUSvPAK pic.twitter.com/QVQuo4pJJB
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) December 15, 2023
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