LAHORE: The class of 85 is out of detention – for now, anyway. On day one of the second Test, an abysmal Australian first innings that fell 15 runs short of three figures left dark clouds hanging over the team and Darren Lehmann
Australia still trail by 120 runs after a Quinton de Kock century and a Hazlewood six wicket bag on day three.
On what was effectively day two at Blundstone Arena the outlook, like in Hobart, became slightly brighter.
Resilience and adaptability have been the buzzwords from Australian management since Saturday’s batting fiasco and under an onslaught of South African seam and swing on Monday afternoon it was demonstrated that those instructions are not falling on deaf ears.
Australia take one small step on the road back to respectability
It all began when I saw this ball on leg stump
There is still an awful lot of work to do for the Australians to get their noses in front in the second Test, and from there look to set Faf du Plessis’s team a fourth-innings target that would take chasing. The damage of being bowled out for 85 is not easily erased.
However, after five days of being comprehensively out-played, stretching back to when the momentum turned in Perth with an another Australian batting collapse, the rallying with the bat that featured before bad light prematurely ended play on Monday was sorely needed.
