Perth
\nVeteran opener David Warner hammered a gritty 164 to silence the critics and steer Australia to 346-5 against an inconsistent Pakistan attack in the first Test at Perth on Thursday.
\nThe 37-year-old batted for much of day one before finally departing to Aamer Jamal, two balls after smashing the debutant for six.
\nAt stumps, Mitchell Marsh was unbeaten on 15 and Alex Carey not out 14.
\nPakistan have never won a Test series in Australia and have failed to win a Test in the country since 1995, with the team again facing a daunting task.
\nPakistan bowlers showed flashes of brilliance and were rewarded with the wickets of Usman Khawaja (41), Marnus Labuschagne (16), Steve Smith (31) and Travis Head (40).
\nBut until Jamal struck, they had no answer to a near-flawless Warner who smashed 16 fours and four sixes in a majestic 211-ball innings.
\nHe padded up under pressure to score runs with an emotional goodbye from Test cricket at the third Test in Sydney in front of his hometown fans his stated goal.
\nIn the lead-up, former Australian paceman Mitchell Johnson questioned whether Warner deserved a hero\u2019s farewell given his recent poor red-ball form and involvement in the 2018 ball-tampering scandal.
\nWith his back against the wall in his 110th Test, Warner responded in typically swashbuckling fashion.
\n\u201cPeople make comments, but you get one with it. You have to just go out there and score runs and today I did that,\u201d said Warner. \u201cI don\u2019t feel any extra pressure, any other points I have to prove.
\n\u201cIf people are out to get you or make a headline out of your name, so be it. I can\u2019t worry about that, I\u2019ve got to worry about what I do for the team.\u201d
\nAfter Pat Cummins won the toss and opted to bat, Warner took a confident single off his first ball in an opening over from Shaheen Shah Afridi that leaked 14 runs and never looked back.
\nOn a pitch offering bounce, he quickly settled in to bring up his half-century off just 41 balls with a boundary from Faheem Ashraf.
\nHis strike rate slowed after lunch as he moved towards a 26th Test ton, reaching three figures with an uppercut boundary off Jamal, celebrating with his trademark leap and putting his finger to his mouth.
\n\u201cIt was a nice, little quiet shush,\u201d Warner said of his celebration, referring to the criticism.
\nIt was his first century since a battling 200 against South Africa at the Melbourne Cricket Ground a year ago.
\nSolidarity
\nHe was dropped by Khurram Shahzad soon after bringing up his milestone but was otherwise in command until Jamal tempted him with a short ball and he was caught near the ropes by Imamul Haq.
\nKhawaja, wearing a black armband in solidarity with the people of Gaza, was happy to play second fiddle in a 126-run opening stand.
\nHe had a massive let-off on 25 when dropped but departed when Pakistan\u2019s bowlers picked up their game after lunch, caught by wicketkeeper Sarfaraz Ahmed off Afridi\u2019s bowling.
\nLabuschagne looked in good nick, racing to 16 when he was beaten by a ball pitched up by Ashraf and given out lbw.
\nSmith clattered a four through midwicket off his second ball to signal his intent but, after effortlessly making 31, he was deceived by a delivery from Shahzad and got a faint edge to the diving Ahmed.
\nIt was a maiden Test wicket for the debutant.
\nHead cashed in with a quick 40 before top-edging straight to Agha Salman, ensuring Jamal too earned a first Test wicket.
\n\u201cI still believe we are in the game,\u201d said Jamal. \u201cWe are planning to get them out in the first hour tomorrow morning. \u201c<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Perth Veteran opener David Warner hammered a gritty 164 to silence the critics and steer Australia to 346-5 against an inconsistent Pakistan attack in the first Test at Perth on Thursday. The 37-year-old batted for much of day one before finally departing to Aamer Jamal, two balls after smashing the debutant for six. At stumps, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":374584,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-374570","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n