Cricket: Australia hit new cricketing low in first test against Pakistan

Tim Paine of Australia looks dejected after being dismissed by Bilal Asif of Pakistan. Photo / Getty

KEY POINTS:

• Australia went from 142-0 to 202 all out
• Debutants Marnus Labuschagne and Travis Head both got ducks
• Pakistan lead by 325 with seven wickets remaining

Australia has once again thrown away a strong start with a horror middle-order collapse dousing hopes of a win in the first Test in the UAE.

Aaron Finch showed he was more than just a white-ball cricketer, scoring 62 before being dismissed by a sharp chance.

The wicket ended a 142-run opening stand and sparked a collapse which saw Australia lose all 10 wickets for just 60 more runs.

Former Australian fast bowler Brendan Julian slammed the Australians for the way they played, arguing conditions hadn't changed too much since the early days.

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"It's not as if it's keeping low, there has been a bit of reverse swing bowling, which is what the Australians got," he said.

"Peter Siddle got it to reverse, Mitch Starc got it to reverse, I don't think they got anything different than Pakistan got, they just played them badly."

Bilal Asif was the chief destroyer with the 33-year-old Pakistani debutant taking 6/36.

Commentators praised Asif's performance, but former legendary Australian captain Allan Border didn't understand why Australia found it so difficult.

"It's not spitting and turning, it's turning a little bit," Border said.

"To me it's been a typical subcontinent pitch, maybe a bit slower than ideal right from the get-go, but it's a lot better than some of the pitches I've seen recently in India where they basically turn right from the first ball. This one gives you a chance as a batsman."

Is the pitch turning sideways? No.
Is there variable bounce? No.
Is the pitch deteriorating? No.
So why did Australia lose 10-60 to affectively lose the Test match?
Another embarrassing performance in Asia. #PAKvAUS

— Alex Oates (@AlexJOates11) October 9, 2018

Speaking in the tea break on Fox Sports, when Australia were 5/180, former Australian batsman and selector Mark Waugh said batting is hard work in Asia.

"That's what happens in the subcontinent, you've got to be very careful about losing both your set batsmen at the same time," he said.

"When there are new batsmen at the crease, all of a sudden guys are searching for the ball and it's a different ball game. Give credit to the Pakistani bowlers and yes, there were some naive shots from our middle-order players."

John Hastings said Australia needed to show a bit of patience.

"It is hard to start and the ball is starting to turn, but for me it was big shots early in the innings," he said.

"Maybe just soak up a tiny bit of the pressure. It is easy for me sitting here of course, but if you can just soak up as much of the pressure as you can, maybe get to 10, 15, 20 balls faced and then you might be able to start driving at balls that are hitting out of the rough."

Hasting conceded Bilal had been successful because of his bounce and spin but asked the Australian batsmen to build into the innings.