Ponting’s actuality examine forward of selectors’ largest name in many years

Comply with all of the motion reside right here.

10.45AM: THE AWKWARD REALITY FOR PAKISTAN’S NEW CAPTAIN

Pakistan’s new Take a look at captain Shan Masood is dealing with a “large dilemma” two Checks into his management, says former Australian batter Simon Katich.

Masood, who averages 28.5 from 32 Checks, has tried to take the sport to the Australians and play aggressively — each in Perth and on the MCG.

His tactic labored, to a degree, on day two when he dispatched Nathan Lyon throughout a counter-attacking flourish.

However it finally led to Shan’s downfall when he went after Lyon one too many occasions and skied a catch to Mitch Marsh.

Katich stated Shan was in an “uneviable” place the place he was the most-vulnerable of Pakistan’s batters to choice strain.

“The highest-four…it’s a category top-four. They will all play,” Katich stated on SEN.

“However Shan Masood has acquired the largest dilemma as a result of his Take a look at numbers aren’t good, averaging underneath 30, and he’s attempting to play an aggressive fashion of cricket which isn’t simple to do towards this Australian assault in these circumstances.”

Damien Fleming stated the Pakistan skipper must be batting at No.5.

“I just like the perspective. You see Travis Head batting at No.5. I’d prefer to see Masood there,” Fleming stated.

“I inform you what Rizwan is an excellent participant. I used to be questioning whether or not they would play Rizwan and Sarfaraz in the identical group in that first Take a look at. If that was to occur I reckon Rizwan may bat three.”

In the meantime, play is underway on day three with the beginning solely delayed by quarter-hour on account of morning rain.

10.20AM: LATEST WEATHER, PLAY UPDATE

If there’s no extra rain on the MCG, play will begin at 10.45am.

10.10AM: PONTING’S BRUTAL REALITY CHECK FOR OPENING CONTENDER

Ricky Ponting has dished out a brutal actuality examine for Australian selectors, saying there was “no probability” Cameron Inexperienced would open towards the West Indies.

As selectors weigh up whether or not to shoehorn Inexperienced into the highest of the order of select certainly one of Cameron Bancroft, Matthew Renshaw or Marcus Harris, Ponting made his most well-liked choice clear.

Requested if Inexperienced would succeed Warner after his SCG farewell, Ponting informed Channel 7: “No probability. Time to return and discover Australia’s subsequent finest opening batsman with the India take a look at sequence and Ashes in thoughts.”

9.40AM: PLAY DELAYED

Basic Melbourne! The covers are again on on the MCG because the lightest of rain falls. It’s been confirmed we can have a delayed begin to day three

9:35AM: RAIN CLEARS IN MELBOURNE

Indicators are wanting promising for play this morning on the MCG after in a single day and morning rain in Melbourne. The primary covers have been taken off and Australia has been warming up because it eyes the final 4 wickets of Pakistan’s innings. Perhaps a little bit of juice within the monitor and humidity within the air will assist Australia’s trigger.

8AM: PAKISTAN SERIES UNDERPINS BROKEN BARRIERS OF TEST CRICKET

Robert Craddock

When the Pakistan cricket facet turned up with items for Australia on Christmas Day, it appeared odd that groups about to enter a Boxing Day battle could possibly be so intimate.

Might you think about Allan Border doing it for Mike Gatting?

However that’s life in trendy cricket. Covid togetherness and the Indian Premier League, which has no Pakistan gamers, has modified all the things.

Obstacles have been damaged down and friendships fashioned throughout nationwide strains.

Frenemies have changed enemies.

It’s occurred earlier than, although. Via the years there have been events of gamers from rival nations surviving the hothouse of worldwide cricket to turn out to be pals.

Right here’s a collection of a number of the most famous, and sudden.

RICHARD HADLEE (NEW ZEALAND)-DEAN JONES (AUSTRALIA):

A narrative of many threads. Tempo nice Hadlee dominated Jones in a Take a look at sequence within the mid-Eighties and even branded Jones his bunny. Jones struck again in one-day cricket and so they cast a friendship that blossomed by way of many guest-speaking gigs over the many years. The Hadlees shared Jones’s final Christmas dinner at his Romsey property earlier than his dying in 2021 when Sir Richard stirred the pot by giving Jones a Christmas current of a pillow case with a bunny on it.

BRIAN LARA (WEST INDIES)-ANDREW SYMONDS (AUSTRALIA):

Lara flew 10,000km to be current at Symonds’ funeral as a silent tribute to what he known as their “creating friendship’’.

“Generally you lose relationships with gamers once you retire,’’ Lara stated. “However ours grew and it was not as a result of he compelled it or I compelled it. It simply occurred naturally. We had been superior collectively.’’

MITCH MARSH (AUSTRALIA)-TOM AND SAM CURRAN (ZIMBABWE):

They used to play yard cricket – and even in hallways – when Mitch’s father Geoff coached Zimbabwe and have remained good mates.

VIRAT KOHLI (INDIA)-AB DE VILLIERS (SOUTH AFRICA):

They performed collectively for Bangalore within the IPL for years and had been usually seen at breakfast. Throughout Take a look at sequence between India and South Africa, when certainly one of them peeled away from their house group to speak with the opposite, teammates sometimes felt a bit unnoticed.

KEITH MILLER (AUSTRALIA)-DENIS COMPTON (ENGLAND):

The 2 debonair heart-throbs used to like going out collectively and swapping tales about their deeds in World Warfare II, the place Miller was a Mosquito pilot who cheated dying on a number of events. As soon as in Brisbane they had been seen leaving the nurses’ quarters on the Royal Brisbane Hospital at 8am the morning of a match.

MARK WAUGH (AUSTRALIA)-KEN RUTHERFORD (NEW ZEALAND):

A mutual love of the racing business made these two an apparent match. They used to talk usually at Hawkesbury races when Rutherford was membership boss and Mark’s spouse Kim was racing horses there. Rutherford jokes he likes spending time with Waugh as a result of it makes him really feel like an excellent tipster.

DAVID WARNER (AUSTRALIA)-SHAHEEN SHAH AFRIDI (PAKISTAN):

They acquired to know one another once they had been staying in the identical resort throughout a Take a look at sequence in Pakistan. Afridi was recognized to sometimes await Warner on the backside of a raise to have a chat.

STEVE WAUGH (AUSTRALIA)-RAHUL DRAVID (INDIA):

Take a look at rivals over an extended interval, that they had unbelievable mutual respect. Waugh loved Dravid’s immaculate method and his sincerity as an individual.

ANDREW FLINTOFF (ENGLAND)-MATT HAYDEN (AUSTRALIA):

Hayden reckons the one cricket deliveries he by no means truly noticed had been ones bowled to him within the 2005 Ashes by Flintoff; fast, curling, seaming, brutes of issues they had been, too. They performed collectively at Chennai within the IPL and Hayden acquired Flintoff to put in writing the foreword to his ebook. Hayden reckons the funniest hours of his life got here when he was drug-tested within the IPL and Flintoff stayed again to maintain him firm, spinning yarns about his life.

GLENN MCGRATH (AUSTRALIA)-HEATH STREAK (ZIMBABWE):

They shared an awesome love of the outside and used to go on safaris collectively.

SHANE WARNE (AUSTRALIA)-KEVIN PIETERSEN (ENGLAND):

Each showmen and entertainers who revered these traits in one another. Warne as soon as wound up Pietersen by telling his Australian teammates to name Pietersen “Kevin’’ fairly than KP on the sphere.