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Alex Carey may have become embroiled in another controversy had the gloveman whipped off the bails when Pakistan opener Abdullah Shafique was batting during the second day of the first Test in Perth.
Marnus Labuschagne gathered the ball at short leg and threw it to Carey, who motioned towards the stumps as an unaware Shafique appeared to momentarily lift his back foot.
However, Carey did not take off the bails despite replays showing the batsman may have been run out. Pakistan eventually went to stumps at 132-2 on Friday at Perth Stadium, still 355 behind Australia’s 487.
“I think that would have been fair game,” Australian wicketkeeping great Adam Gilchrist said on Fox Cricket.
Fellow commentator Isa Guha claimed: “He touched the stump, but the bails didn’t come out of the groove.”
Carey became a lightning rod for sustained abuse during the Ashes tour when he stumped Jonny Bairstow during the second Test at Lord’s after the England gloveman walked out of his ground at the end of an over when the ball was still live.
Abdullah Shafique appears oblivious as Alex Carey considers a possible run out.
The usually sedate Long Room erupted with chants of “cheat, cheat, cheat”. Two Marylebone Cricket Club members were suspended and another had his membership cancelled.
Carey, 32, said the incident hadn’t unsettled him, but he was dropped after Australia lost the opening match of their ultimately successful World Cup campaign.
After Australia scored at more than four an over, Pakistan crawled to an opening partnership of 74 at two an over before Shafique (42 in 121 balls) decided to charge Nathan Lyon and flicked the ball to first-day hero David Warner.
This brought captain Shan Masood to the crease, who provided the ultimate contrast to his lead-footed openers, attacking from his first ball by cutting at Lyon and almost dragging the ball onto his stumps. Masood dragged the next ball wide of mid-on for four.
Mitchell Marsh is bowled for 90.Credit: Getty Images
Despite averaging less than 29 from 30 Tests, the 34-year-old was installed as Test skipper after the logical leader, Babar Azam, was dumped following Pakistan’s failure to make the World Cup semi-finals.
Masood made an aggressive double century in last week’s Prime Minister’s XI match against Australia A and spoke eloquently before this match about the need for teams to play aggressive Test cricket. Clearly his openers weren’t listening, although Australia’s quality attack made it difficult on a well-grassed pitch.
It was ironic, then, that Masood was hit on the back by a crunching drive from the near-immobile Imam-ul-Haq and required treatment. Australia successfully reviewed a caught behind decision off Mitchell Starc to remove Masood for 30 from 43 balls.
Playing his first Test in his home town for six years, Mitch Marsh scored an at-times bullish 90 from just 107 balls with 15 fours and a six. Along the way, Pakistan debutant Aamer Jamal claimed 6-111.
The all-rounder’s dismissal, clean bowled by the first ball after lunch, left Marsh and the modest crowd ruing an extravagant straight drive.
Despite the potent scoring of Warner (164) on the first day and Marsh on the second, Jamal claimed some of his wickets with unplayable deliveries.
With Marsh at the other end, Carey (34) and Starc (12) were comprehensively bowled by balls that darted off the seam. Marsh went to one from Khurram Shahzad that nipped back, and Jamal nicked off the tail.
For Marsh, it was a triumphant return to the state where he has captained 16 Sheffield Shield matches as part of 66 with father Geoff and elder brother Shaun, who also had useful Test careers. Both were in the Justin Langer Stand watching Mitch for a second day.
He has a good record in Perth, averaging almost 49 in three Tests at the WACA Ground, with a top score of 181 against England in December 2017.
“Probably not to be honest,” Marsh replied when asked by this masthead before the match if he thought he’d ever play another Test in Perth.
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