After last years unsatisfying fare, day one at the WACA was the cricket equivalent of a big juicy steak - or for vegans, an especially succulent mushroom. The ball flew off Matthew Pages pitch with bounce and pace, batsmen were startled onto the back foot where often they press forward, and a healthy crowd of 12,382 oohd and ahhd in obvious enjoyment.Australia, in search of a win to set the tone for the summer, were delighted by the carry for Mitchell Starc in the very first over of the morning. Peter Nevill was taking the ball up around shoulder height, and Stephen Cook fell off the fourth ball when he was unable to ride the bounce, like so many visiting batsmen of yore.Mitchell Marsh flew through the air at gully for the catch, and in an instant, numerous years of beige cricket on this ground were cancelled out. Memories harked instantly back to Dennis Lillee and Jeff Thomson, Malcolm Marshall and Curtly Ambrose. Had he seen bounce like that last year, Mitchell Johnson might still be playing now.It was all a reminder of how much the pitch is as much a character in the drama of Test cricket as the cricketers themselves, dictating the style of play, the interest of spectators and the urgency of the players. The match was being played at a pace the Australians love, redolent of southern summers under blue skies and raucous crowds.For a while, the hosts were dictating play to a domineering extent, scything through South Africas top order with an eye on batting not too long after lunch. An overpowering first-up performance with the ball has often been the cornerstone of Australian success, setting up the scoreboard and also opening up mental scars to be exploited later, even if subsequent pitches are not as slippery as Perth or, more often, Brisbane.The pre-lunch run of wickets was not sustained, as Temba Bavuma and Quinton de Kock led a fine rearguard, not dissimilar to that performed by Faf du Plessis from another ordinary South African start on this ground in 2012. This is something else about Australian-style cricket with which the hosts are well familiar. As hard as it can be to start against the new ball, the Kookaburra eases up as a projectile after an hour or two, while the evenness of pace and bounce allows batsmen - or bowlers with bat in hand - to get into a rhythm.The captain Steven Smith had noted this on match eve. That is one thing we have done well in Australia over the last couple of years, everyones contributed with the bat, he said. Ideally you want the batters to score some runs at the top of the order and in the middle order but when they havent, the guys at six, seven, eight, nine and ten have all contributed and been able to get us a big total. You want everyone working on their batting and hopefully getting us as big a total as possible. Knowledge of this scenario is important, as ring fields and steadier bowling replace the more hyper-aggressive stuff seen early on. Well though de Kock and Bavuma played, Smiths men knew that the opportunity had been opened to prevent a major first innings. Thanks to Starc, Hazlewood, Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon, South Africas 242 left the visitors little margin for error with the ball.That opened things up for David Warner, who remains very much a batting pugilist no matter how beatific his mien appears to be away from the crease. He and Dale Steyn had traded prognostications in the lead-up to day one, the South Africans assertion about how the snake can die if you cut off the head answered by Warners hope that South Africa would get too excited by bounce and send down a series of spectacular but useless short balls. It was the second prediction the proved more correct.Warner has flayed plenty of visiting attacks in these parts, most notably India in January 2012 and New Zealand last summer, albeit on a far less hell-for-leather kind of pitch. This time around, he prospered from thick edges as much as deliveries striking the middle, at one point seeming to indicate to Steyn that he did not mean to send an upper-cut flying over the slips cordon.But the pace on the ball ensured that Warner would get value for shots snicked as well as struck, and a later upper-cut was more deliberate, resulting in a ball that cleared the boundary rope even as Warner was left, quite literally, on the seat of his pants. Pressure, relieved slightly on South Africa by their lower order flourish, was quickly transferred back as runs flowed at comfortably better than five per over. Vernon Philanders no-ball on a very adjacent LBW appeal grew increasingly costly with each passing minute.There is still plenty of cricket to be played in this match - the surface will likely quicken further on the second morning, offering the possibility of quick wickets to open up an Australian middle order lacking anyone of de Kocks class. Even so, Smiths Australians packed up for the evening confident in the knowledge that away defeats have not dulled their innate sense of how to play at home, particularly on red-blooded days like these. Compliments to the chef. Saucony Clearance Outlet . After a first half in which he thought "the lid was on the basket," the Toronto Raptors coach watched his squad mount a second half surge to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 98-91. Cheap Saucony Shoes . -- Eastern Kentucky thrives off creating havoc for others. http://www.discountsaucony.com/ .J. -- Marty Brodeur beat the Pittsburgh Penguins yet again. Cheap Saucony Shoes China . -- Bryant McKinnie came out of his stance and lowered his shoulder into a practice squad player, causing a crisp thud to reverberate in the Miami Dolphins practice bubble. Discount Saucony Shoes . The return match will take place next Wednesday. Udinese leads Fiorentina 2-1 in the other semifinal. Napoli staged a second-half comeback from two goals down after Gervinhos opener and a stunning strike from Kevin Strootman. Pakistan 282 for 6 (Misbah 110*, Shafiq 73, Woakes 4-45) v EnglandScorecard and ball-by-ball detailsA story about the return of one Pakistan player to Lords became a tale about the maiden appearance at the ground of another, as Misbah-ul-Haqs unbeaten century on his first Test in England led his side into a strong position on the opening day. Misbahs correct call at the toss delayed the much-anticipated return to the fray of Mohammad Amir but his efforts ensured this would be still be an occasion for Pakistan - and cricket romantics of every persuasion - to remember.Alastair Cook had also wanted to bat first on a pitch that has had to withstand regular unseasonal soakings over recent weeks and on what turned out to be a fine summers day it was easy to see why. Still, four wickets for Chris Woakes - including bowling nightwatchman Rahat Ali with the last ball of the day - and an impressive showing from the debutant, Jake Ball, meant Englands attack was not entirely quelled by a commanding, 148-run stand between Misbah and Asad Shafiq as an occasionally cloudy afternoon melted into a sunlit evening.At the age of 42 years and 47 days, Misbah became the sixth-oldest man to make a century in Tests. After jogging the single to take him to three figures shortly before 6pm, he gestured to his team-mates on the pavilion balcony before getting down to do a series of push-ups - further proof, if any were needed, of his supreme levels of fitness. He has been the pillar that held up Pakistan cricket in the wake of the spot-fixing scandal that erupted on this ground back in 2010 and it was symbolically apt that he played the same role on the field in their first match back in England since those dark days.There are many threads to the tapestry of this tour beyond the redemptive element of Amirs return, not least Pakistans qualities as a team. The first day of the series immediately flagged that they would provide stiffer opposition than Sri Lanka, the visitors to England earlier in the summer, and while Mohammad Hafeez and Younis Khan would have been disappointed not to build on useful starts, Misbah and Shafiq were not so profligate.Misbah had never before batted in a Test in England, never played more than a few T20 innings at Lords, but he was not going to overawed by his first outing. Eight months ago, after leading his side to a 2-0 win over England in the UAE, he was contemplating retirement but he eventually decided to carry on in the belief that Pakistan would need him on this tour. It was clear to see why when he strode out with his side 77 for 3, bearded and resolute, a grizzled captain leading his men into uncharted waters and ready to repel all boarders.Lets go to work, was the slogan from Quentin Tarantinos 1992 film Reservoir Dogs and in Misbah and Younis, Pakistan have a couple of experienced wiseguys capable of doing a number on England. You have to go back to the 1990s for the last time Pakistan won a Test at Lords and their chances here relied on an experienced batting order being able to give a much-vaunted attack something to bowl at. England managed to chisel out Younis but, in the shape of Shafiq, there was another, equally determined Mr Green ready to step in and do business.England had resorted to subcontinental bowling plans, with short extra cover and short midwicket, by the time Stuart Broad coaxed a thick edge from Shafiq, on 34, but with only one slip in place the ball flew wide of Cooks despairing dive. A clubbed square cut for four off Moeen Ali - who Pakistan never allowed to settle annd conceded 46 runs from his seven overs - took him to a fifth 50-plus score against England but, with the shadows lengthening a feathered edge off Woakes finally broke the stand.dddddddddddd. Rahat then dragged on to give the persevering Woakes his best Test figures.Misbah and Shafiq might have been separated sooner, when a mix up left both batsmen running to the same end. Gary Ballance, making his own comeback after a year out of the side, threw hastily at the strikers stumps when a lob to the bowler would have done the trick. Pakistan were on 184 for 4 at the time and still going about their recovery from being three down shortly after lunch.Ball nearly claimed a maiden Test wicket with his second ball but eventually removed Azhar Ali, to follow an early brace for Woakes in the morning session. Never mind devil, there was nothing so much as a mischievous imp in the pitch but Ball took that out of the equation with a yorker that knocked Azhar off his feet, though the No. 3 left the field shaking his head after utilising the DRS only for the Hawk-Eye to back-up Kumar Dharmasenas decision that the ball was hitting leg stump by the finest of margins.Misbah began cautiously and he had made 2 from 19 balls when he gloved a Broad bouncer high and wide of wicketkeeper Jonny Bairstow for his first boundary. A thin inside edge saved him from being lbw to Ball walking across his stumps on 11 and he might have been taken at second slip on 16, when the wayward Steven Finn found his outside edge only for Joe Root to shell a low chance, but he remained unperturbed.He unfurled some more aggressive strokes during Moeens exploratory overs, as well as taking easy runs off Finn. Later in the day, in struck four fours in five balls off Moeen - two sweeps, two reverse-sweeps - to move into the 90s and emphasise his mastery over Englands spinner.Despite Finns struggle, the bowlers did have some success. Memories had begun to drift back to Englands toil in the UAE following another fifty stand between Misbah and Younis when the latter, batting out of his crease such was the docility of the pitch, flicked a Broad delivery straight to midwicket to depart for 33.They had earlier pegged Pakistan back after a 38-run opening stand that involved a little bit of luck alongside some proactive batting from Hafeez. Anticipation of Amirs first involvement had given way to a moment for Ball to savour and he nearly struck in his opening Test spell, Cook generously deigning to review an lbw decision against Shan Masood only for the replays to confirm Dharmasenas suspicion the ball had pitched outside leg.Ball acquitted himself well as the stand-in for James Anderson, pushing the speed gun up towards 89mph and troubling both of the Pakistan openers. Hafeez could have been taken on 11, when a drive at Broad resulted in a thick edge low to the left of James Vince at third slip but he could not hold on one-handed. The same batsman flashed wide of the slips off Ball in the 10th over and Masood followed suit, off Woakes, moments after.Woakes, though, found success shortly before the drinks break, inducing a thin edge from Masood with a delivery than bounced a touch more than expected. He had his second four overs later when Hafeez, who had gambolled his way to 40, finally fell in lackadaisical fashion, trying to flip across the line only to offer a straightforward catch to Bairstow running across towards square leg. Wholesale Hoodies NFL Shirts Outlet Jerseys NFL Wholesale Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping Wholesale Jerseys Cheap Cheap NFL Jerseys China Wholesale Jerseys Wholesale NFL Jerseys Cheap NFL Jerseys China Cheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '
