Aussies to learn lessons from tense Test

Darren Lehmann says Australia's bowling attack will learn a few lessons from a 39-run Test win over Pakistan in Brisbane.

Australian captain Steve Smith and coach Darren Lehmann

Darren Lehmann hopes Australia's new-look Test XI learned lessons during their win over Pakistan. (AAP)

Darren Lehmann hopes Australia's new-look Test XI learned a key lesson during their dramatic 39-run win over Pakistan at the Gabba: never relax.

Steve Smith's side flirted with disaster in Brisbane, where Pakistan threatened to haul in a world-record target of 490.

The hosts steadied to claim a 1-0 lead in the three-Test series, but Lehmann acknowledged there was plenty to work on before Boxing Day.

"They're young, they're learning the game ... one of the things we learned from this game especially is that you can't relax or think you're just going to get the wickets," Lehmann said.

"We were well on top at 6-220 but in Test cricket, especially with the Pakistan side, they bat deep.

"So a good learning curve for our bowlers to keep putting the ball in the right areas more often than not, and keep putting your foot on the pedal, trying to drive the game."

Lehmann said upbeat complacency didn't creep in during the day-night Test, even though it had been so lopsided that Pakistan were listed at odds of more than 600-1 by one bookmaker at one point.

"No. Not at all.You would hope not anyway," Lehmann said.

"The boys just went away from the gameplan a little bit .. we got a bit wide and short to a lot of their players.

"They made made us work really hard ... they took us on and actually ruffled us a little bit to be fair, so we've got to get better at that as a young group."

Lehmann reserved special praise for man of the match Asad Shafiq, whose knock of 137 gave his side genuine hope of an astonishing win.

"It was one of the best hundreds I've seen in Australia for a long, long time," Lehmann said.

Shafiq and his teammates, having posted the highest ever fourth-innings Test total in Australia, could deliver allrounder Hilton Cartwright a baptism of fire in the Boxing Day Test.

Cartwright was added to what is now a 13-man squad on Tuesday, with selectors worried about their pacemen being overworked in the three-Test series.

Cartwright, a better batsman that he is a bowler, admits his bowling has been inconsistent this year.

"It's been very up and down," he said.

"The start of the Shield season, I felt my bowling had been struggling a bit.

"But in the last couple of Shield games it's picked up again. It is confidence."


Share

3 min read

Published

Source: AAP



Share this with family and friends


Get SBS News daily and direct to your Inbox

Sign up now for the latest news from Australia and around the world direct to your inbox.

By subscribing, you agree to SBS’s terms of service and privacy policy including receiving email updates from SBS.

Download our apps
SBS News
SBS Audio
SBS On Demand

Listen to our podcasts
An overview of the day's top stories from SBS News
Interviews and feature reports from SBS News
Your daily ten minute finance and business news wrap with SBS Finance Editor Ricardo Gonçalves.
A daily five minute news wrap for English learners and people with disability
Get the latest with our News podcasts on your favourite podcast apps.

Watch on SBS
SBS World News

SBS World News

Take a global view with Australia's most comprehensive world news service
Watch the latest news videos from Australia and across the world