Andrew Symonds clubbed a maiden one-day century as Australia overcame the shock loss of Shane Warne, the availability of only 12 players ad a jittery start to post a comanding 310 for eight as they began their defence of the World Cup against Pakistan at the Wanderers on Tuesday.
With Warne out of the World Cup, at least for the time being, after testing positive for a prohibited substance, Michael Bevan still recovering from injury and Darren Lehmann serving the last match of his ban, Australia had only 12 players to choose from for their opening match. They opted to play Ian Harvey in Warne’s place, but it was Symonds, whose form this summer hardly marked him as a likely star of the tournament, who salvaged an innings that at one point seemed likely to implode.
Symonds, who recently managed the almost unique feat of contriving to get himself stumped while trying to leave a delivery, arrived at the crease with Australia wobbling at 84 for four. He helped captain Ricky Ponting add 62 for the fifth wicket before Ponting was caught at slip for 53, cutting at Shoaib Akhtar, and then went on to hammer out a savage, unbeaten 145 as he exposed the limitations of the Pakistan attack.
The 1992 World Cup winners went in to the match with all-rounder Abdur Razzaq and leg-spinner Shahid Afridi as their fourth and fifth bowlers. Both were savaged by Symonds who galloped to his century off just 92 balls. Razzaq’s six overs cast 42 while Afridi went for 63 off his 9,3 overs. Part-timer Younis Khan had to fill in with six overs for 36.
To start with, though, Pakistan grabbed the early initiative as Wasim Akram accounted for the dangerous Adam Gilchrist (1) in his second over and then bowled Matthew Hayden (27) and Damien Martyn (0) with successive deliveries in his sixth over to have Australia 52 for three.
When Waqar Younis had Jimmy Maher caught at the wicket for 9 at 84 for four, Pakistan were poised to take charge of the match. But Symonds, who played quite superbly after starting with two perfectly struck cover drives off Razzaq, went on to carve 18 fours and two sixes during his 125-ball stay at the crease.
There was no shortage of drama through. In the penultimate over of the innings, umpire David Shepherd ordered the Pakistan captain after the attack after deliberately bowling a second bouncer of the over (at new batsman Jason Gillespie). The over was complete by Afridi.