The continued renaissance of Mitchell Johnson - Aust v Pak

Mitch J may be the best fast bowler in the world. But David Warner must currently be the world's best - and most thrilling - Test batsman. I think his hundred in this game is his sixth century in his last nine Test matches.

I like him as a feisty character, too, despite England's loathing. I saw a film profile of him on some satellite channel that went back to his birth place and talked to his old school friends and his brother and his parents. He comes from a rough, working-class background and his family lived in some horrible Aussue housing project where there was no money, no privilege and everything was a struggle. The film showed how he'd fought his way up (sometimes literally!)and the obstacles that he'd had to overcome. When he got his first CA central contract, he bought his mum and dad a house with the money; it was the first property on which they hadn't had to pay rent in their lives. He might be a rough diamond, but he's most definitely a diamond. If you were in a lifeboat rowing for your life, I'd imagine there couldn't be anyone better to have alongside you.

But if Warner were English-qualified, you can't help feeling that Flower/Moores/Downton and the prissy ECB wouldn't let him near the England team. Lehmann, on the other hand, knows exactly what he's got on his hands and how to get the best out of him and, along with Mitch, has made him the first name on his team sheet.

And I'd say that's a pretty neat encapsulation of the socio-cultural/political differences between English and Australian cricket. They love a wild colonial boy who knows how to stick it to the poms. And we would still like to put his kind on a transporter and ship them as far away from so-called polite society as possible!

I'm not so sure about that last remark. I seem to remember another all-powerful, world-beating side visiting the Emirates to play Pakistan and getting thoroughly confused and confounded.

And great for cricket to have two new spinning heroes to watch and see as their careers develop.

An excellent win for Pakistan - 5 for Zulfiqar Babar , slow left arm, and 4 for Yasir Shah, leg break - but a superb resistance from Australia, and in particular the remarkable Mitch Johnson, taking the game into the last session of the last day. This quote, from email received by Cricinfo and quoted in the commentary says it all "Whatever might be the game's result, Australia and South Africa are two countries which are fighting hard for test cricket's survival by pushing its boundaries with never-say-die spirit in games like these.... Long live 5-day matches!!!..."

A very encouraging and rather heartwarming story of a late developer on Cricinfo: Well worth the wait.

Zulfiqar Babar made his debut in domestic cricket in 2001/2, then didn't get another chance until 2007/8. Years of steady development, and playing for an unfashionable team without strong links with the selectors finally led to selection for Pakistan A at the age of 31, and finally in Test cricket at nearly 35. That was a year ago, and now in the absence of Ajmal he and the younger legspinner Yasir Shah have shown once again the eternal values of traditional spin bowling as Pakistan comprehensively defeated a bewildered looking Australian team last week. Sadly there are only two tests in this series but I will watching as much as I can in the Second Test starting tomorrow.

Now that Zulfiqar has made it I think I'd better reconsider my retirement and start practising my leggies again. What's 20 years or so? A mere bagatelle.

A little poetic licence, perhaps, though my last competitive wicket - clean-bowled, hitting offstump, since you ask - was only 1 year ago.......a mere 29 years after it's predecessor.

Pak v Australia is billed on Wiziwig.tv, though not sure who provides the upload.

Two more unbeaten hundreds for Pakistan (including Younis' third consecutive innings 100) and they have 304-3 at the close. Australia left out Doolan to play Maxwell (8 overs for 36 runs) and O'Keefe lost his place to Starc, who did take an early wicket but that was all the change between this game and the last. Clarke's captaincy and command of field-placings, so much cited as a factor in the rout of England, seems to have deserted him completely and Lehman is going to nhave to give some more pragmatic tv interviews to prevent comparisons with other once-successful national coaches.

Still nobody can get after Johnson, though. To bowl 25 overs for 59 runs in a total of 570-6 is top class.

Bad day for Nathan Lyon.