Australia wrap up comprehensive victory inside four daysBabar Azam’s 105 not enough to save
Pakistan 6.40am GMT
A highly convincing victory for Australia, which was set on its course when Pakistan were held to a mere 240 in their first innings. That total was put into context by Australia’s response, a mammoth 580 that effectively rendered this match over inside three days. David Warner cashed in on his homecoming, scoring a first Test century for almost two years and going some way to exorcising the demons of his Ashes failure. But the talking point of this first Test was not Warner, nor Australia’s 13th straight Gabba Test win over Pakistan and not even the no-ball controversy surrounding Mohammad Rizwan’s dismissal on Thursday that will likely grow legs in the coming days. The story of this match was Marnus Labuschagne, whose maiden Test century answered any lingering questions about the composition of Australia’s top order. His 185 was the knock of a man who will be scoring runs for his country long into the future. Pakistan battled gamely to almost make Australia bat again for victory - in Babar Azam and Rizwan there is plenty for Australia to work on - so they will at least head to Adelaide with optimism their best might be good enough. But, as these four days at the Gabba illustrated, a session or two here and there simply won’t do. Pakistan will need to be at the top of their game from start to finish if they are to level this two-match series. Thanks for your company. Let’s do it all again in Adelaide. 6.22am GMT
After guiding Australia to their 13th consecutive Test victory over Pakistan at the Gabba, here’s what captain Tim Paine has to offer:
“To score 580, that’s exactly what you want out of your Test batters on a very good wicket. It’s fantastic to see Davey (Warner) back, he obviously had his struggles in England. We knew that when Davey got back to Australia, he’s a different proposition. He played superbly. Everyone in the team was really happy for Marnus (Labuschagne). This was his first Test hundred. He works as hard as anyone, he loves the game of cricket and gives us some real energy. His Ashes in tough conditions was awesome and he looks like he’s getting better and better.”
“I thought they were pretty good. We hold them to a really high standard, so we would have liked to clean up a little bit quicker today but the two guys in the middle batted really well. We know we’ve got an excellent all-round attack, they’ve taken 20 wickets which they continually do and we’re very lucky to have them.”