'Would Ganguly Have Arrived with Christmas Presents for Waugh': O’Keefe says PAK being too Friendly to AUS

Former Australia cricket Kerry O’Keefe took a dig at the Pakistan cricket team’s gesture towards their opponents on Christmas day. Visiting captain Shan Masood, Babar Azam and a few members from Pakistan the team management visited the Australian team during their indoor practice session at the Melbourne Cricket Ground with gifts for everyone. Players from both teams interacted with each other, giving out candies to the kids.

The gesture was praised by Australia skipper Pat Cummins as he could not stop praising the effort.

“That was just great. Just Merry Christmas gifts and lollipops for the kids. So that was great. We’ve got a good relationship with the Pakistan side. That tour a couple of years ago was really special as well. So really kind and thoughtful of their group to think of us,” Cummins said.

However, O’Keefe didn’t look pleased with the gesture of the Pakistanis. Speaking on Fox Cricket with former England captain Michael Vaughan, the former cricketer said a visiting team cannot play against the Aussies ‘in best of the spirits’.

“This Test series is being played in the best of spirits. You cannot beat Australia playing in the best of the spirits. They gave them Christmas presents yesterday,” O’Keefe said.

“Would Sourav Ganguly have arrived with Christmas presents for Steve Waugh?”

“No. You got to play fiercely against the Aussies. You got to have a spine. This is too pleasant,” O’Keefe said.

“You can’t bring Christmas presents,” said Vaughan.

“…And then opening the Boxing Day with half-volleys,” O’Keefe said.

A post shared by Fox Cricket (@foxcricket)

A dominant start for Australia

Australia went off to a decent start after being asked to bat first on Tuesday. David Warner and Usman Khawaja stitched a 90-run stand for the opening wicket before Agha Salman got the better of Warner for 38.

Khawaja then joined forces with Marnus Labuschagne, adding another 18 runs to the total. The post-lunch session saw Salman striking again to remove Khawaja for 42.

Rizwan back in the mix

Pakistan captain Shan Masood won the toss and opted to bowl. They made three changes with Mohammad Rizwan keeping wickets instead of Sarfaraz Ahmed and fast bowlers Mir Hamza and Hasan Ali both getting the nod.