Marvellous Malan puts England in front

England for the first time in the series have put in a complete day's worth Test cricket courtesy of Dawid Malan's magnificent maiden century (110*) and a defiant Johnny Bairstow (75*).

Joe Root electing to bat first on what was a good surface on day 1 at the WACA, there was definitely going to be plenty of pressure on the batters. In particular, Alistair Cook's 150th test match celebrations were quickly doused as he was again cheaply out for 7 from an aggressive Mitchell Starc yorker. But celebrations were also cut loose for Australia, as a positive attitude from Mark Stoneman quickly set the tone for England's innings. A brisk and somewhat elegant 56 from the left-hand opening batsmen saw a flurry of boundaries to put the Aussie bowlers under pressure early and throughout the day's play.

It was most dissapointing to see Alistair Cook dismissed again LBW. He has certainly not looked the part this series and has not matched up to the player of his stature. Moreover, he looks fairly defeated and that is a concern for England because Cook is the nation's leading run scorer and with the series 2-0 in favour of Australia, they need some runs out of him badly.

In fairness to Australia, they too came out with the right intent, and that was to be fast and aggressive. However, some days like this one, the opposition must be applauded for their efforts in weathering the storm and counteracting a quality bowling attack. I felt that the approach was correct but the execution was not there for the Australians. Too many balls were either too full or at a half volley length in which Malan and Bairstow were feasting on for most of the day.

Again, there have not been too many signs of improvement or adaptability from James Vince, who again is being dismissed in similar fashion over and over. Whilst he has the style and technique for a quality player and more so a technique that suits Australian conditions, he is simply lacking the discipline to go on convert starts into bigger scores.

Nonetheless, the day belongs to a fine maiden test ton for Dawid Malan, who played a classy knock to reach stumps sitting at 110 not out. This hundred not only demonstrated that the pitch is an excellent surface to bat on once a batsman is in but also restores some hope for the England dressing room. England was lacking this in the first two tests where no one was going on to score a hundred in the test match and take the attack to the Australians. And Malan and Bairstow have certainly shown that on day 1. It is clear that England have got a steady plan against Nathan Lyon and they have denied him to settle at the bowling crease and have looked to rotate the strike against the off-spinner.

I believe that a lot of the pressure was taken off Malan through the excellent batting of the promoted wicketkeeper-batsmen Johhny Bairstow. His gracious innings of 75 not out have put England into a serious position of Authority in this test match and he will certainly be looking to reach the ton on day 2. His innings was a masterclass to the other batters in playing straight and utilising the feet. I thought that his promotion to number 6 is certainly going to bring the best out of him and England as his potential and batting is not wasted down the order and that he ha
s plenty of time to score his runs.

But from watching today's play and the aggressive approach that England took against Australia certainly reminded me of something. This was that Australia is a team that always look to put the opposition in a defensive mindset and have them to survive.  Whereas, in almost every situation Australia are made to look foolish and hopeless against teams that show intent and an aggressive manner. From Australia's tour to the UAE where I have never seen a worse Australian performance against any touring team, the Australian's were belted out of the country. The likes of Misbah ul Haq and Younis Khan showing aggressive intent and denying the bowlers to settle left the Australians with no answers. Moreover, Australia's tour to New Zealand again saw the Aussies in a prime position to bowl the Kiwis out for less than 150 saw them concede over 300. Brendon McCullum and Corey Anderson simply started to dispatch the fast bowlers into the stands which again saw the Aussies clueless. But this concept that Australia is a weak team when they come up against a side that shows aggression was in Pakistan's ODI tour of Australia. In particular Sharjeel Khan's outstanding display of aggressive and destructive batting which often left Australia on their knees and praying for some respite. Whilst Australia was able to win the games in the end, but it showed that Australia really does struggle against opposition that comes out with intent. And this is often the persona of Australian cricket that is highly envisioned. The Australian's are viewed as a team that are the aggressors and put teams on the back foot, but when the roles are reversed they can seem fairly flimsy. Hence, I believe that England should continue to take this aggressive approach for the rest of the series and put the Australian's in a back foot position after having so much command in the previous matches.

Therefore I am firm on the belief that whilst Australia over the decades has produced some of the greatest teams and cricketers of all time, they are often masked by their reputation of being the "big boys" of world cricket. And it is this mindset that puts added pressure on the opposition and them being on the defensive to the Aussies before a ball is even bowled.

Well, there is still plenty of time left in this test match and for England's sake, they will be looking to compile a total of around 450 late into day 2. Whereas, Australia should continue to attack and look to take a few early wickets in the first session on day 2. England is certainly on top of this test match so far, but a couple of early wickets could see the game right back in the balance.

Let's hope for another day of brilliant test cricket played from both sides on day 2 at the WACA.