By Andrew Wu
Tom Moody, the man who presented debutant Hilton Cartwright with his baggy green cap, believes the all-rounder looked like he belonged in the Test arena during his debut innings.
The fourth man tried in what has become a troublesome No.6 position for Australia this summer, Cartwright fared better than his recent predecessors by making 37.
Usman Khawaja made the same score on debut six years ago and was met with much fanfare at the end of a disastrous Ashes campaign but Cartwright's knock did not capture as much attention.
Though he did not deliver the fairytale hundred his grandparents who had travelled from South Africa may have dreamed of, Cartwright was far from disgraced with the bat.
Promising start: Hilton Cartwright batting against Pakistan.Credit: Getty Images
He backed it up with four overs with the ball for the figures of 0/15 but will need to improve if he is to be be used as anything more than a relief bowler.
The state of the game favoured Cartwright, who arrived at the crease with 386 on the board, but he did not look nervous at all, getting off the mark with a cover drive for four first ball. The 97 balls he faced were more than any knock made by Nic Maddinson, Callum Ferguson and Mitchell Marsh this summer.
"I was talking to Michael Hussey about it and we both felt he belonged out there," Moody, who played eight Tests and coached Sri Lanka and Western Australia, said.
"He looked reasonably relaxed, his footwork was decisive which are all difficult things when you first walk into the Test arena – it's a daunting and nervous occasion.
"In a way a bit of a blessing the scorecard read what it did read, which makes it a little bit easier, but he looked good."
That said, Cartwright was far from convincing against spin, given lives on 20 and 25 against the leg-spin of Yasir Shah then Azhar Ali. That does not bode well for the tour of India, where the tracks will be a lot more conducive to the slow bowlers.
"That's the next immediate test if he's in the mix for the balance of the side depending whether they want a No.6 to bowl spin or medium pace," Moody said.
"It's early days for him but he had presence out there and that's an important thing."
Moody said fans should be encouraged by Cartwright's effort despite being an "unknown" to those who do not follow the Shield that closely.
He was a controversial selection because he was an unknown to the Australian public. He's only burst onto the first-class scene and been a consistent member of the WA side for only a season.
"A lot of people don't know he's pretty well known to the pathway program and what's been happening in the Centre of Excellence [now known as the National Cricket Centre]," Moody said.
"He's averaging in the mid 40s, there's other options who have been considered before him that are not even averaging even in the mid 30s.
"It's not like he's come from nowhere and hasn't done anything. Yes, he's only been around for a brief time but he's had an impact since he's been around."