- Malcolm Knox: Smith shines again as batsmen raise more questions than answers
- Skipper holds Australia together
- Greg Baum: Boxing Day another ripping yarn
- Watson teases but triple figures remain elusive
- The Tonk: Memory of Hughes to be taken to top of the world
- Clarke finds the gap in impressive debut upstairs
- Day one: as it happened
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As Chris Rogers plays what is likely to be his last Boxing Day Test, the veteran has tipped a long and fruitful Test career for first-gamer Joe Burns.
A first-up innings of 13 would not have been what Burns had wanted on debut though for 34 minutes he had the entire nation riding his every move.
The 25-year-old batsman from Brisbane received a huge ovation from nearly 70,000 fans wishing the best for Australia's 441st Test cricketer.
They cheered loudly when he survived his first ball, and again with more gusto when he got off the mark.
That he did not drive expansively was indicative of a player who did not seem to be daunted by the occasion.
On his fifth ball against spin, he was not afraid to use his feet to Ravi Ashwin, hitting the offie through mid-wicket for his first boundary.
"For a guy to play his debut he seemed quite nerveless today and that's impressive," Rogers said.
"I've been watching him a lot in the nets … he seems like a pretty down-to-earth and switched-on guy.
"I like the way he bats and he looked good today, he was a little bit unfortunate. I'm pretty positive he's going to have a very good career ahead of him."
His dismissal came as a surprise, caught behind attempting a pull shot after misjudging the length of a ball from Umesh Yadav.
As disappointed as Burns would have been not spend longer in the middle, his 13 matched that of Steve Waugh on his debut in 1985, while Allan Border made a duck in his second innings on debut in 1978-79.
Rogers gave his adopted home crowd 57 reasons to cheer though accepts at age 37 there will always be critics questioning his future in the Test side.
"It's a tough business and you guys have got things to write about. I'm not stupid enough to think that I own a place in this side and it's still a privilege so I'm just trying to make the most of it," Rogers said.
"I don't know how long I can go, but I do feel my age at times, definitely."