BRISBANE (Australia) Cameron White bludgeoned Australia to victory over Pakistan before a poor crowd at the Gabba on Friday after the visitors had got their act together to set an imposing target. Pakistan captain Mohammad Yousuf opted to bat first on a rock-hard pitch and not even Shane Warne could complain about the quality of his leadership at that point. The visitors racked up 274, highlighted by Shahid Afridi smashing 48 off 26 balls. But Australia, led by White, prevailed with five wickets and nine balls to spare. Whites 105 off 88 was more crass than class, three consecutive sixes putting Afridi back in his box, the perfect complement to Michael Clarkes measured contribution in a match-winning 102-run partnership. Clarkes 58 was more class than crass, 40 selfless singles giving White all the strike he was craving. Michael kept rotating the strike and that let me play with a bit of freedom, which I enjoy, White said. Those three sixes, I enjoyed that. I did say to Mike Hussey at the time, I wouldnt mind a bit of the strike here. As soon as I saw Afridi come on I thought if he pitches it up, Ill have a swing. Captain Ricky Ponting was full of praise for White. It was a magnificent innings. I said to him, 'thats the best Ive ever seen you bat. He showed a lot of maturity. The crowd was only 19,758, a terrible turnout in a 40,000-seat stadium, the fewest spectators for an international one-dayer at the Gabba since the venue was rebuilt in 1998. And at the close of business, only 17,500 tickets had been sold for the second encounter in Sydney. Pakistan made a whirlwind start after Kamran Akmal, he of the-worst-wicketkeeping-in-cricket-history fame from the Sydney Test, repaid the selectors faith in a sizzling 62-run opening stand with Salman Butt. But Shane Watson and Nathan Hauritz stemmed the flow. Watsons claim to being the worlds best all-rounder becomes stronger with every match. He finished with a career-best 4-36. Even in the dark days of his career, he could be relied upon to try his damnedest. Nothing has changed there. Afridi was an excitement machine, striding to the crease and thumping his first ball to mid-wicket. It wouldnt be his last stroke directed towards cow corner and soon enough a slog off Hauritz sailed over the fence. Two more sixes followed. His effervescence, combativeness and skill threatened to make the match his own until Clarke teased him and White pummelled him. The Pakistanis needed early breakthroughs when Watson and Shaun Marsh began the Australian chase. Watson went for five, caught off a screaming delivery by Mohammad Aamer. Marsh departed for 15, spooning a catch to mid-off from Mohammad Asif. Ponting belted one imperious pull shot but fell to Afridis leg spinners for 27. Australia were 3-84 and in dire straits until Clarke and White combined. Clarke was coming off a big week. Hed met Prince William and handed out breakfast to Brisbane fans at a shopping mall. His contribution was crucial, as his patience allowed White to hit out. The crowd figure hinted strongly at a waning interest in 50-over cricket. Players keep saying how much they respect it, but if the public deserts this form of the game, so will the sponsors, and so will the ICC and Cricket Australia. The match had its moments, though. Pakistan lit the fuse but White provided the fireworks (courtesy SMH). SCOREBOARD PAKISTAN innings: (50 overs maximum) Salman Butt c Haddin b Bollinger 72 Kamran Akmal c Clarke b Watson 34 Younus Khan c Marsh b McKay 46 Mohammad Yousuf b Bollinger 2 Umar Akmal c Haddin b McKay 23 Shoaib Malik c Haddin b Watson 28 Shahid Afridi c Hussey b Watson 48 Aamer c Haddin b McKay 0 Naved-ul-Hasan not out 8 Ajmal c Clarke b Watson 2 Asif run out (Ponting) 0 EXTRAS: (lb 4, w 5, nb 2) 11 TOTAL: (all out; 49.4 overs) 274 Fall of wickets: 1-62 (Kamran Akmal, 12.5 ov), 2-117 (Salman Butt, 22.2 ov), 3-123 (Mohammad Yousuf, 24.4 ov), 4-156 (Umar Akmal, 30.2 ov), 5-205 (Shoaib Malik, 40.1 ov), 6-221 (Younus Khan, 43.1 ov), 7-227 (Mohammad Aamer, 43.4 ov), 8-269 (Shahid Afridi, 46.6 ov), 9-274 (Saeed Ajmal, 48.6 ov), 10-274 (Mohammad Asif, 49.4 ov) BOWLING DE Bollinger 9.4-0-37-2-3.82(1nb, 2w) PM Siddle 8-1-48-0-6.00 CJ McKay 9-0-61-3-6.77(1nb, 1w) SR Watson 10-0-36-4-3.60 NM Hauritz 9-0-68-0-7.55(1w) MJ Clarke 2-0-8-0-4.00 MEK Hussey 2-0-12-0-6.00(1w) AUSTRALIA, innings: (target: 275 runs from 50 overs) SR Watson c Ajmal b Aamer 5 SE Marsh c Rana Naved b Asif 15 RT Ponting c sub (Latif) b Afridi 27 MJ Clarke run out (Rana Naved) 58 CL White b Rana Naved 105 MEK Hussey not out 35 BJ Haddin not out 7 EXTRAS: (b 4, lb 10, w 9) 23 TOTAL: (5 wickets; 48.3 overs) 275 Fall of wickets: 1-16 (Watson, 3.3 ov), 2-37 (Marsh, 8.4 ov), 3-84 (Ponting, 17.6 ov), 4-186 (Clarke, 36.3 ov), 5-260 (White, 46.2 ov) BOWLING Mohammad Asif 10-1-44-1-4.40(1w) Mohammad Aamer 9-0-29-1-3.22(2w) Naved-ul-Hasan 10-0-61-1-6.10(1w) Shahid Afridi 10-0-66-1-6.60(1w) Saeed Ajmal 9.3-0-61-0-6.42 Match details: Toss: Pakistan Series: Australia led the 5-match series 1-0 Player of the match: CL White (Australia) Umpires: EAR de Silva (Sri Lanka) and RJ Tucker TV umpire: PR Reiffel Match referee: RS Madugalle (Sri Lanka)