Australia In India

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Kram81

Kram81

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Tour match
Sat Feb 16 - Mon 18
India A v Australia

1st Test
Fri Feb 22 - Tue 26
Chidambaram Stadium, Chennai

2nd Test
Sat Mar 2 - Wed 6
Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium, Hyderabad

3rd Test
Thu Mar 14 - Mon 18
Punjab Cricket Association Stadium, Chandigarh

4th Test
Fri Mar 22 - Tue 26
Feroz Shah Kotla, Delhi
 
Bit surprised we don't play any one-day games. Usually the BCCI schedule us in for 7 of them. :rolleyes:

Anyway, the two-day tour game against the India Board President's XI ended in a draw. Cowan top scored with 58 while Henriques picked up four wickets and Lyon took three.
 
It will be interesting to see what team is selected for the first match. Ed Cowan has made things interesting top scoring with 58 and the same with Henriques picking up 4 wickets. They might have both been left out for the first game but their recent performances might help them get selected. Nathan Lyon picking up a couple of wickets is good. He will be a key player if we are to beat India.

The tour match will give the selectors another chance to look at how the players are preforming.
 
Should be an interesting series. At least three batsmen for Australia are going to have to really step up and score hundreds and Lyon needs to take heaps of wickets with one pace bowler taking a few and bowling tightly.
 
Howard Littlejohn said:
October : 7 ODI, 1 T20.
Click to expand...
:eek::mad:
facepalm.gif
 
At least these aren't "additional" games, but what would normally be played as part of a Test tour.
I'm not a fan of the timing (or limited overs only tours in general), and seven is too many, but this one is almost understandable.

The gap between the Test and limited overs legs is certainly larger, but in some ways its similar to England's recent time in India where the tour could be seen as having been over two legs (first leg Tests and 1 T20, second leg the 50 over stuff). That was only a one month gap though.

I have a far bigger problem with limited overs games which are not attached in any way to a Test tour, such as the ones Australia played against England (away), Pakistan (away) and West Indies (home) in the last 12 months. A six month gap is pushing the bounds of credibility a bit too far though.
 
Australian team for first test in India:

Michael Clarke (c),
Ed Cowan
Moises Henriques
Phillip Hughes
Nathan Lyon
James Pattinson
Peter Siddle
Mitchell Starc
Matthew Wade
David Warner
Shane Watson

Nathan Lyon is the only spinner in the team... Michael Clarke and David Warner might be able to bowl some spin for a few overs but in India you really need two specialist spin bowlers, as England showed. Moises Henriques is a medium pace bowler, we all ready have three fast bowlers in the team and his batting is poor at domestic level. Peter Siddle, James Pattinson and Mitchell Starc are all great fast bowlers but the conditions will not suit them in India. I do not like to think negatively but I think Australia is in for a flogging.
 
Given the squad, the only differences I would have are Khawaja in for Henriques, and probably Bird for Starc.

You do not need two spinners in India. You need good spinners in India. If you have two good spinners, then pick them.
But India generally play spin better than anyone, so they have to be good; or even in favourable conditions they will get belted. I'm glad the selectors avoided picking a second spinner for the sake of having two spinners. Picking a dud all-rounder is a mistake though. (I'm more than happy for him to score 200 and take 12 wickets, and be proven wrong.)

We do not have two good Test spinners, and even in those conditions our tenth best quick would be a better option that our second best spinner (who is injured) or our third best spinner (who is injured), and ther is a big gap from Beer and O'Keefe down to Doherty.
 
Howard Littlejohn said:
Given the squad, the only differences I would have are Khawaja in for Henriques, and probably Bird for Starc.

You do not need two spinners in India. You need good spinners in India. If you have two good spinners, then pick them.
But India generally play spin better than anyone, so they have to be good; or even in favourable conditions they will get belted. I'm glad the selectors avoided picking a second spinner for the sake of having two spinners. Picking a dud all-rounder is a mistake though. (I'm more than happy for him to score 200 and take 12 wickets, and be proven wrong.)

We do not have two good Test spinners, and even in those conditions our tenth best quick would be a better option that our second best spinner (who is injured) or our third best spinner (who is injured), and ther is a big gap from Beer and O'Keefe down to Doherty.
Click to expand...
You make a good point about India playing spin better than anyone. You can't let this fact scare you though. Nathan Lyon is inconsistent, he picks up a few wickets in one of the practice games and then gets belted in the next game. Playing one spinner is a huge risk considering Lyon can go a long time without picking up a wicket. You said India are good players of spin, how long do you reckon it will take them to work out Lyon isn't much of a threat if he isn't bowling well? India is already working out that Lyon is the weak link in the team. That is why you play a 2nd spinner to take advantage of the conditions and replace Lyon if he is struggling. Xavier Doherty might not be the most ideal 2nd spinner but he will be more suited to bowling on India's pitches then any of the fast bowlers will be. The pitch will turn, that is why India are considering playing up to four spin bowlers.
 
Australia won the toss and are batting first against India in the first test. We lost Ed Cowan for 29 runs after he was stumped off Ashwin's bowling. Phil Hughes was bowled for 6 runs by Ashwin. David Warner is not out on 54 runs and Shane Watson is 28 not out. David Warner is batting patiently along with Shane Watson. Good to see Australia are steadying after a shaky start.
 
Shane Watson is out after lunch finishing on 28 runs LBW to Ashwin. David Warner gets out LBW to Ashwin as well after making 59 runs. Michael Clarke is at the crease on 4 runs and Matthew Wade is 2 not out. Ashwin is doing the damage for India. Australia need one of these batsman to make a big score. Australia are currently 4/133
 
India looked a bit lethargic in the field in the first session, but they seem to have perked up a bit since the wickets have fallen. By all accounts, Clarkey was most fortunate to survive a bat-pad catch on the stroke of tea. He and Moises need to keep grinding away if they want to even out the balance by stumps.

Edit: Incidentally, is there anywhere to stream radio for the series, seeing ABC Grandstand isn't covering it?
 
Michael Clarke and Moises Henriques have rescued Australia from a low score. They originally come in at 5-153. Henriques showed what form he has with the bat making 68 runs before falling LBW to Ashwin. Michael Clarke produced another stunning 100 finishing on 103 not out.

Australia's top 4 needs to make more runs in this series. David Warner was the only batsman to score over 30 runs in the top 4. Luckily we have Michael Clarke to get us out of trouble once again. We can not rely on him all the time. A lot of people were critical on Henriques's selection in the test team (including me) but he has showed he has a lot of potential for Australia. Now he needs to bowl well against India when the time comes.

Australia can look to make some more runs tomorrow and then hopefully take a few wickets.
 
Warner was very scratchy for his half century, but for someone who hates spin bowling it was a creditable innings. Cowan as usual threw his wicket away when looking extremely comfortable, which is something that Australia can ill afford on Indian pitches. Few of their bats play spin as well as he does.

Hughes looked fine. He was playing comfortably, and he was out after playing on from a dodgy bounce. Watson never looked fully at ease, which is hardly surprising given his distaste for spin, but his innings was workmanline and his LBW came from a good ball that skidded through. Both are typical dismissals in India, and any side should expect a couple of them per innings.

Clarke was class as usual which is what is sorely needed from him in a side that, like most Australian teams, does not play spin well. Henriques has shown what Blues fans have known for a long time - he's a solid lower order bat, albeit one who seems to struggle a bit with concentration later in his innings. His ability to stick around against spinners and make a handy 50 is exactly what Australia needs at 6 or 7.

All in all, 7/316 with Clarke still at the crease is a very good result for Australia at stumps on the first day. Anything over 300 is a competitive total and if they can post 350+ they will be in the box seat.

Australia's bowling was always going to decide this match, however. Their pace battery will need to make good use of the reverse swing we were seeing late in the day yesterday, as the pitch is going to offer them very little.
 
Australia are all out for 380. Clarke reached 130 before being out caught. Peter Siddle hung around for a long time making 19 off 94 balls. Nathan Lyon made 3 runs and James Pattinson finished 15 not out.

I am glad Australia have a good score to defend on a pitch like this one. The Australians still need to bowl well.
 
India 3/182 at stumps, Kohli (50*) and Tendulkar (71*) at the crease.

Australians didn't exactly bowl terribly, but not particularly well either. Pattinson took all the wickets and looked very sharp, consistently delivering at 145kph+ but only bowled two spells of three overs each. A bit bewildering and makes you wonder if maybe he's got an over cap being applied to him. Henriques kept things nice and tight, and swung the ball both ways, which is a pass mark for a part timer.

Unfortunately Starc never seemed to unsettle the batsmen and Siddle was far too erratic. Lyon extracted very little from the pitch, which is disappointing. Nobody expects him to be ripping through the upper order, but on a deck like this he should be making the ball talk. An unwillingness to vary his pace, toss the ball up and rip a little more spin means that he is not threatening the specialist batsmen in the slightest. That's not really good enough in India.

It may seem obvious, but if Australia is going to wrest control of this match back they need early wickets tomorrow. The new ball is still 30 overs away, so this means that Lyon will need to step up and the pacemen will need to start getting the ball to reverse. A couple of wickets in the first session, and Australia could well be looking at a comfortable first innings lead by the end of the day.
 
Got to see my first bit of the series in today's first session and a bit. It was a bit of a blessing in disguise that Tendulkar was bowled. Once Dhoni came in, the run rate went straight to the north direction, after barely scoring when Tendulkar/Kohli were batting. I think his presence helped Kohli bring up his ton. He was going at a run a ball til the 90s. Since then, his innings has dragged on a little.
 
Nathan Lyon needs to bowl better then what he is at the moment. If he can't spin the ball on India's pitches he is in trouble.

Good to see James Pattinson picking up wickets. Australia need their other bowlers to take wickets.
 
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