OK, so we beat the Kiwis. And we took wickets, keeping New Zealand under 200 runs in either innings. But no one is really satisfied, and the buzz surrounding Andrew Symonds and his off-field troubles only contributes to feelings of unease about where the Australian Test Team is currently at.
Yesterday there was more bad news. Jason Krejza rolled his ankle during a fielding drill and is in doubt for tomorrow's 2nd Test in Adelaide, where Australia always plays a spinner. Australian selectors have called up Nathan Hauritz as cover if Krejza cannot play. Hauritz is currently behind Beau Casson as New South Wales' preferred spinner, and Casson has taken one first class wicket this summer. Not much there to fill one full of confidence.
If Krejza doesn't play, it may be some time before he gets another opportunity. Considering the precedent set in Brisbane, Australia are very unlikely to play a spinner in Perth in the 1st Test versus South Africa. No one can say with any certainty what the pitch will look like in Melbourne, with new drop in pitches being laid in October. But over the years, Melbourne has not been synonymous with spinning success, bar local lad Shane Keith Warne.
By Sydney, Australia might be looking to ensure success against a South African outfit susceptible to leg spin by calling up Bryce McGain, if fit. Surely McGain would be in selector's plans for the upcoming tours of South Africa and England, the two teams Warne enjoyed the most success against. They would love to get McGain a taste of Test action before shipping him overseas on tour.
Australia's batting hasn't looked great since going to India. I believe the selectors want Matthew Hayden to get to England, or at least survive until Phil Jaques is fit. However, with Brad Hodge, David Hussey, Shaun Marsh and Chris Rogers all in good form and pressing for selection, the pressure is squarely on one of Australia's greatest opening batsmen to make some runs.
Hayden's opening partner is safe. Simon Katich may be Australia's most valuable batsman at the moment, because he protects his wicket better and more dearly than anyone else in the side. Also safe are the next captain in Michael Clarke, who deserved a 100 in Brisbane that would have been rated close to Mark Waugh's 116 in Port Elizabeth for importance, and Michael Hussey, who is always making runs.
The real problem, other than Hayden, is that Australia's most out of form batsman is the captain, Ricky Ponting. Since making 123 in the 1st Innings v India in Bangalore, he has made 17, 5, 2, 87, 24, 8, 4 & 17. And in the 2nd Innings v New Zealand in Brisbane, it was not Ishant Sharma getting Ponting out but Ponting himself.
Andrew Symonds will continue to bring more than his batting to the team, but he'll want to stop making 20s pretty soon. In one way his 26 & 20 was more disappointing than if he had made 8 & 5: he got a start both times, and played a pretty silly shot to get out both times.
Lee, Johnson and Clark will be fine, and all looked really good in Brisbane. I would still like to see Ben Hilfenhaus get a few Tests before taking him to England, but he appears to be behind Peter Siddle in the pecking order at the moment.
Finally, Brad Haddin is enjoying a lack of pressure from underneath. Unless Luke Ronchi can keep making runs, I can't see Haddin being displaced for a time yet. But this feels a lot like Marsh to Healy for Australian keepers, and that took four and a half long years, and Woolley, Phillips, Rixon, Zoehrer and Dyer before we got there.
Now is not the time for panic, as South Africa still have their mental issues and the Kiwis cannot bat. But the Ashes loom, and and England side beginning to get confident about their chances.
Thursday, November 27, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
A quick preview - Australia v New Zealand
It seems they'll be very lucky to get a result in Brisbane this week. It's been raining heavily every afternoon, and while the Australia of the past could have probably put the foot down to get the victory, I don't trust them that much this time.
Australia, however, will win in Adelaide and take the Test Series 1-0. Why there is no Test in Hobart is beyond me.
Hayden and Ponting will make runs, Mike Hussey will be his usual self, and Andrew Symonds will make one of those run-a-ball-50-not-outs he's so famous for, and that will keep the dogs at bay for another test or two.
Mitchell Johnson looms as most likely to take the most wickets. The pressure is on Stuart Clark, as he'll be replaced by Siddle or Hilfenhaus by Boxing Day if he doesn't produce.
Australia, however, will win in Adelaide and take the Test Series 1-0. Why there is no Test in Hobart is beyond me.
Hayden and Ponting will make runs, Mike Hussey will be his usual self, and Andrew Symonds will make one of those run-a-ball-50-not-outs he's so famous for, and that will keep the dogs at bay for another test or two.
Mitchell Johnson looms as most likely to take the most wickets. The pressure is on Stuart Clark, as he'll be replaced by Siddle or Hilfenhaus by Boxing Day if he doesn't produce.
Monday, November 10, 2008
In defence of Ricky Ponting
According to the Australian ethos, Test Cricket is the pinnacle. Representing Australia in One Day Internationals or Twenty-20 cricket is a great honour, but is pales in comparison with pulling on the Baggy Green to represent Australia in the long form of the game.
Ricky Ponting knows that better than most. Since the end of October 2004, while being captain of all the Australian men's cricket sides, he has missed 19 One Day Internationals and 4 Twenty-20 matches. He has played all 44 of Australia's Test Matches in that time.
With the threat of suspension hanging over his head yesterday, Ponting needed to make a decision. With India 6-166 and looking shaky at tea, Ponting was 10 overs behind where he needed to be, and he needed to make these up with previous infractions on his record as captain for slow over rates. He turned to Cameron White, Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke and Jason Krejza, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh put on a 100 run partnership while Australia caught up on the over rate. The test match went from winnable to probably unwinnable.
Did Ponting make the right decision? We would have all loved to see Australia chasing less than 300, with the chance to level the series and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but Ponting was painted into a corner. He values playing Test Cricket and captaining Australia in same more than anything in his career, and putting this series first before an upcoming series against a lesser opponent would have been disrespecting the game.
Ponting is a victim of the changing game. Heroes of a long since passed day of cricket like Ian Chappell talk loudly about the ICC doing something about over rates, but the threat of suspension to a national team captain turned a deciding rubber of a test series that will give the winner the ability to claim status as the world's best into a farce.
What administrators and commentators alike need to acknowledge is the game is vastly different to the one that was played 40 years ago, when 80 8-ball overs could be fitted into a day's cricket.
The money in the game puts pressure on captains and players, and so does the media scrutiny. Captains, rightly, now spend more time and mental energy getting bowling changes and field placing just as they want them. Ponting was damned either way in Nagpur yesterday; either damned for saving his own hide, or damned to miss his first test in four years.
There needs to be a realisation and an acceptance that 6 hours is probably not enough time to bowl 90 6-ball overs of today's test cricket any more. While we still want to see a cricket match decided over five, 90 over days, it is probably time for the ICC to make a one-off admission, and extend both the opening and closing sessions of a day's Test Cricket by 30 minutes. Along with an increased enforcement penalty for those captains who cannot get 90 overs bowled in 7 hours, this would work and focus the play and the commentary on what is happening on the field between bat and ball.
Ricky Ponting knows that better than most. Since the end of October 2004, while being captain of all the Australian men's cricket sides, he has missed 19 One Day Internationals and 4 Twenty-20 matches. He has played all 44 of Australia's Test Matches in that time.
With the threat of suspension hanging over his head yesterday, Ponting needed to make a decision. With India 6-166 and looking shaky at tea, Ponting was 10 overs behind where he needed to be, and he needed to make these up with previous infractions on his record as captain for slow over rates. He turned to Cameron White, Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke and Jason Krejza, and Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Harbhajan Singh put on a 100 run partnership while Australia caught up on the over rate. The test match went from winnable to probably unwinnable.
Did Ponting make the right decision? We would have all loved to see Australia chasing less than 300, with the chance to level the series and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, but Ponting was painted into a corner. He values playing Test Cricket and captaining Australia in same more than anything in his career, and putting this series first before an upcoming series against a lesser opponent would have been disrespecting the game.
Ponting is a victim of the changing game. Heroes of a long since passed day of cricket like Ian Chappell talk loudly about the ICC doing something about over rates, but the threat of suspension to a national team captain turned a deciding rubber of a test series that will give the winner the ability to claim status as the world's best into a farce.
What administrators and commentators alike need to acknowledge is the game is vastly different to the one that was played 40 years ago, when 80 8-ball overs could be fitted into a day's cricket.
The money in the game puts pressure on captains and players, and so does the media scrutiny. Captains, rightly, now spend more time and mental energy getting bowling changes and field placing just as they want them. Ponting was damned either way in Nagpur yesterday; either damned for saving his own hide, or damned to miss his first test in four years.
There needs to be a realisation and an acceptance that 6 hours is probably not enough time to bowl 90 6-ball overs of today's test cricket any more. While we still want to see a cricket match decided over five, 90 over days, it is probably time for the ICC to make a one-off admission, and extend both the opening and closing sessions of a day's Test Cricket by 30 minutes. Along with an increased enforcement penalty for those captains who cannot get 90 overs bowled in 7 hours, this would work and focus the play and the commentary on what is happening on the field between bat and ball.
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