By David Wiseman
October 17th 2008 @ 2:26am
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Ponting throws Aussie youngsters into the deep end
Australian-Indian Test matches are so fascinating as every time you look, there’s a new twist and turn added to the plot. The opening act of this latest installment ended in a draw: both sides landed punches, but neither could connect sufficiently well to land the knockout blow.
Stuart Clark’s injury means that Peter Siddle becomes the fourth Australian to make his debut in the last five Tests.
There were question marks over the Australian attack before, and one only wonders how they will cope now.
On the other hand, Australian pace-men seem to do well on debut (Bob Massie, Simon Cook, Rodney Hogg and Stuart Clark, himself).
Getting into the Australian side has never been easy, but it was virtually impossible during the Steve Waugh era.
In his 57 Tests as captain, only seven players (Adam Gilchrist, Scott Muller, Brett Lee, Simon Katich, Martin Love, Brad Williams and Nathan Bracken) made their debut
Ponting has double that, with Siddle the sixteenth player to debut during his 45 Tests in charge.
The Australian attack of Lee, Siddle, Johnson, Watson, White and Clarke is one of the most inexperienced Australia has fielded in some time. Brett Lee has 291 wickets with the other five having 63 between them.
Ricky Ponting’s captaincy in the field will be tested like it never has been before. The days when he had McGrath steaming in at one end and Warne unleashing his magic at the other are long gone.
The Indians will be keen to get stuck into the Australians and treat them to some long hard days in the field. But in their enthusiasm, they need to be careful not to underestimate the visitors.
Knowing how weakened their attack is, the Australian batsmen know they must produce.
Although Shane Watson is overjoyed by his performance in the last match, his efforts with both bat and ball is critical if Australia is to win.
Does he have the nous to be a number six and a quality bowler?
The First Test in the series was hampered by nerves, and at times the cricket being played wasn’t of the highest standard. But with both sides now settled in, this match should be a much better one.
This is Test cricket at the highest level.
Every wicket is vital, every minute of every day the pressure will be immense, and neither side will budge an inch.
And although the Australian cricketers may not like it, the fact that they’ve been brought back to the field somewhat makes it all a much better spectacle.
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Spiro said | October 17th 2008 @ 8:26am | Report comment
It is interesting that Australian cricketers tend to make strong Test debuts. This is due, I think, to the very competitive nature of grade cricket, at all levels. Peter Roebuck wrote a memorable piece some years ago before a Test at Brisbane about a fourth grade match that he watched which was more competitive than many county cricket matches. Also the Sheffield Shield (thank goodness it’s got it proper name back) is of a very high standard, stronger than most Test matches not involving Australia, I’d say.
Peter Siddle may well emulate the other Peter Who? (Taylor) who performed so well in his first Test when he got an unexpected call-up.
Australia will need this type of performance you would think to bowl India out twice to win the Test.
Ben said | October 17th 2008 @ 9:37am | Report comment
Is anyone wondering why Nathan Bracken is not in India??? As the world’s highest ranked ODI bowler wouldn’t it make sense to have someone experienced over there.
I think the selectors have once again stuffed up their overall strategy with the bowlers.
JohnB said | October 17th 2008 @ 11:17am | Report comment
Ben - no. If any pace bowler is unlucky not to be in India it’s Noffke. Bracken’s done really well in one-dayers but there isn’t an automatic correlation between ODI and test bowling. You could rate him as “handy” at first class level but no more, and as you go to higher levels and the pitches get better, his lack of pace becomes more of a problem.
Greg Russell said | October 17th 2008 @ 2:48pm | Report comment
Neither Noffke nor Bracken should be in India, and neither is. But this does not change that the selectors have indeed “stuffed up their overall strategy with the bowlers”. This is more a long-term thing than a single-tour thing. For example, taking Noffke to the West Indies was a complete waste, and that is contributing to problems now. The brilliant long-term planning that was the hallmark of the Trevor Hohns era has been completely lost under Hilditch (whose appointment as chair I always thought was an act of stupidity).
But I digress. Really what I’m interested in is David’s statistic that only 7 debuted in 57 tests under S Waugh, but now it’s 16 in 45 under Ponting. I think the key point is really how thick and fast the debuts have come since the rush of retirements in January 2007. Until the end of that Ashes series, the team was just as stable under Ponting as under Waugh. But I’d wager that something like 10 of the debuts have probably come in the last 15 tests. That is a colossal rate by any historical Australian standards, in fact we wouldn’t have seen anything like this since the terrible days of the mid-80s. Yes, Australia now is not the team it was, but Ponting is doing an amazing job to keep the team so far above the level of the mid-80s. This is the sort of thing that bare captaincy statistics do not show. Ponting deserves the highest acclamation for it.
David Wiseman said | October 17th 2008 @ 4:51pm | Report comment
Thus far India is 1/111 and Australia needs a great second session otherwise they will be right up against it.
Spiro - Of course the irony of that is Warne’s debut
Ben - Bracken has seemingly been pigeon-holed as a one-day bowler.
JohnB - Yes Noffke is unlucky and was disillusioned enough to be considering going to the ICL.
Greg - I agree with you about Hilditch. How could the ‘Happy Hooker’ become the chairman of selectors? The interesting thing I found while researching the piece was that only 33 players debuted under Allan Border. I thought it would have been closer to 50. And under Mark Taylor 22 were handed their Baggy Green. This is more than Ponting but seems as less because while all these guys were making their debut you still had Taylor, Waugh, Waugh, Warne, Healy, McGrath making up the nucleus of the side. Now the nucleus is just Ponting, Hussey, Clarke and Clark.
Spiro said | October 17th 2008 @ 6:56pm | Report comment
i was at the SCG for Warne’s debut when he was belted all over the park. About a week or so later he played for Victoria against NSW, again at the SCG. He had a memorable battle with Mark Waugh, which he won in the end. It was this performance that convinced me that Shane Warne was a special bowler who would successfully represent for Australia for many years.
The other less than memorable first Test appearance was that of Don Brademan. I’m quoting from memory now but I think he made 19 and when he was dismissed by ‘Farmer’ White(?), a left-arm spinner, Maurice Tate is supposed to have said, within hearing distance of Bradman, ‘leave the bunnies to me.’
Whether this comment was made or not, Bradman repaid his poor first Test effort by scoring a century in just under every third innings he played in Tests.
sledgeross said | October 20th 2008 @ 9:58am | Report comment
Bollinger should have been the one picked. Hes been good for the past few seasons and is a lefty who can swing the ball from a good height and pace. A bustling workhorse who hits the deck like Siddle should never be selected in India. Siddle reminds me a little bit of Merv, but without the guile that comes from first class experience.
Rambo said | October 24th 2008 @ 6:42pm | Report comment
What about Brett Lee.? Zaheer khan and Sharma look like getting wickets all the time, but Brett seems to be going nowhere. Surely for someone with 291 wickets to his name he could be firing better than he is at the moment.