A worker pulls his rickshaw past a billboard of Indian cricketer Mahendra Singh Dhoni, in New Delhi, India, Wednesday, Feb. 20, 2008. Dhoni attracted the highest price of US$1.5 million (euro1.02 million) per season in the first round of bidding. AP Photo/R S Iyer
The series in India is locked at one-all, but after the Nagpur massacre, only a miracle can save Australia. Just as well Ponting’s pensioners won the first match in the series by four runs or else a whitewash could have been likely.
To lose is one thing, to be outclassed is entirely different. Especially for the world champions.
I hate to say “I told you so,” but I have to say it. Not gloatingly, but honestly.
Ricky Ponting’s men have been playing almost non-stop cricket for over a year. After the grueling Ashes series, they deserved a few months rest from cricket until the first Test starts on 26 November in Brisbane.
But as I have said in previous posts, there is just too much cricket – especially for the Australians.
There were seven one-dayers in England, the Champions Trophy, and now this seven-day series against a rested and fresh India under a dynamic leader Mahendra Singh Dhoni.
It would be easy to criticise Ponting’s decision to send India in to bat after winning the toss in Nagpur but, face it, his bowlers let him down. Even in the first match in Vadodra, Australia almost lost an un-losable match through wayward bowling, especially by Shane Watson.
The fall of the once invincible Australians has many reasons:
* Year round cricket has resulted in injuries to key players Michael Clarke, Brett Lee, Brad Haddin among others. (I am not including injuries to James Hopes, Tim Paine and Nathan Bracken in this category as they have not played many internationals this year).
* Poor team selections. The dropping of Phil Hughes in the Ashes series (after just two Tests, including an innings in which he got a bad decision) following an encouraging Test series in South Africa where he became the youngest to score centuries in both innings of a Test.
* Simon Katich has had a good season. Why make him a Test specialist when he can contribute equally significantly to Australia’s success in one-dayers as a top order batsman, a Chinaman bowler and a potential captain?
* And what is Stuart Clark doing as an expert on the Foxtel panel when he should be in the middle applying breaks to the run flow of Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir, Dhoni, Suresh Raina and Harbhajan Singh?
But I must be fair.
Rather than just caning the Aussies, let us praise the spirit of young India. Their big names – Sourav Ganguly and Anil Kumble – have pulled stumps and they too have injury problems with star bowlers Zaheer Khan and Irfan Pathan.
Also, dashing batsman Yuvraj Singh was unfit for the first ODI.
The big plus for Australia is the return to form of Mike Hussey. Ponting is batting and fielding well. It will add years to his “expiry date” if captaincy were to be handed over to Katich.
I sincerely hope that Ponting proves me wrong before the series in India ends on Remembrance Day.
Enjoy sports? Enjoy a bargain? All Sports Online has your favourite sporting brands at up to 70% off. Online only, premium quality sporting goods and merchandise at discounted prices. Get a deal now.
Do you have what it takes to become a sports writer? Write for the roar
Cricket articles
- What we do and don’t know about our Baggy Greens (112)
- Success of Twenty20 spells trouble for ODI cricket (106)
- Channel 9 commentators an annoyance this summer (102)
- One Day Cricket is suffering from Middle Child Syndrome (89)
- Cricket Australia must take a stand against racist spectators (89)
- Dave’s Warner-ful switch-hit panned by precious critics (84)
- Khawaja shouldn’t have been Shaun from the Test side (71)
- Mathews heroics almost shakes Clarke’s resolve
- Resurgent Pakistan inspire new generation to play
- Clarke stars as Australia beat Sri Lanka
- Australia vs Sri Lanka, Perth ODI: cricket live scores, commentary (197)
- Hall of Fame for Indian legend Gavaskar
- Sri Lanka to target ‘weak’ Aussie bowlers
- India backing Rohit Sharma to find form
- Resurgent Pakistan inspire new generation to play (0)
- Australia vs Sri Lanka, Perth ODI: cricket live scores, commentary (197)
- Twenty20 cricket not up to the test (6)
- Pakistan’s win over England a triumph of character (21)
- Steve Waugh is right about cricket’s succession plan (5)
- India vs Sri Lanka, Perth ODI: cricket live scores, commentary (180)
- Let’s talk about selection, Test fans (28)
Freud of Football said | October 30th 2009 @ 4:51am | Report comment
Thanks Kersi, I wanted to write something exactly along those lines but didn’t find the time.
I haven’t seen actual figures but I’m sure that over the last decade the amount of fixtures must have increased by 25-50%. Once upon a time a player playing 50 tests was a lot, then 70 was a lot, then 80 tests and 100 ODI’s, the last decade it was more 125 tests and 300 ODI’s, what do we expect of someone like P Hughes who has come into the side around the same time as Ponting?
200 tests, 450 ODIs, 150 T20 Internationals and another 150 T20′s in the IPL & Champions trophy?
When does it stop? A number of Australian fast bowlers have suffered stress related injuries over the last years (Tait, Lee and Watson immediately spring to mind) because what many people don’t realise is that with the rise in the number of fixtures comes the rise in the preperation.
It might have been customary to have a few months of a year, a week in the nets and some tour games in the past but now with all the extra fixtures players are in the nets more than ever, bowling and batting constantly it’s only a matter of time until we see injuries and it’s already occuring.
Stop the madness!
vinay verma said | October 30th 2009 @ 4:55am | Report comment
Kersi..Ponting’s decision to send India in was the right one. At this time of year with a 9.30 start there is dew in Nagpur. The bowlers were erratic. They appear one dimensional and have to learn to think on their feet. Sehwag was blistering in his 40 and set the tone.He was dismissive of Johnson and Mitch would do well to concentrate on his bowling instead of lipping . The difference was in the batting technique. Only Hussey of the Australians adapted. If you watch Dhoni and Gambhir they wait for the ball and play as late as possible and watch their hands and wrists..they find the gaps
.This was the D&G show. Dhoni is no Nureyev at the crease and his feet are not always in position…but his mind is! He does not so much cut the ball as chops it. Like a mad axeman. He does not so much drive the ball as propel it and occassionally launch it. And he runs as if chased by demons. All three,Dhoni,Raina and Gambhir scored more than 50% of their runs with ones and twos. This is the big improvement in India’s game..the running between the wickets. Only Hussey and Voges displayed this alacrity.
You are right,Kersi,this is a jaded Australian team and some are going through the motions. However for guys like Voges,Marsh and Bollinger this is an opputunity. And Manou too will add to the freshness. Your technique gets found out in India and only the best will prosper. This is an Indian side starved of recent success and hungry to make a meal of the Aussies. Delhi will be interesting. The Aussies may not want to leave the luxury of their 5 Star Hotel for the Feroz Shah Kotla Ground where the renovation is not complete. The pitch is only two months old and playing low and slow.It was criticsed by Gambhir during the CL as being unpredictable. India with three spinners( Indian spinners bowled 25 of the 48 overs in Nagpur) will be raging favourites..
Freud of Football said | October 30th 2009 @ 7:38am | Report comment
Vinay, India are always raging favourites at home. Any self-respecting team wouldn’t doctor a wicket to the extent that you can go into a one-dayer with 3 spinners but apparently India don’t care that the rest of the world mocks them for their lack of sportsmanship in preparing ridiculously favourable pitches.
On neutral soil we wouldn’t have seen that kind of a whitewash.
vinay verma said | October 30th 2009 @ 8:36am | Report comment
Freud,I have said it in another post that your bleating about doctored pitches is unedifying. Robin Jackman described the Nagpur pitch as true,consistend and with good carry. I believe it is only people with a preconcieved notion that mock India and then I believe it is a question of sour grapes.
And lets not get into the sportsmanship issue . Ponting was gracious in defeat and so should you be. India is fortunate they have three good spinners. But it was their quicks that set them up. Sharma and Nehra bowled better than the Aussie quicks. If you look at the stats Harbhajan took 1 for 60 odd. Jadeja bowled well for 3 and he is only young.
Lets judge the cricket as we see it and not as we would like to see it.
Kersi Meher-Homji said | October 30th 2009 @ 7:05am | Report comment
Vinay,
For once you are wrong! The Vadodra match started at 9.30am but the NAGPUR match was a day-nighter and started in the afternoon. It was in Nagpur that Ricky sent India in to bat. There was no dew when the Nagpur match started. Also I wrote, ” but face it, his bowlers let him down.”
Hope the Delhi ODI provides as entertaining cricket as the first two.
vinay verma said | October 30th 2009 @ 8:38am | Report comment
Kersi I have been wrong more than once. It was 4 in the morning when I posted the comments. I was referring to the evening dew and I believe Ponting thought it would hamper India’s bowlers.In hindisght it was a bad decision of Pontings.
Spiro Zavos said | October 30th 2009 @ 7:28am | Report comment
I couldn’t believe my ears when the commentators said that Ricky Ponting had won the toss – and put India into bat. There was no good reason to do this. The light was brilliant and the pitch hard and dry, made for scoring plenty of runs. And this is what India did after Sachin Tendulkar failed by not coming to terms with the bounce in the pitch.
By the time Australia came into bat the pitch had become worn, the huge total was too daunting to chase and the batting side did not enjoy the clear, brilliant light.
When will Ponting, the coaches and the on-duty selector, David Boon, I believe, begin to under the elementary rule of captaincy which is to bat first whenever possible. In the words that are often attributed to W.G.Grace, ‘a captain should sometimes think of putting the other side into bat, and then not do it.’
Ponting lost the match when he made his foolish decision to field.
Kersi Meher-Homji said | October 30th 2009 @ 8:58am | Report comment
The Sydney Morning Herald must be reading The Roar avidly. Today there is a 2-page story “How the Blues can win back the Ashes for Australia”. The writer’s XI include 10 from NSW (Hughes, Jaques, Katich, Clarke, Watson, Haddin, Lee, Hauritz, Clark and Bollinger) with Ponting as the only non-Blue.
Since July The Roar about has been advocating NSW’s strength in cricket.
FIsher Price said | October 30th 2009 @ 9:21am | Report comment
Two things:
Johnson going for 60+ is ODis is becoming quite the habit/norm
Hilfenhaus is not a good one-day player..
Watson is a rubbish bowler.
Jameswm said | October 30th 2009 @ 9:23am | Report comment
Shaun Marsh showed he wasn’t up tp it.
Vpges was marginally better.
Cameron White never had a go and waited until the run-rate was too high before lifting the tempo.
Very disappointing batting performance overall. Ponting missed a straight one – again.
They need a specialist opener opening – Katich is such a quality batsman and good reader of the game he has to be there. Put Hughes there too!
Spiro Zavos said | October 30th 2009 @ 1:11pm | Report comment
What was the justification in playing Shaun Marsh batting down the order? The selectors have given Ponting a poorly balanced side thereby ‘justifying’ their re-appointment for the next two years.
Jay said | October 30th 2009 @ 4:27pm | Report comment
Why does every assume that India will be favourities?
Neither their batting or bowling on paper is something that will give Ricky Ponthing sleepless nights. Given Australia’s record against India in ODI in India and coming off the back of a thumping of Engaland and Champions Tophies wins for Australia and NSW respectively, I thought we should be raging favourities.
Having said this – I am taking more notice of this series as opposed to the ODI series against England.
Whiteline said | October 30th 2009 @ 7:44pm | Report comment
Spiro
Ricky has a fair say in what team he gets and when they bat – i thought you’d be all over that fact.
Seems James and I are part of a rare breed in recognising that Shaun Marsh shouldn’t be there, doesn’t deserve to be there and at this rate, wont be again!