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Ponting wary of Chanderpaul and Gayle on placid pitch

Roar Guru
3rd December, 2009
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Australian captain Ricky Ponting is wary of watching West Indian batsman Shivnarine Chanderpaul drop anchor while his captain Chris Gayle explodes in the second Test at Adelaide Oval.

The most significant variables between the first Test in Brisbane – won by the Australians inside three days – and the second in Adelaide, are a pitch that should provide far more succour for Caribbean strokemakers, and the absence of swingman Ben Hilfenhaus.

Both factors should help Chanderpaul and Gayle, who must each make significant runs if the West Indies are to have any hope of extending the battle for the Sir Frank Worrell Trophy.

On the right kind of surface Chanderpaul can be nigh on unbowlable to, getting his head over the ball from an ungainly stance while calling on limitless reserves of concentration.

By contrast Gayle is the quintessential dasher, something glimpsed briefly in the first innings at the Gabba, and his early vulnerability to the ball being back at him will be tested less without Hilfenhaus.

Ponting said Chanderpaul was ideally suited to Adelaide, even though groundsman Les Burdett has unveiled an evenly grassed wicket likely to contain a little more pace than usual, at least on the first morning.

“Once he gets in and gets set he’s noted for going on and batting for long periods of time and making big scores,” Ponting said on Thursday.

“We were lucky up at the Gabba that we got him out in both innings but we know how dangerous he can be.

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“He excels on wickets that don’t bounce much and this is one of those.

“We have to make sure that we’re spot on with everything we do to him at the start and not let him get off to a bit of a flyer and get too many cheap runs early on, which is what we did really well at the Gabba.

“By doing that we created a couple of chances and it’s important we try to do the same here.

“With that front-on stance that he has, when you can get the ball bouncing from a decent length, that’s how you’re going to get him out caught behind the wicket.”

While he acknowledged the loss of Hilfenhaus would be a blow, Ponting said he believed Doug Bollinger and Mitchell Johnson were capable of tucking up Gayle with deliveries angled in at his stumps while also bending the odd one away from him.

Should they get this wrong and drift towards leg stump, the oval’s half-constructed western side could take some punishment.

“The left-armers can still do (what Hilfenhaus did),” said Ponting.

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“That angle that the left-armers create actually does bring the ball back in towards the stumps.

“If Mitch and Doug aren’t actually bowling genuine outswingers to him then the ball is always going to be pitching in and around off stump and straightening back that way.

“(Peter) Siddle’s normal angle is generally to take the ball across the lefty a bit and doesn’t bring it back all that much but it only takes one to straighten back down the seam a little bit or swing back down the line and he can do that well as well.

“We did get him out trying to bowl really straight to Chris at the Gabba and there’s no doubt that we’ll do something pretty similar here.”

Australia’s batsmen, meanwhile, are conscious of going on from the starts they made in Brisbane, against an attack that will miss Jerome Taylor.

Medium fast bowler Darren Sammy and the yet-to-debut Gavin Tonge are contending for Taylor’s spot in the visiting XI.

Played 106: Australia 51, Windies 32, Drawn 22, Tied 1
In Australia 61: Australia 34, Windies 18, Drawn 8, Tied 1
At Brisbane 13: Australia 7, Windies 3, Drawn 2, Tied 1
At Adelaide 13: Australia 5, windies 5, Drawn 3
At Perth 6: Australia 1, Windies 5.

Largest winning margins: Australia – Innings and 217 runs at Brisbane 1930-31; West Indies – Innings and 112 runs at Perth 1984-85
Narrowest winning margins: Australia – one wicket at Melbourne 1951-52
West Indies – one run at Adelaide 1992-93
Highest totals – At Brisbane: Australia 558 (1930-31); Windies 453 (1960-61); At Adelaide: Australia 553 (1968-69); Windies 616 (1968-69); At Perth: Australia 8-396 (2000-01); Windies 585 (1975-76)
Highest individual scores: Australia 242 KD Walters at Sydney (1968-69); 223 DG Bradman at Brisbane (1930-31). Windies 277 BC Lara at Sydney (1992-93); 226 CG Greenidge at Bridgetown (1990-91)

Best bowling in an innings: Australia 8-71 GD McKenzie at Melbourne (1968-69), 8-87 MG Hughes at Perth (1988-89); Windies 7-25 CEL Ambrose at Perth (1992-93), 7-54 AME Roberts at Perth (1975-76)
Best bowling in a match: Australia – 13-217 MG Hughes at Perth (1988-89); Windies – 11-107 MA Holding at Melbourne (1981-82)

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