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Fitness problems haunt Australia

17th December, 2014
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Poor selections and captaincy cost Australia at the World T20. (AAP Image/Dave Hunt)
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17th December, 2014
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Already missing Michael Clarke and Ryan Harris because of injury, Australia lost Mitch Marsh to a hamstring strain yesterday. The Aussies ended play with quicks Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and Mitch Johnson all looking ginger.

Meanwhile, the man called into the side to replace Clarke, Shaun Marsh, was a liability in the field, perhaps due to the fact that he is not fully fit to play cricket.

AUSTRALIA VS INDIA: DAY TWO LIVE SCORES

Marsh’s left arm is such a mess after undergoing serious elbow surgery in July that he cannot throw the ball. He looked to be mindful of his gammy arm yesterday as he turfed two chances which ended up costing Australia 108 runs.

Centurion Murali Vijay was on 36 when he offered Marsh a low catch to his supposedly favoured left side at third slip. Marsh’s attempt at pouching the edge off the bowling of Johnson was as ungainly as you will ever see at Test level.

His left hand came under the ball while his right paw tried to slam down upon it like a trapdoor as he employed the much-maligned ‘crocodile’ catching technique.

March looked restricted in his movement as he fell forward and snatched at the ball. It was hard not to feel that his malfunctioning left arm was also a factor in his second drop, again of Vijay, this time after he had passed his hundred.

Vijay again misjudged a Johnson delivery and scooped the ball to short cover. Marsh inexplicably leapt in the air and threw just one arm, his healthy right one, towards a ball he easily could have caught with both hands and while standing.

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Perhaps he misjudged the flight of the ball so badly that he only felt he had time to thrust one hand skyward for the catch. Or perhaps the injury to his left arm hasn’t just left him unable to throw but also reduced his ability to catch.

Given Australia had just lost Clarke and Harris to injury, it seemed a strange decision for Australia to select a replacement who they knew to be hampered by injury. They will now have to spend the rest of the match trying to hide him in the field.

But Marsh’s fielding wasn’t the sole reason that India finished the day on top at 4-311. Apart from debutant paceman Hazlewood and all-rounder Shane Watson, Australia’s bowling was lame.

Starc was particularly limp in his efforts with the ball. After bowling impressively in tough circumstances against Pakistan in the UAE, and then returning strongly in the Shield, he earned a reprieve from the selectors.

They may already be considering other pace options for the third Test such was the manner in which he struggled on a pitch tailor made for the lanky left armer.

Where his control and consistency was encouraging in the UAE, here it was sub-standard. At times he bowled the right length. At times he bowled the right line. But rarely did he combine those two.

He created a couple of opportunities in the first half of the day – a flashing Vijay drive that flew just past gully and a difficult caught-and-bowled chance he turfed. But Starc all too frequently served up boundary balls, releasing any pressure built up by his fellow bowlers.

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By the tail end of the last session he looked out of gas. He wasn’t alone. Hazlewood bowled two balls with the second new ball, scrunched up his face after both, and then left the field with an unspecified health concern.

At the other end, his new ball partner Johnson could be seen wincing and grabbing at his lower back during a final spell during which he looked a weak imitation of his usual intimidating self.

Hazlewood’s departure, Mitch Marsh’s injury and Starc’s struggles left the physically-fragile Watson as the only quick fit enough to partner Johnson as play drew to a close.

What a bizarre situation that was.

Mitch Marsh almost certainly will not bowl today. Australia will have to hope that their other quicks overcome their ailments or the match could slip away from them.

Much was made of the heat which enveloped the Gabba yesterday. However, a maximum temperature of 36C and humidity of about 60 per cent is no more oppressive than cricketers encounter in an average day’s cricket in India, the UAE, or Sri Lanka.

No excuses could be made for Australia’s misfiring attack, with even Adelaide hero Nathan Lyon and spearhead Johnson turning in wayward performances.

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Hazlewood provided the sole positive for Australia yesterday as he made an assured entry to Test cricket. Prior to his laboured efforts in the last session, the tall New South Welshmen posed more questions of the Indian batsmen than any Australian bowler.

That was due to the fact that he was the only home quick who operated with accuracy. After bowling too short in his opening overs, Hazlewood cannily adjusted to find that in-between length which so often troubles batsmen.

On a concrete-like Gabba deck which afforded him generous lift, he commanded respect from the Indians. New captain Steve Smith needs Hazlewood and Johnson to produce their startling best with the new ball tomorrow to get the home side back into the contest.

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