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The Ashes visit will commence in June and the thoughts of Australia’s cricket fans and pundits are already locked on one of cricket’s most storied contests.
The emphasis on the coming skirmishes in England have been so consuming that one could be forgiven for forgetting that Australia must first do battle with India.
Australia will travel to India for a four Test series beginning February 22, and despite the host country’s difficulties of late, they will undoubtedly be hard to beat at home.
In fact, upon assessing the strengths and weaknesses of both sides, I propose that the hosts will be victorious in the end.
Having witnessed India’s recent humiliation at the hands an England team that was considered to be deficient against spin bowling, Australian fans would have been heartened about their side’s chances on the normally difficult subcontinent tour.
But it does not necessarily follow that Australia will be able to pull off what England did.
The Australian team as it stands will not be able to defeat India playing at home.
Australia has a formidable pace attack, but it is one that will be more or less nullified by the conditions they will encounter.
The most successful fast bowler during the England tour was James Anderson, with 12 wickets at 30.25 apiece. He is one of the world’s leading fast bowlers, having a command of reverse swing that no one in the Australian side can muster.
This series, not unlike one against England, will be decided by spin bowling, despite Indian captain MS Dhoni saying pace bowling and batting were the main differences between the sides.
The records show that in the four Tests against England 82 wickets fell to spin, compared to the 28 batsmen accounted for by the pacemen. It is highly probable that slow bowling will again dominate the coming Test matches against Australia.
This is where India holds a strong advantage. England arrived in the subcontinent armed with two very high quality spinners who proceeded to outbowl their Indian counterparts, as surprise to many home fans and pundits.
And though Nathan Lyon, Australia’s principal twirler, is a hard trier, he does not yet operate at the level of Graham Swann and Monty Panesar.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Pragyan Ojha will not be overshadowed this time round.
While it is unlikely these two will have everything going their own way, like it did against New Zealand last August/September where they snared 31 of the 40 wickets to fall, they should be able to limit Australia to totals that the home batsmen should be able to surpass.
Additionally, Australia’s batting is not at all frightening.
Their openers, somewhat like India’s, are inconsistent, and the retirement of Michael Hussey is a huge blow to their middle order.
Their one remaining great batsman, Michael Clarke, will be of great concern to the hosts, but it is doubtful he can carry the visitors the way Alastair Cook carried England; or that he will get similar support from the other batsmen.
Australia’s unsettled batting line-up has shown nothing that would suggest they are able to thwart the unremitting wiles of India’s bowlers in very helpful backyard conditions. They will not be able to cope.
So unless Australia develops a pair of match-winning spinners before they leave for India, it is likely that India will gain revenge for the battering they received last series.
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