Being beaten, or even annihilated, in India shouldn’t bother us. They beat us there, and we beat them here. That is the usual scenario.
Clive James, describing the home of one of his characters in The Silver Castle – a street child from Mumbai – notes: “The pavement where Sanjay was born and lived out his first difficult years, can only loosely be described as a pavement. Mainly it consists of packed earth, irrigated at intervals by rivulets of sewage”.
India’s Test cricket pitches can only loosely be described as cricket pitches. If they’re irrigated at all, it’s by a sewage of sorts: the sprays of verbal abuse (“sh*t!” being the most prominent) from fast bowlers of touring teams.
Once not even the great teams were really expected to win in India.
It is too hot, too noisy, the batsmen have to accumulate runs for hours on end to post a decent score, the Indian spinners are able to turn the ball at right angles on pitches that are so slow and unresponsive for the visiting quicks that they pray for a little raw sewage to green things up a little.
It’s a different story for the IPL, of course.
Last May, at the scene of Australia’s most recent annihilation – the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium in Hyderabad – David Warner clobbered 109 off 54 balls.
So it’s not surprising, given the ability and inexperience of the current team, that Australia has been thrashed in the first two Tests.
After the second Test, Gerard Whateley bemoaned the fact that “rookie errors abound”.
Well, that’s because the team was full of rookies (I thought Moises Henriques erred quite impressively with 68 and 81 not out on debut in the first Test).
Seven of the eleven had played less than 20 Tests. One was debuting, another was playing in his second match and our best bowler had participated in only nine.
Compare that to the strong England side who have double the match experience of the Australian squad. They won the recent series in India but even they had their troubles, such as losing the first Test after being skittled for 191 and being forced to follow on.
They had a debutant too in opener Nick Compton but he had the captain and 87 Test veteran Alastair Cook as a companion.
After scoring a century against New Zealand yesterday Compton said of Cook: “He’s fantastic, a real solid grounding sort of guy. He’s a special guy. He’s a tough character and he kept me going when at times I wanted to get on with it a little bit.”
Our young players in India need similar support.
Let’s just get the Indian series out of the way and concentrate on England and our strength, which is our fast bowling.
Micky Arthur has said he believes Australia’s poor performance in India doesn’t mean it’s incapable of regaining the Ashes, which is all we’re really concerned about.
A thrashing in India is usually forgiven and soon forgotten because of the strangeness of the setting.
However strange a place England may seem, an Ashes series loss is never forgiven.
Muskavator
Guest
Glen Maxwell for Captain and opening bowler so when he get wicket everyone can ruffle his hair...ruffle, ruffle
Silver_Sovereign
Guest
hey Andrew, do us all a favour and tender your resignation along with your mates mickey Arthur and pat howard. the man who hired these two and promoted the big bash at the expense of the long form of cricket deserves to go to
Silver_Sovereign
Guest
and people have said the only reason okeefe has the best record amongst spinners is because of the friendly nature of scg. well maybe so, but then again that's what the Indians conditions is all about
Vikas
Guest
"India’s Test cricket pitches can only loosely be described as cricket pitches. If they’re irrigated at all, it’s by a sewage of sorts: the sprays of verbal abuse (“sh*t!” being the most prominent) from fast bowlers of touring teams." That's the beauty of Test Cricket Mate!!! Isn't Playing Tennis on Clay a different challenge for Grass Court and Hard Court Players? Its all about adaptability and more importantly attitude. If you pick the right team for the conditions and play with the right attitude you stand a chance.Cheers
stevedeanski
Roar Pro
The only good thing about this indian tour is that England are already licking their lips...
Prateek
Guest
All this kind of talk makes me wonder again and again, if spin bowling is illegal kind of delivery. The West Indies pitches, the pitches in Australia, in New Zealand they are never very supportive to spinners but I never heard any criticism by any of the sub-continent team. Our bowlers, sometimes they perform there and sometimes they don't, but they hardly complain of lack of turning tracks or slow pitches. So, if a series in India doesn't matter, then I will say a series in Australia too doesn't matter. I am surprised how IPL makes a sound to them.
Harsh Sinha
Roar Guru
but with that one must change the entire composition! This article shows that some people feel that since India got thrashed 4-0 down under, Australia getting the same treatment in India would mean exactly the same. We know both the teams can beat each other in their backyard, it must be great to see if anyone of them could do the opposite.
Harsh Sinha
Roar Guru
It could have been "Final Frontier- Mission Decimation"
Harsh Sinha
Roar Guru
The worst things that coud have ever happened!!! Really the nightmare has just started! Can't wait to see if Australia can bounce back in England this summer. umm looks like a big no to me at the moment.
Harsh Sinha
Roar Guru
oh it seems you are a mma fighter or perhaps the next floyd mayweather lol :P
Harsh Sinha
Roar Guru
Australia should look to avoid a whitewash like India suffered down under. They must use the conditions in Mohali to overturn the battle and atleast be at their best. IF not in Mohali, forget in Delhi.
Harsh Sinha
Roar Guru
Beating any side on their home soil is a tough task. However, beating India on their turf is the toughest. Australia look firmly set to lose this series 0-4 and then not even a miracle will save them from Ashes beating.
Silver_Sovereign
Guest
white Australians? typical? easy to type on a keyboard...try saying that in person.
Andy_Roo
Roar Guru
+1 Michael Winning or losing in India should bother us. It may not be as important as winning or losing the ashes but it still matters. And it should definitely matter to the players. Andrew Sutherland you are wrong.
Geno
Guest
Indian cricketers don't whinge? Sorry you lost me :)
Geno
Guest
uuuummm NO Hardly cricket really, reminds me more of Beach Cricket!
Peeeko
Guest
I think you misunderstood the comment
Harsh Sinha
Roar Guru
The fact that Australia can whitewash India comfortably in their curtilage gives them that added incentive to lose away? No way! If Australia can beat India in India, it would be as big as The Ashes. Plus, the current form of England and Australia surely allows me to predict this summer's Ashes winner- England
peeeko
Roar Guru
in a way it shows disrespect to another nations and shows maybe some of us have not lost our colonial mentality
dasilva
Roar Guru
+1 If England becomes the only nation Australia care about beating than this would be the death of cricket in Australia This phenomenon only really seem to start in the 2005 Ashes. Before that beating the Indian team and South African Team were seen as pretty big scalp (especially when England were hopeless). After that lost in 2005, Australia just seemed to gone Ashes crazy where everything was considered preparation for the Ashes