A tough day, a hot day, and the Aussies warmed up vocally and are in this Test match up to their necks.
Nathan Lyon shook off indifferent performances for the last three Test series to take a five wicket haul, although his bowling tired visibly when skipper Shane Watson kept him going far too long late in the day.
This has not been Australia’s worst ever performance in a Test Series, but the lack of attention to detail in batting, spin bowling and self-discipline has been evident.
Also a lack of perception by Watson saw India recover from 6/206 to 8/266 at stumps, and he will need to pay far better attention to his captain’s flair for making moves on the field if he is ever to lead Australia permanently.
Nice to see the competitive juices flowing, but Australia have shown in this series, from the coach down, they have not handled Indian conditions, the heat, the Indian opening batsmen, the pressure and their own self-discipline very well.
The Indians have scarcely had to bat twice in any of the three games played so far, mostly because the Australian bowlers have used the new ball woefully throughout the Series.
Instead of tying India down, both Michael Clarke and Shane Watson have set millionaire fields in this series, which leaked runs and the bowlers played right into the Indians’ hands with undisciplined lines and lengths, not bowling to one side of the wicket, and they showed almost a complete lack of swing bowling expertise.
Indian conditions are low and slow, and Australia has failed to grasp this and bowl to its fields.
On Australia’s bouncy wickets our quicks are a handful, but Indian and English bowlers are far better users of the swinging ball than Australia’s line-up.
This lack of imagination by Australia’s batting, spin bowling and fast bowling coaches has developed a side which is competitive at home, but far less away from home without the 100 runs per innings contributed by Mike Hussey and Ricky Ponting.
This was best exemplified by Mitchell Johnson. His bowling was sub-par, his batting was sub-par, his fielding was sub-par and he could not get out of this negative frame of mind to help his team.
Johnson’s cricket has often depended on self-confidence. He has never been completely trustworthy at the highest level since the halcyon tour of South Africa five years or ago.
His bowling when Australia needed him was impatient, lacking penetration, undisciplined and may have hurt his Ashes chances.
If you are going to stay in this Australian team you better be able to bring your A game at a moment’s notice. Johnson was way below that.
James Pattinson wasn’t much better. Both he and Johnson were guilty of not being able to bowl to one side of the wicket, not being able to contain batsmen, not being able to put their yorker or bouncer or slower ball where they wanted it, not being in command of their emotions.
Peter Siddle also blew his stack later in the day, but one can sense his frustration. Where he channels his anger, and where his bowling partners channel it, should be at the Indian batsmen’s stumps.
The illness of Glenn Maxwell for most of the day also hurt Australia. He bowled three overs late and got a crucial breakthrough after the horse had bolted.
At 6/206 India were ready to fall.
One sensed that five good overs would see them tumble. But Johnson, Siddle and Pattinson were not well disciplined or led by Watson and they failed to bowl to Watson’s fields.
No thought was ever given to bowling Steve Smith and that lack of confidence by Australian coaches and the captain will hurt the players, and the team.
Lyon should have been given Tendulkar’s scalp long before he compiled his 32 runs and if so, India might have been bowled out for 220.
What was evident today is that Australia are getting angry enough to hate losing. If that is the case they will channel that anger and score 300 runs in the second innings.
Dave Warner wanted to get verbally involved today, so too Matt Wade, who missed another stumping chance, yet made some crucial stops standing back.
Wade, Warner, Pattinson, Johnson and Ed Cowan are not Test match hardened veterans like the Poms, the Indians or the South Africans are.
They have a lot of maturing to do, but today was a step in the direction of competitiveness.
All the ills can be forgotten if Australia produce with bat and ball and leave the talking to politicians. Nothing less than a win will suffice.
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