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Spinners were the looming threat the last time Australia played Tests against Pakistan and India. But over the coming months, the Aussie batsmen will be challenged by the teams’ vastly improved pace attacks.
In about six weeks, Australia will travel to the UAE for a two-Test series against Pakistan, whose impressive fast bowlers helped them to a 1-1 draw in England recently.
Meanwhile, India will land in Australia this summer for a four-Test series boasting their best-ever pace unit, one which has held its own in both England and South Africa this year.
Australia have gaping holes in their batting line-up due to the lengthy bans handed to Steve Smith, David Warner and Cameron Bancroft for their roles in the ball-tampering scandal.
New Australian coach Justin Langer has indicated batting selections for the Tests against Pakistan will be heavily influenced by performances on the current Australia A tour of India. Test incumbents Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb and Matt Renshaw will play in Australia A’s two first-class matches against India A, while the likes of Travis Head and Kurtis Patterson will also have a chance to press their cases.
Clearly, Langer and his fellow selectors want to see how those batsmen handle the challenge of playing talented Indian spinners on what are likely to be turning tracks. But the Australian batsmen who are picked to play Pakistan will have a lot more to contend with than just quality spinners.
In left-arm wildcard Mohammad Amir and probing right-arm seamer Mohammad Abbas, Pakistan have a well-balanced new ball pair. Amir and Abbas combined to take 31 wickets at 15 on Pakistan’s Test tour of Europe, and Abbas now has the amazing record of 42 wickets at 17 from his eight career Tests.
Amir is well known to the Australians, having turned in several searing performances against them across all formats.
Pakistan’s Mohammad Amir (AP Photo/Tertius Pickard)
Abbas, however, shapes as potentially an even bigger weapon against a green Australian top order.
He reminds me of prodigiously-gifted Pakistan seamer Mohammad Asif, who took 106 wickets at 24 in Tests and looked set to dominate the format before being banned for spot fixing.
Just like Asif, Abbas is not quick but makes up for it by suffocating batsmen with his rare accuracy. Abbas lands delivery after delivery on a testing line and length, moving the ball just enough through the air or off the pitch to trouble batsmen. In this way, he is also similar to South African Vernon Philander, who has taken 53 wickets at 24 against Australia in Tests.
Abbas and Amir will have strong support in the form of young-gun quick Hasan Ali. Ranked the third-best ODI bowler in the world, having grabbed 68 wickets at 21 in that format, Hasan has made a fine start to his Test career, with 12 wickets at 29 from his first four matches.
Australia will likely be more concerned about the threat posed by Pakistani’s spinners, given that the home tweakers took 30 wickets at 23 the last time the Aussies toured the UAE. But Abbas, Amir and Hasan will harrass them with both the new and old ball, ensuring this series will be a massive challenge for Australia’s weakened line-up.
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Soon after that, India will come Down Under with comfortably the most potent Test pace attack I’ve ever seen them possess.
India now have not just quality but also good depth in their pace stocks. Across five Tests in England and South Africa this year, India have used five specialist quicks who together have taken 76 wickets at 23.
Giving them greater depth is batting all-rounder Hardik Pandya, who has taken 12 wickets at 27 across those five Tests, and this week tore England apart with a first innings haul of 5-28.
Granted, India’s quicks have operated in much more helpful conditions during those two series than they’ll receive in Australia. But anyone who’s watched them in England and South Africa would be impressed by them.
Veteran Ishant Sharma has improved dramatically over the past two years, perhaps helped by a stint in English county cricket, where he was mentored by Australian pace legend Jason Gillespie at Sussex.
Swing bowler Mohammad Shami has been patchier than Ishant this year but did well last time India toured Australia, taking 15 wickets at 35 in a series played on absolute roads.
Skiddy quick Umesh Yadav, meanwhile, was outstanding against Australia in India last year, taking 17 wickets at 23 and troubling the Aussie batsmen with reverse swing.
Then there’s swing merchant Bhuvneshwar Kumar, who is building a fine Test record, with 63 wickets at 26.
Finally, the man who could be best suited to Australian conditions of all of the Indian quicks is prodigy Jasprit Bumrah.
The world’s number one ranked ODI bowler, Bumrah is genuinely sharp, having been clocked at up to 150kmh. Despite not being tall, Bumrah earns good lift and confuses batsmen with his quirky action and the wide angle from he often delivers the ball. He produced a sensational spell with the second new ball in England’s second innings this week, tying English superstar Joe Root in knots and finishing with a five-wicket haul.
India’s quicks may have been cannon fodder on recent tours to Australia but there’s strong reason to believe they will be much more dangerous this summer.
The same goes for Pakistan’s pace unit in the upcoming Tests in the UAE.