All-pace attack would be a mistake for India

Having lost spinner Ravi Ashwin to injury, India will err if they let the greenish Perth pitch seduce them into playing four quicks and ignoring tweaker Ravi Jadeja for today’s second Test.

Amid the hype about the expected pace and bounce offered by the new Perth Stadium deck, many pundits and fans have mentioned the way WA paceman Jhye Richardson ran amok in the recent Sheffield Shield match there.

The 22-year-old blasted through the NSW batting lineup, taking 11 wickets for the match, including 8-47 in the first innings. Richardson exploited the helpful conditions with a dynamic display of high-pace swing bowling.

What was largely overlooked was that NSW won that match quite comfortably on the back of a brilliant performance by Test spinner Nathan Lyon. The offie grabbed three wickets in the first innings and four more in the second dig to finish with match figures of 7-120.

Lyon didn’t just mop up the tail either, five of his wickets were of top seven batsmen and another was of Ashton Agar, who has two first-class tons and a Test 98 to his name.

(AP Photo/Themba Hadebe)

The 31-year-old extracted significant turn from the Perth pitch from day two onwards. Thanks to his heavy overspin Lyon also got deliveries to leap at the batsmen, bringing close-in catchers into play.

Lyon will have a key role in this inaugural Test match at Perth Stadium after being Australia’s best bowler in their narrow loss to India at Adelaide.

No matter the conditions, a Test attack is always better balanced if it includes a high-quality spinner. India are fortunate to have two such bowlers in reserve.

Jadeja and left arm wrist spinner Kuldeep Yadav are both very attractive options at Test level, each offering something different. Kuldeep, however, is not in the mix to play at Perth, having been left out of India’s 13-man squad for the second Test.

Jadeja would be a perfect replacement for Ashwin given his vast experience and success as a Test spinner and his generous batting ability.

The left armer has not played much Test cricket outside of Asia in recent years, with Ashwin favoured as India’s sole spinner.

But he did excel in his last Test outside of Asia – in England three months ago – taking seven wickets on a surface which did not help spinners, as well as cracking 86* in India’s first innings.

Although Jadeja has never played a Test in Australia he does have an extraordinary Test record against the Aussies, with 49 wickets at 18 from eight Tests.

This success has been built on his remarkable accuracy – no spinner in world cricket bowls less loose balls than Jadeja. His economy rate of 2.38 runs per over in Tests is the best among any current bowler (minimum 15 Tests played).

Jadeja would add valuable variety to the Indian attack and his ability to bowl long, frugal spells would let the Indian quicks rotate from the other end in short, aggressive bursts.

The all-rounder is also in career-best form with the bat, having made 461 runs at 66 from his past 11 Tests, and smashing 178* and 48* in his last first-class match a month ago.

Yet media reports yesterday suggested India may decide to field an all-pace attack at Perth.

If India do play without a specialist spinner it will be only the third time in history they have done so in a Test.

It is understandable they would be tempted to go pace-heavy given the lush green appearance of the Perth pitch and the strength of their fast bowling stocks.

But that could backfire if the pitch turns out not to be as helpful to quicks as expected, particularly if India also end up batting first.

In such circumstances an attack of four right arm seamers could lack variety, particularly in contrast to an Australian unit which boasts a world-class spinner in Lyon. How India structure their attack today will have a major influence on this Test.