Australia's Test attack looks ominous

We've got two Tests against Pakistan and then three against New Zealand.

When going to www.cricket.com.au and series it shows that Australia has two tests this summer not five. The writer of this article may think otherwise based on I am not sure why.

Well it’s chicken and egg, isn’t it? Lower batting averages for Australia influenced by better SA bowling and vice versa. But Cummins did have an excellent series.

To be fair, the Australian batsmen flattered the SA bowlers. Only one batsman averaged over 40, and none scored more than 223 runs for the series. Four SA batsmen topped that average, and the majority scored more runs. Also, outside Cummins, the rest of the Australian bowlers were between average to poor. Bearing all that in mind, I think it’s fair to say that Cummins was excellent, at the very least. Whether you could say he ran amok is possibly open to further debate.

McGrath had terrible 'loser' body language. He was horrible when things didn't go well for him. It's just that he didn't need to speak that language much.

Of course, for 16yo, read 22. There is no way Shaheen Afridi is 19yo either. He looks 30yo already. The hype is interesting. Afridi looks no better than Ben Dwarshuis or Rainbow from Tassie. He is no Starc or Behrendorff. Imran went through Oz A but he just had a good period in a pink ball sunset. He has been a plodder for almost a decade. I'm backing Davy to take the boy apart and be the top run scorer.

The Age is saying it is a joke between foxes...whatever that means.

Yep, two remarkably similar teams full of fast bowling talent and a very decent spinner to back them up. Then, as you said, even the batting looks similar. A couple of worldies each and the rest struggling to make their mark. I agree that the home turf advantage could be the difference. Hopefully that's the case but even if it's not there are a couple of interesting tests headed our way.

Didn't this same bowling attack fail against India last summer? Starc and Hazelwood were terrible against Kohli and Pujara, Lyon started strongly and then faded which left poor Cummins to carry the load -which he did brilliantly. In fact, he even had to chip in with the bat as our batting was pathetic as well. Last summer was the first time we'd lost at home to India and it was embarrassing how bad our bowling and batting was in our home conditions. I haven't forgotten that and, for me, Starc and Hazelwood still have to prove themselves. They were woeful this time last year - just pathetic as a supposedly Australian Test standard opening pair. Starc was spraying them all over the place and dropping his bundle (which he's very good at) and Hazelwood was just banging them in at a length, that I tell the under 15s I coach, is too short. Hopefully Hazelwood has learnt during the Ashes that to get quality test bats out you have to bowl a length that brings them forward. It may cost you a few runs as the inevitable half volley is bowled but if you bang it in short of a length on a pitch that isn't doing much, then players like Pujara will happily anchor in, read you off the pitch, and milk you at 2-3 runs an over all day long. The stats may show you were quite economical but you won't get a wicket, which simply isn't good enough for a front line bowler. They're the sort of stats a team should be happy enough from bowler number 5! Hopefully Starc has got a fire in his belly after missing out for most of the Ashes. I'm with Warne when it comes to Starc. On his day he's brilliant but too often he goes missing. Can you imagine past spearheads like Lilleee, McGrath, Harris, McDermott etc having such bad "loser" body language that Starc has at times. Instead of getting angry and more determined when things aren't happening for him, he gets disconsolate. He carries on like a debutant still finding his way rather than a 50+ test match professional who knows his "schtick" that a captain can rely upon in times of need. He's a "feast or famine" player and needs to figure himself out and do it fast! Personally, I'd be happy if he got elbowed out into a one-day career when it comes to national selection. He only has to bowl ten overs and he's good in the field and can hit useful lower order runs. I reckon he lacks the "bottle" for test cricket and his stats have been juiced up by a disproportionate number of tail end wickets. He cashes in after people like Cummins have done the hard work in getting the big boys out.

Great summary of the collective threat and dynamic offered from these three high quality fast bowlers. Starc definitely deserves a crack in the first two tests but he needs to prove he is reliable, consistent and not wayward. Otherwise I'm happy to see what Nesser offers, or bring Jye Richardson back (he was super impressive last year before he got injured) or Pattinson. Not so long ago we would have been happy with Nesser, Richardson and Pattinson as our three frontline bowlers!

Well, two of them are - Asad Shafiq, who played well last time they toured, and Babar Azam, who is just a gun. Ali and Sohail are in awful form and Masood looked all at sea against Neser and Richardson. In that sense, I suppose they're a bit like us. Heavily reliant on two or three batsmen. The difference is that you would expect some of our other batsmen to stand up on familiar pitches at home.

Yeah but then he took 0/58 off 12 overs against a team fool of rookies in the next tour game. He's an exciting prospect but still a work in progress.

I take it as being about the form and fitness our frontline quicks are currently in. Over the last 18 months or so we haven't really seen them all fit and firing. With Patto's injuries you could probably say we've never had all our options in this generation good to go at one time, at least not before the England tour. Right now though, there isn't really a single quick you can point to who would be in or near the test frame but is injured or out of form, save perhaps Behrendorff. Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood, Neser, Pattinson (now suspended), Richardson, Siddle, Bird, Sayers... they're all bowling well and ready to go if called on. It's something we've been anticipating for what feels like forever.

" Hazlewood was back to his supreme best in the Ashes. The veteran was left out of the first Test and then sent a resounding message to the selectors over the final four matches. " Fair go Ronan, Josh is 28 compared to Pat (26), Mitch (29) and the GOAT (32 this week). :laughing: Harry Conway must be receiving some consideration as should Chad Sayers as well as both Richardsons plus a few others...perhaps worthy of an article

The NSW bowling coach Andre Adams works brilliantly with Starc and the other quicks, hopefully he'll find a spot in the national set up soon

Pakistan just about always show up with a dangerous bowling attack. It's their thing and you can pretty much count on it. What's let them down in Australia is their batting. Generally they have trouble adjusting to the extra pace and bounce but they seem to coping quite fine so far this time around. That's what scares me the most.

Cummins has been fantastic but it’s a bit over the top to say he ran amok against South Africa last year. If he did, we’ve run out of words to describe the South African quicks all of whom had better figures than Cummins. Cummins’s average was 21.5, but Philander averaged 16.8, Rabada 19.3, Morkel 19.6 and Ngidi 15 ! Will be interesting to see how the Pakistani quicks go. Sixteen-year-old Naseem troubled the Aus A batsman with his pace in Perth.

The Age is saying a few minutes ago that Pattinson was reported by an umpire in the Qld game. They also said he would not contest the charge, and will accept the suspension. I assume the report is correct.

on fox it says it was a joke between ages, whatever that means.

Nine papers are reporting he isn't going to contest it and will take the suspension.