Short balls dismissed each member of Australia’s top six in the second innings of the first Test, ensuring New Zealand will inundate the home side with bouncers during the Boxing Day Test.
Despite it being well known that New Zealand bowl a ton of short balls – Neil Wagner in particular – Australia had no clear plan as to how to counter this unusual bowling strategy.
In the days before the first Test, I flagged that Wagner would use Bodyline-style tactics against Australia.
Wagner then proceeded to send down an extraordinary 193 short balls in that match, equivalent to 32 overs, the most recorded for any bowler in a Test in Australia, according to leading cricket analytics company CricViz.
His approach was so successful that he finished the match with seven wickets, including the short-ball dismissals of stars Steve Smith (twice) and Marnus Labuschagne (once).
(Photo by Cameron Spencer/Getty Images)
The effectiveness of Wagner’s bouncer barrage even prompted Tim Southee to follow suit. The right-arm swing merchant, who has never been known as an intimidating bowler, abandoned his typically full length and began peppering the Aussies with short stuff. Southee was also rewarded, taking nine wickets, including four from short balls.
New Zealand’s bowlers will undoubtedly continue in this vein at the MCG. Not just due to the fact it troubled the Aussie batsmen in their second innings at Perth, but also because the top-of-off-stump 125 to 135 kilometre-per-hour seam bowling that often prospers on juicier NZ pitches tends to be cannon fodder on the sleepy MCG track.
New Zealand stuck to that traditional bowling style on their last tour of Australia. It was a categorical failure, apart from the day-night Test in Adelaide, which was played on a green surface.
The Kiwis also bowled a lot fuller in the first innings at Perth and that resulted in Australia cantering to a match-winning total of 416. I expect NZ to try to swing the ball in the first ten to 15 overs before quickly beginning the short-ball bonanza.
That means Australia’s batsmen will need to be better prepared than they were in Perth, where we saw chopping and changing of their strategies against the short ball. Due to the heavily-stacked and cleverly-placed leg side fields set by the Kiwis, the Aussie batsmen appeared in two minds.
At times they attacked the short ball, seeking the punish the NZ bowlers for this telegraphed tactic. At other times they tried to merely blunt the short ball, playing the waiting game. In between they occasionally tried to milk singles off the short ball, rolling their wrists on gentle pull and hook shots.
(John Walton/PA Images via Getty Images)
In the end, though, most of the Aussie batsmen lost patience and gifted their wickets. That is the aim of the Kiwi approach.
They know they don’t have fearsome quicks who can intimidate batsmen with bouncers like Mitchell Starc or Pat Cummins. Instead they employ the short ball the same way the likes of Josh Hazlewood and Vernon Philander use the top-of-off stump line. It is intended to bore the batsmen and to pressure them into making a mistake.
All good Test batsmen have a clear plan how to combat that time-tested style of pace bowling. They have to, given how prevalent it is. By comparison, it is an alien experience to face the amount of short balls that the Kiwis served up in Perth. As a result, few batsmen have honed a counter-strategy. The Aussie batsmen were trying to make it up as they went along in the first Test.
Even the world’s best batsman Smith had no precise answer. The home batsmen will have to prepare Plans A, B and C against the Kiwi bouncer buffet so that they can employ the correct approach depending on pitch conditions.
If the MCG is a road like it has often been in recent years, then they may look to take on the short-ball storm. Whereas if there is variable bounce in the pitch, like we saw in Perth, it would be wiser for them to exercise caution and let the Kiwi quicks tire themselves out.
This short ball war has added a curious element to the trans-Tasman series.
Cadfael
Roar Guru
The way the weather looks at the moment the Kiwis need to win in Melbourne for a squared series. Rain forecast from 1 jan for 8 days in Sydney.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
Australia clearly had a plan in the 2nd innings, attack and build an unassailable lead with enough time to bowl them out. As soon as they lost a couple of quick wickets they had to steady. Every player in the side will stew on how they got out - like every park cricketer does - so will work on why they played the shot they did. Not unexpected, but also it wasn't an epidemic. I just think too much is made of it.
JamesH
Roar Guru
I'm reading what Ronan said. All these arguments about how much we won by and how much work the Kiwis have to do to beat us don't change the simple fact that we coped poorly with that sustained short-pitched attack in the second innings. If there was an Australian plan (and you'd think there was), it wasn't apparent in the befuddled way some of our batsmen handled it. Hence 'no clear plan'. I don't think this article is putting forward some doom-and-gloom point of view; it's just noting something the Aussies need to be (and no doubt are) working on prior to the second test. I can't see NZ batting so poorly again so they will naturally narrow the gap that existed between the sides at Perth. And their bowlers will go to that line of attack in Melbourne as soon as the new ball swing starts to disappear - why wouldn't they, given it was the only part of the match where they actually got on top of the Aussies? It follows that Australia should focus on what was their most obvious failing in that test. That's just sensible.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Well I did say also because it started playing a few tricks. Tricks is probably the wrong word - there was a little more movement as the pitch deteriorated a little. That’s what the press reports said.
dat
Roar Rookie
Quite a stretch to say the pitch was flat when india batted and then it as soon as Australia started batting it was playing tricks. The core of india's batting in the 2nd innings fell due to a combination of poor shot selection and good field placement than any demons the pitch offered. Pujara and virat fell in quick succession trying to flick the ball and picked the fielder at leg gully,while Rahane fell by edging a ball going down the leg side, even rohit almost fell for the same leg gully tactic the 1st ball he faced. After those 3 went it just a matter of time before the rest followed as Pant tried to ramp a ball and rohit tried to cut one going for quick runs. Outside agarwal's wicket the pitch didn't influence the dismissals at all. Good field placements,batsmen trying to score quick runs,and couple of bouncers to to batsmen(vihari and jadeja) who struggled against it in previous games got the wickets.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
No doubt they will to a greater extent, especially if they try short and get pasted at the G by guys camping on the back foot. Tests allow game plans to change or evolve within the timeframe, that’s the beauty of Test cricket.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
If you bowl 450 Yorkers in a game, you'll get a couple of wickets, especially from someone who isn't adept at playing Yorkers. Then again you'll pick up an extra one or two from players trying to score from them. If a batting team believes Yorkers is all they'll get then they'll plan to attack. Losing 5/30 isn't out of the question when doing that, but settling then to give yourselves an insurmountable target to defend, sounds like a winning plan. Especially in an unpredictable game over 5 possible days.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Thanks for that.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
You're reading what you want to, not what is said, who believes the number 3 or 4 team in the world wins one game against number 2 and therefore she'll be right? The comment meant that as a team Australia made 600 and a few wickets were out to short balls, most of which came from aggressive shots. Not unreasonable as Ronan noted that Wagner and his mates threw down more short balls than Roberts, Marshall, Holding and Garner! A team looking to score will also lose more wickets in that manner. No doubt if the Kiwis change tactics to outswingers on 4th stump at the G and bowl well to get 6-7 wickets caught behind or chopped on, regardless of whether the Aussies make 600, there'll be a perceived problem from length balls, because they played at them!
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
I didn't say that, just that they have less to worry about as a winning team should. You'd have to be naive to believe as pro's they aren't individually working on an area they feel is a problem. Just as the Kiwi dibby dobbers know they'll have to use their skills now to combat 2 tracks which won't bounce like Perth. It really is amazing to see how some of the same people have gone from commending Smith for being Bradman, to not being able to hold onto the world number one ranking because he has a major deficiency against the short ball, rather than a shot selection issue on three occasions. Anyway, that's the beauty of this site; discussions between cheerleaders, cynics, stubborn, devils advocates and those trying to round their thoughts with input from others.
Nathan Absalom
Roar Guru
I couldn't work that either, but it listed first innings totals from highest to lowest with 50 to a page. After clicking the "next" button over a dozen times I got to 399 at the 708th entry. For the losses I found it through clicking a link on another cricinfo article. I'd be happy to be corrected if I miscounted or made some other error though.
Derek Murray
Roar Rookie
I agree. The problem in the second innings was finding the balance between batting time (easy, non-issue in first innings) and scoring runs more quickly
Lawrence
Roar Rookie
If your not a natural hooker alas Ponting, the S Waugh approach is way to go. Duck everything until you get one on your hip and get off strike. The bowler will eventually change his line when your ducking everything, not like Wade
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
That's not the attitude, though. The attitude is: "If you want to bowl this bouncer stuff in the hope of winning a game, keep doing it. We've got that one well and truly covered."
Pedro The Fisherman
Roar Rookie
I've seen NZ and Half Track Wagner in particular use this tactic 3 times against Australia (Wellington, Christchurch and now Perth) and Australia has won all 3 games quite handsomely. Perhaps it is time NZ looked for a new tactic that may have some successful? Perhaps even try pitching it up?
Sgt Pepperoni
Roar Rookie
Yep. Seems a long way from Brendan Macullum's team that stopped bowling bouncers after the Phil Hughes event. Not to get high and mighty, the Aussies bowled plenty of short stuff I have no problem with the nz team using the short ball tactic although I think they're all fine bowlers and I'd much rather watch a contest where they pitch it up and move the ball
JamesH
Roar Guru
Spot on. This 'we won so it doesn't matter' attitude is so complacent.
JamesH
Roar Guru
The issue isn't the similarity in tactics between NZ and bodyline; the issue is the difference between the respective Australian sides' preparedness of to face it. Bodyline was a new, controversial tactic. By contrast, the current Aussie side would have been well aware of Wagner's (and sometimes Southee's) go-to tactic - not to mention being much more practiced at playing short pitched bowling. That's why your comparison doesn't work. Like I said, if Australia had a plan (and they probably did) then they clearly didn't execute it!
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
That’s interesting. It’s possible to filter for innings totals? Is that under aggregates? Couldn’t see how you do this.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
I can't wait for the 2nd. Wagner bowling short, Smith and Labs being tested, Wade wearing em. I hope the pitch is peppery. I hope the ball wins. I love it when it's the batsmen versus the World.