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Opinion
Matt Wade is a big chance to open in the first Test against India, based on comments by Australian coach Justin Langer yesterday, as part of a strategy that wouldn’t be as strange as it first seems.
Meanwhile, veteran Indian quick Umesh Yadav looks set to replace the injured Ishant Sharma at Adelaide tomorrow.
Here are two key talking points ahead of the series opener.
Wade a big chance to open the batting
Langer yesterday stated young all-rounder Cameron Green would debut tomorrow if passed fit, and that Marnus Labuschagne would remain at three, indicating Wade may well open.
With David Warner and Will Pucovski injured, and incumbent Joe Burns floundering (62 runs at seven in first-class cricket this summer), Australia’s opening options are dire. If Green plays, Australia may pair Wade with Marcus Harris, who has 446 runs at 74 against the red ball this summer.
It would be a major shift for Wade, although not quite as drastic at it may appear at first glance. While Wade’s been positioned at five in Tests for Australia, he’s been promoted to the top order for Tasmania in the last two Sheffield Shield seasons. Across those campaigns, batting at three or four, Wade has made 562 runs at 62.
Known as an aggressive shot maker, the 32-year-old has adapted to this new top-order role by displaying greater caution and patience. In those past two Shield seasons, his strike rate’s fallen to a sedate 43 as he’s focused on batting for time, in contrast to the counterattacking approach he’d employed in the middle order.
(Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
Wade’s newfound willingness to grind out runs could convince Australia he wouldn’t be entirely out of his element opening against India in the first Test, before David Warner returns for Boxing Day.
This summer Wade was at first drop in all four of his Shield innings, returning scores of 83, 57*, ten and 59. Twice in those matches he arrived at the crease in the first five overs and was required to blunt the new ball. He was, essentially, playing the role of an opener. Both times he was effective.
Against WA, Wade came out after 4.1 overs and compiled a circumspect 57* from 143 balls. In his second match, he arrived after 2.1 overs against a Test-standard NSW attack of Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Trent Copeland, Sean Abbott and Harry Conway. Wade then batted for almost four hours in making 59.
Of course, none of this means Wade is well equipped to open against India’s elite pace attack, especially under lights versus a pink ball. But it’s hard to imagine he could do any worse than Burns, who from a distance appears not just out of form but also mentally shot.
Should Green play tomorrow, and Wade open with Harris, it would create a fascinating selection subplot ahead of the second Test, for which Warner is expected to return. Green, surely, wouldn’t be axed after just one match.
And if Wade was to outshine Harris he could suddenly find himself opening at the MCG also. These are strange times.
Umesh Yadav will cover the loss of Ishant Sharma
That Umesh Yadav is not an automatic pick in the Indian Test XI is indicative of their remarkable depth.
In Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Ravi Jadeja, Ravi Ashwin and Yadav, India have seven high quality Test bowlers in their ranks. Sharma and Kumar both are currently injured, but Yadav offers India an experienced, gifted quick capable of filling the large void left by the former.
Just like Sharma, Yadav is not the bowler Aussie fans once knew. Both of these seamers laboured in their early appearances against Australia. In fact, they underperformed against most teams for a large chunk of their Test careers.
Now, however, Sharma is the world’s most improved Test bowler, having averaged 19 in his last 20 Tests. He’s proven deadly away from home in that period, taking 53 wickets at 20, including terrific series performances in Australia, England, South Africa and New Zealand.
Meanwhile, Yadav’s gains have been almost as great. Since the start of Australia’s Test series in India in 2017, Yadav has snared 73 wickets at 22 in Tests.
(Photo by Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images)
The 33-year-old’s become the exact cricketer India hoped for when he debuted as a raw express quick nine years ago – a natural strike bowler. In that above time period, Yadav’s produced an extraordinary strike rate of 39.
While he’s not quite as sharp as earlier in his career, Yadav still hurries batsmen with his skiddy trajectory and ability to bowl consistently above 140 kilometres per hour. What’s driven his enormous improvement has been enhanced accuracy and more consistent swing.
Yadav’s skill in curving the ball away from right handers will be key against Marnus Labuschagne, Steve Smith, Tim Paine, Cameron Green and Joe Burns, should either of that latter pair play. Bumrah and Shami, by comparison, rely more heavily on seam movement.
Yadav looked in fine nick in India’s first tour match, bowling with good pace and precision as he recorded match figures of 4-62, including the wickets of Burns (twice), Paine and Will Pucovski.
Under lights, with a pink ball in hand, Yadav has the talent to scythe through Australia’s re-jigged batting line-up.