At the start of the day, there were a lot of unanswered questions surrounding Australia’s selection decisions going into the second Test against India at Arun Jaitley Stadium, Delhi.
After 87.4 overs, 284 runs, and 10 wickets, we have a few answers, and it’s not as bad as you might think.
It’s certainly not as bad as my mate Craig thinks. In regaling me with his opinions in between laps at the pool tonight, Craig’s volume wound up such that he ended up informing basically the entire 50-metre pool of his concerns around Australia’s selections.
Batting with confidence pays off
If you only look at the scorecard, you might think that only Usman Khawaja was able to reverse the poor showing from the first Test – and that Peter Handscomb continued to prove the selectors right.
Both men batted well, showing that runs could be made on a spinning pitch. Handscomb was particularly solid and has rewarded the selectors while proving why he should have long been considered for selection.
Khawaja, on the other hand, showed why he has become almost undroppable, with fluid grace and temperament, taking on the Indian bowlers where possible and demonstrating what confidence at the crease looks like.
Marnus Labuschagne, Travis Head, and Alex Carey, however, should all consider themselves unlucky, rather than embarrassed. Labuschagne got trapped by a ball that turned sharply, bowled by one of the better spinners currently playing the game. Similarly, Alex Carey was surprised by a turning and bouncing ball after only five balls.
Travis Head, on the other hand, played the subcontinent spin better than many thought, and was only undone by a fast ball from Mohammed Shami that tempted him outside his off stump.
Travis Head. (Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images)
Meanwhile, no one will be as critical of Steve Smith’s chasing the ball than Steve Smith will be, so we can leave that alone for now.
End of the line?
As Paul Suttor has already aptly highlighted, and which was demonstrated again today, it looks like the end may have come for David Warner.
Australian cricket has long (looooong) been loath to drop a ‘great’, preferring instead to give each player the opportunity to hang up the boots “on their own terms”. However, as Suttor rightly pointed out, “Australia’s selectors are doing David Warner a disservice by not tapping him on the shoulder.”
With hindsight (though, admittedly, many predicted this very problem), it would have been better for Warner’s legacy had he bowed out before this Indian tour.
A doubt-breaking double-century in Melbourne against South Africa reminded us of his quality, but with a tough Indian tournament to be followed by an Ashes campaign, in England, with Stuart Broad waiting for him, one wishes for Warner’s sake that he had hung up the Baggy Green a few weeks ago.
Bowlers versus injuries
Australia fielded a front-line bowling attack headed up by three spinners – Nathan Lyon, first Test debutant and hero Todd Murphy, and bolter (and another debutant) Matthew Kuhnemann.
With only captain Pat Cummins to bowl pace (though I remain convinced Marnus Labuschagne will still bowl some of his medium-pacers), and much-better-than-part-time off spinner Travis Head bolstering the mainline spinners to four, it’s definitely an odd-looking Australian Test team.
But injuries ruled the day for the selectors, in the end, and with nine overs bowled before the close of play, it looks as if the world hasn’t ended and that the sun will come up again.
Rumours circulating suggest that, had they been fit, Mitchell Starc and Cameron Green would both have played, and Josh Hazlewood remains sidelined with a persistent Achilles problem.
Critics concerned about the fluidity in Australia’s line-up (of which there are many) seem unwilling or unable to acknowledge the restraints placed on selectors by these injuries.
Former Test player Matthew Hayden, part of the local broadcast team, pointed to the uncertainty in Australia’s selections as the cause behind the team’s poor performance in the first Test and flagging performance on day 1 of the second Test, while in literally the very next breath referring to the injuries plaguing the team.
And though nine overs is not much of a sample size, Cummins, Kuhnemann, and Lyon all bowled really well. Cummins bowled a better line and length than he did in Nagpur, while for his first overs of international cricket, Kuhnemann troubled both Indian openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul.
Stumps
At the end of the day, many of the concerns and hype around Australia’s selection decisions have proven to be well short of the mark. Moreover, many of the complaints offered up at the end of the first Test and renewed around the second Test’s selection debate stem from an almost national inability to recognise when we have been beaten.
In the immediate aftermath of the first Test, Allan Border described Australia’s performance as “embarrassing”. Maybe he can back that argument up, but it’s a typical Australian response to a bad performance. It looks self-sacrificial, but it’s really self-righteous. The Indians batted and bowled better than the Australians did.
In fact, Ravindra Jadeja and Ravichandran Ashwin bowled supremely well, and would have tested any team that turned up to face them at Nagpur.
So maybe, just maybe, things aren’t actually as bad as some are making it out to be.
Joshua S Hill
Roar Rookie
Legend!
Marty
Roar Rookie
No worries mate, thanks for the article and reply.
Chanon
Roar Rookie
Well said Jeff we need to be more responsible for our actions & hopefully learn on next tour to somehow acquire a practice match at the expense of our local T20 comp then so be it. Love watching test cricket in India :thumbup:
Joshua S Hill
Roar Rookie
I wasn't having a go at AB, nor did I say anything to suggest that he had only been critical. As you rightly say, he has been mostly complementary - especially this test - but, if you listen to him and read what he writes for any length of time (which I have), he has a tendency to rob the opposition of the win, placing the blame instead on Australia losing. That's all I was saying and in the context of my article I was just highlighting the fact that India beat us handily in the 1st Test, and that things aren't as bad as people have made out. Thank you for your comment, though.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Agree with your conclusion, insofar as the first Test debacle wasn’t a failure of character or anything like that. It wasn’t helped by the lack of preparation - not having a longer time in India aFter BBL season and no practice game. Can’t agree that Head was unlucky.
3 R M
Roar Rookie
Since the Aussies can only pick their side off net form for those players outside the test 11 its really hard to gauge how anyone is doing from Australia so criticising selection is a bit of an uninformed opinion. But I'll do it anyway as everyone else here does. Though as I said before the test I would have played Morris just to get into their face. As out of all the quicks we have over there he alone just likes going after batsman, and seems to enjoy hitting them as much as getting them out.( CA podcast interview). He is quick through the air and has a good record. All of our experienced quicks are way to nice imo and we have no enforcer to put the wind up the opposition with express pace and aggression. This has been a deficiency in our attack since Johnson retired. Every bowler in an attack should offer something a bit different to take advantage of the changing conditions in a test match and the different strengths of the opposition. Pat is probably one of the most accurate bowlers in the world though his pace drops when he is over bowled . We don't need Boland just to bowl accurately so i don't think it is something we need. Starky gets out openers it's an underrated attribute but essential for an opening bowler. Hazelwood is nearing the end of his career with his injuries mounting up yearly. It's time for new blood in the cartel one way or another. It took Lyon most of his career to get a 7 for . It took Murphy one test, so we will see if he can replicate his performance this test. We have 3 offspinners in this side with head playing, a LHO and 2 part time leggies. The attack just seems a bit out of balance. Take the 20 wickets and that gives the team the best chance of winning the test.
Chanon
Roar Rookie
Only Divine intervention can allow the Aussies win this test match let alien the series, tell me Pete can we change Coke to Pepsi :stoked:
Marty
Roar Rookie
Oh for goodness sakes, here we go again with the ‘AB is the cranky old man’ narrative. The vast, vast majority of what he has said has been complementary of the Australians who have played well (Smith and Labuschagne batting in the first innings), acknowledging the difficulties of playing in India, and providing advice on how to improve. However, if you read some of the recent articles on this site you’d think that he’d spent the whole time ranting and raving and demanding the whole team be sacked. And when did we get to the point where an ex-captain can’t provide the odd bit of honest feedback without some people feeling justified in levelling personal criticism at him? Feel free to disagree with what he says, but to accuse him of being ‘self righteous’? Pull ya head in mate.
Short Arm
Roar Rookie
Thanks Josh. In terms of prep & selections to tour it is bad. The coach should have had all the squad practising on dry un-watered pitches in Australia for weeks ahead of time. Selecting injured players to tour is silly- leave them at home until they are healed. Have fit players on hand if needed. Taking a struggling Warner was hopeful thinking, selectors not having the gonads to tell him to retire on a high & to tell Candice to stay out of it. Though the selectors did show some in picking Handscomb, Murphy & Kuhneman. Dropping Head I was fine with, as he must have been atrocious in the nets against spin as the case with Agar's bowling. Overall, the selectors & coaches had months to prep for this series & they have been poor. The Australians might come good by the third test but it will be too late to save the series.
CowLee Pollard
Guest
No , the only thing missing is the small bicycles.
Takeadeepbreath
Roar Rookie
Echo your comments here Kalva, but the big difference is the runs India can put on with their tail. Even with a top order collapse, they have so much depth in their batting, they can easily revive their innings. This could be a nail biter of a test...
qwetzen
Roar Rookie
After the first day of this 2nd Test one thing is crystal clear. The tour has been a shambles from Team Oz. Unfit players selected, players playing BB as prep for an Indian tour, the dropping of Head, the retention of Warner and the insidious smear against Agar. The only thing missing is clowns on small bicycles.
PeteB
Roar Rookie
Are things as bad as they seem ? Depends how bad you see things. It’s always tough in India but 176 and 91 was pretty poor. We all want the best team selected and the best possible performance. Do we honestly expect to win in India and would a few different selections made much difference ? I doubt it but hopefully we get a more competitive performance going forward. Not a lot that can be judged from Day 1 apart from some good performances from Khawaja and Handscomb.
mrl
Roar Rookie
Our fast bowlers will win this for us…if the captain gives him a chance.
Kalva
Roar Rookie
I’ve got to say but I think that this game is in the balance and with the weaknesses of the Indian top order, Aussies might even be slightly ahead. Looking like an interesting game and I don’t get the negativity.
badmanners
Roar Rookie
Yep, well said. Basically zero preparation for this mega tour and we are surprised at the results? I wonder how we'll go if we lose the toss?
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Australia is in no way competing sufficiently in the way it should be in India. India is a difficult place to tour. But that's been known for decades. India has become a consistent top-notch Test side in all conditions. But that's been the case for at least a decade. Sorry, but how much longer do we simply say "oh well, touring in India is a tough proposition. Let's just absorb the white-wash result and just move on to the next series"?
Tanmoy Kar
Guest
I am surprised to see that Australia is playing with only one frontline pacer, they may have to face problems for this decision, considering Mohammed Shami captured 4 wickets.