Grades out of 10 (Australia)
Brett Lee (9.5): Dominating. He is clearly in the best form of his life, and has really become a leader of the Australian attack. No one really got on top of him, and on very flat and unresponsive pitches, you always felt that the next ball would be the one that takes the wicket. The tally of 24 wickets at 22.58 is amazing, considering the pitches and the batting lineups he had to face. He bowled long hard spells without sacrificing speed or accuracy, and was consistently the person his captain relied on to keep the pressure on and keep taking wickets.
Matthew Hayden (9.0): He could be the sole reason India won the test at Perth. Without him, the Aussie top order looked all at sea, and with him, they looked world class. He scored over 400 runs in three matches, and India were always on the back foot when he was playing and scoring runs by the bucketload. With several of the Australian middle order not in their best form, he kept the lineup afloat. His three centuries in five innings says everything you need to know about his performances.
Andrew Symonds (8.5): Bastard. Just one lucky ****ing bastard. But you can't deny his contributions. His innings at Sydney dug Australia out of a hole and set them up for a win. He scored over 400 runs and took nine wickets at 27. He out bowled their front line spinner, and scored runs when his side needed them.
Michael Clarke (7.5): Failed both innings in Sydney with the bat, but did well in the rest of the series, including a century at Adelaide. He only took four wickets, but three of them will haunt Indians for the rest of their lives. The three wickets that he took to win the match in Sydney will definitely be one of his highlights and India would surely have gotten the draw if Ponting hadn't given him the ball.
Stuart Clark (6.5): He was very unlucky most of the time. He bowled very tight and never let the opposition get away. He had 14 wickets, but he could easily have had twenty if things went right for him. Despite being below 130kph much of the time, his bowling always kept the pressure on while Lee was bowling his heart out on the other end. He did well for the first three Tests but couldn't get anything going on a very flaccid pitch at Adelaide.
Mitchell Johnson (6.0): Improved quite a bit as the series went on. He was pretty raw in the beginning, but by the end, it looked like he could support Lee long term. Bowled really well on a flat deck in Adelaide, and generally looked very solid at the Test level.
Michael Hussey (6.0): Can this man be human? We have gotten so used to his run scoring ways, that an average of "only" 48 is considered subpar. Had a great unbeaten century at Sydney, but he never crossed fifty outside of that.
Ricky Ponting (5.0) : Ponting had a very disappointing series by his standards. Averaged less than 40 overall, and though he made a very fighting century in the last match, he had a very ordinary beginning to the series, making 4, 3, 55, 1, 20 and 45. Established himself as Harbhajan's bunny, having been dismissed by him many times in the series, but his century in the final match was gritty and kept Harbhajan out.
Phil Jaques (4.5): Jaques had three fifties in seven innings, but was also dismissed quickly the rest of the time. He had a great match at the MCG, but he wasn't a big factor for the rest of the series. In the absence of Hayden, his twin failures at Perth were a big reason for the Australian loss.
Adam Gilchrist (4.0): Only averaged 21 in his last series, and didn't have the best of time behind the stumps. He wasn't bad, but he wasn't his usual excellent self either. Only passed fifty once in seven innings, and though everyone waited for his aggressive nature to dominate the Indians, he never did. Though he had a disappointing last series, he will be sorely missed by Australia.
Brad Hogg (2.5): Crap with the ball, a little better with the bat. His innings in Sydney was very crucial in the Australian innings. He looked promising with the ball at the MCG but it was all downhill from there. He ended with an average of 60, but probably bowled worse than that. Everytime he came on, someone on the Indian side used him to up the run rate, best exemplified by the reatment of him by Sehwag when he went for 42 runs in five overs despite a 5th day pitch.
Chris Rogers (1.0): Two innings, 19 runs total. It is hard for someone to just come in and fill in for Hayden, but Rogers couldn't get going in either innings, and was a non-factor in the one match he played.
Shaun Tait (0.5): All hype and no performances to back it up. He boasted about wanting to bowl the the fastest delivery in cricket, but was a non-factor in the limited time he got in the match. Went for 92 runs without a wicket, and as the overrate deteriorated, he never got a chance to improve his performances. The pitch at Perth wasn't what it was cracked up to be, but he was often bowling in the 130s and low 140s, and didn't trouble anyone.
I think
howardj agreed to do the Indian marks out of ten.
