**Official** Australia in India Thread

[TendulkarFan]

I think this confirms that the Bangalore wicket helps the quicks more then the spinners.

Or maybe it's just that the Indian batsmen know how to play spin a lot better than pace

 

[Neil Pickup]

That would be a crying shame - why on Earth would he want to do that?
He waits all this time to get into the team, then when he finally starts to build himself a career, he gives it away!
Still, it'll make the Australians weaker, so it has it's plus-points.

Sort your apostrophes, please...

 

[Mr Casson]

Or maybe it's just that the Indian batsmen know how to play spin a lot better than pace

I remember reading something on Cricinfo a while ago, I think it might have been "The Numbers Game", that said the Indians really aren't that great against spin bowling as everybody makes out.

 

[Mr Casson]

I'd personally say Katich has always been an outstanding player of seam and swing and has of late shown that he may be solving his long-standing problems with spin.
Watson, meanwhile, could become a good player - in the long form of the game.
Don't really think Watson is going to be quite as good as Katich.

Has Katich had problems with spin? I never thought he did. He always seems to have had pretty good footwork, and I thought that would have held him in good stead against the spinners.

Mind you, playing most of his cricket in Perth, he'd be very much used to pace bowling.

I'm going to go against you, and say that Watson will finish his career a more successful batsman than Katich!

 

[aussie_beater]

I remember reading something on Cricinfo a while ago, I think it might have been "The Numbers Game", that said the Indians really aren't that great against spin bowling as everybody makes out.

I think I agree to that opinion. Current Indian batsman with the exception of a few cannot play spin bowling of a very high quality, that well. However they can play almost every sort of bowling very well on wickets that are slow and don't have much bounce on them. If there is too much turn, or uneven bounce in the wicket which can be exploited properly by skillful bowlers, then I think with the exception of a few batsman, the Indian batting lineup wouldn't fare that well.Because if you look at it, other then Laxman and Sachin and to an extent Ganguly, no other Indian batsman uses their feet much to counter spinners.

 

[iamdavid]

Has Katich had problems with spin? I never thought he did. He always seems to have had pretty good footwork, and I thought that would have held him in good stead against the spinners.

Mind you, playing most of his cricket in Perth, he'd be very much used to pace bowling.

I'm going to go against you, and say that Watson will finish his career a more successful batsman than Katich!

Katich had plenty of trouble against spinners in the early days which as you point out has alot to do with playing at Perth , however since he's moved to New South Wales he's improved out of sight, the footwork has got heaps better and he's learned when to take chances and attack them.

The big test for Watson will come this summer , Im very interested to see how his bowling goes in the Pura Cup , has only bowled one good spell since his return from back injury (against Victoria in an ING cup game) and if he's serious about playing test cricket as an allrounder he's gonna have to put up some decent figures with the ball in domestic cricket.

 

[tooextracool]

What you've seen of them at international level has no basis for comparison. Watson hasn't played a test, and Katich has barely played a ODI.

Don't judge Watson's ability to play test cricket when he hasn't even played a test. Especially by using his ODI performances, because I think he is much more suited to the long version of the game.

and if you look carefully you might see that i never once said anything along those lines, obviously players can improve, and obviously ODI performances can in no way be used to decide whether or not someone is good enough for tests or not. all that i've said is that from what ive seen of the both of them thus far, ive been far more impressed with katich than i have with watson and to drop someone whos averaging over 40 with the bat in tests would be ridiculous.

 

[Mr Casson]

The big test for Watson will come this summer , Im very interested to see how his bowling goes in the Pura Cup , has only bowled one good spell since his return from back injury (against Victoria in an ING cup game) and if he's serious about playing test cricket as an allrounder he's gonna have to put up some decent figures with the ball in domestic cricket.

Yeah, I agree with that. That's why I thought that with Lehmann out of the tour-match and Warne possibly being 'hidden' from the Indians for now, it would be a good idea to give Watson a go in the side. They can at least gauge his bowling and see if he can adapt to the conditions, and see how useful his bowling might become later on in the series. If his bowling looks any good, he might be worth selecting sometime in the tests as a backup seamer.

 

[iamdavid]

Yeah, I agree with that. That's why I thought that with Lehmann out of the tour-match and Warne possibly being 'hidden' from the Indians for now, it would be a good idea to give Watson a go in the side. They can at least gauge his bowling and see if he can adapt to the conditions, and see how useful his bowling might become later on in the series. If his bowling looks any good, he might be worth selecting sometime in the tests as a backup seamer.

I'd say Watson's chances of selection hinge on how well Warne goes in the first two tests, if he isnt fronting up then the temptation will be there to bring in either White or Hauritz (not that I think either of those two would have any impact on things at all) for one if the quicks , which might mean bringing Watson in for one of the batsman to provide some depth in the pace bowling (provided he bowls well in the tour match) , those are the only circumstances in which I can really see him playing in this series.

 

[Spetsnatz]

Judging by the performance of India's batsmen in the ongoing game against India A, Australia could have a walk in the park in next week's test.

 

[SJS]

Judging by the performance of India's batsmen in the ongoing game against India A, Australia could have a walk in the park in next week's test.

U said it

 

[SJS]

Sachin maybe fit for the first test !

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/cricket/3694824.stm

 

[Spetsnatz]

This is downright embarassing for India. Now 9-155 chasing India A's 302.
Barring ganguly every other batsman has flopped.

Of Course it is only a warmup game but it does illustrate what woeful form their batting lineup is in.

 

[Arjun]

This is downright embarassing for India. Now 9-155 chasing India A's 302.
Barring ganguly every other batsman has flopped.

Of Course it is only a warmup game but it does illustrate what woeful form their batting lineup is in.

This match is just plain nonsensical. The worst part is that spies from the opposition camp will be watching (that reminds me- why can't Indian officials spy on English and Australian domestic matches?) and making notes. It also sends a negative signal- that they need a match against a lesser team to return to form.

How many YEARS will it take for the selectors to realise that Parthiv Patel is not of international standard? When he's 28? He's rewarded the selectors for extending his free ride by dropping Mohammed Kaif. Would MS Dhoni or Dinesh Karthik do the same? No way! With keepers like Parthiv Patel, Rahul Dravid and Virendra Sehwag may also be considered as wicketkeeper options.

 

[iamdavid]

I wouldnt read too much into this performance , remember the poor showing India put up against the Queensland Academy of Sport in the leadup to the first test.

The media were quick to jump to conclusions but in the end it wasnt an accurate indicator of the Indians form.

 

[Arjun]

I wouldnt read too much into this performance , remember the poor showing India put up against the Queensland Academy of Sport in the leadup to the first test.

The media were quick to jump to conclusions but in the end it wasnt an accurate indicator of the Indians form.

But Glenn McGrath knew better. He said that the pitches were flat, the key players were out and the rain helped the Indians. The Aussies still established their supremacy in ODI's. The Indians' performance in Australia must be the most over-rated of recent times.

 

[iamdavid]

But Glenn McGrath knew better. He said that the pitches were flat, the key players were out and the rain helped the Indians. The Aussies still established their supremacy in ODI's. The Indians' performance in Australia must be the most over-rated of recent times.

Yes, to an extent it was.

Ive heard plenty of people saying India deserved to win the series and plenty of whinging about Bucknor's umpiring being the difference.
I dont agree with that, as you say the pitches were made for batting and Australia were missing their best two bowlers for the entire series.

But that dosent completely discount the fact India played far better than they have on past tours down under and they were certainly better than everyone expected them to be, they showed some guts and unearthed some precious youngsters.

 

[Andre]

Of Course it is only a warmup game but it does illustrate what woeful form their batting lineup is in.

I've read about VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid being out of form before an Australian series way too many times to even touch it....

 

[Jono]

I've read about VVS Laxman, Sachin Tendulkar and Rahul Dravid being out of form before an Australian series way too many times to even touch it....

LOL!

I also remember the newspaper article here in Australia saying that Rahul Dravid has never looked like performing in Australia, and they showed his averages. They believed this tour wouldn't be any different.

I think people read way too much in things before the beginning of a series. Let's just wait for the first test.

 

[Arjun]

Yes, to an extent it was.

Ive heard plenty of people saying India deserved to win the series and plenty of whinging about Bucknor's umpiring being the difference.
I dont agree with that, as you say the pitches were made for batting and Australia were missing their best two bowlers for the entire series.

But that dosent completely discount the fact India played far better than they have on past tours down under and they were certainly better than everyone expected them to be, they showed some guts and unearthed some precious youngsters.

About Bucknor, all those who complained about the decisions that went against the Indians didn't complain about those that went their way.

If they really played good cricket, they would have actually run the Australians close in all four matches, but they looked second-best and nothing more. That win in Adelaide was due to a moment of madness in the Aussie camp, which prompted Bucks to write that open letter we know so well about. Not to mention they let the match go away from them and into the hands of the Aussies in Melbourne, and threw away a golden chance in Sydney. Were they unlucky in those two matches? More unlikely to win. How could any team settle for a draw with 700 runs in the first innings? Not one that wins matches. THe satisfaction of fans, players, oficials and experts clearly indicate they played just for one victory. Yes, Pathan and Chopra were decent but that's it.