Boxing Day Test - MCG

[JLC]

Exactly Bracken was given the opportunity to play in ODI and was very fortunate to be selected. Sure he did ok but he hadnt done anything exceptional to warrant his chance.

There have been a few other players in the one day arena and test arena given an arm chair ride and not picked solely on form.

I just think without a selector from each state it will make it harder for players from non playing states to be selected.

I go for SA and i think they suffered from this for ages. Siddons would have to be the unluckiest player ever.

jlc

[JLC]

Interesting to see Hohns thought the batsman were more to blame than the bowlers. I partly agree with that as i think the Australian batsman may have forgotten how to build a gritty type innings when the wickets are falling.

It will be interesting to see how the batsman fare when they are chasing big totals as the bowlers wont be getting out the opposition for low scores as much as they used to.

JLC

[commonwombat]

JLC,

We appear to have some common ground here. Hohns comment rings fairly accurately as many batsmen did throw away starts and certainly agree with yr observation on the bowling being less penetrative.

There certainly have been "favoured children" over the last 20 years. I'll name number one, S R Waugh. He was touted by his fan club as being our cricketing mesiah but from his debut 85-86 he failed to score a test century until 89 England tour. He had performed usefully but certainly had not justified being a protected species.

History has undoubtedly borne out the selectors faith but they certainly leave themselves open to fire on the grounds of consistency. Do agree about Siddons being ext unlucky, he was afar superior player to others who got the nod. Injuries and then generational change went against him.

Yr theory of a selector from each state is an admirable theory. My reservations on that point is how do we choose these selectors. What should their qualifications be and are these people willing and able to give the time are questions to be asked.

[JLC]

Steve Waugh came into the team as an all rounder and more of a bowling all rounder. Even though he failed to score a century for a while he did reach the nineties a few times until he cracked it finally on the 89 Ashes tour and made a couple biggies. The only real chink in his armour was short pitched bowling and he was good enough to find a solution to this and propsered from there. Lets not also forget Steve Waugh did have to face the likes of Ambrose, Donald and Akram in their prime.

The last great Victorian batsman in Dean Jones was also shafted from the test team.

jlc

[Donny]

Batsmen told to stand and deliver

By Jon Pierik - Fox Sports

AUSTRALIA'S batsmen will be ordered to show greater application and focus in Melbourne as they desperately fight to save a Test series that is suddenly slipping away.

The national selectors yesterday ignored the lure of plumping for a quick-fix fast bowling solution for the pivotal Boxing Day Test against India, preferring to just recall firebrand Brett Lee in place of the injured Jason Gillespie.

Fellow speedsters Andy Bichel, Brad Williams and Nathan Bracken were also named in a 12-man squad with the Australians not ruling out the possibility of using all four in a pace blitz on what is expected to be a bouncy MCG wicket.

NSW fast bowler Matthew Nicholson was considered for the team but selection chairman Trevor Hohns said Australia's attack was not the problem as the side tries to climb out of a 1-0 hole. "In the end we considered that the bowlers who played in Adelaide deserved another opportunity," he said.

"Quite frankly, I don't think it was their fault that we lost the Test (in Adelaide). We had them 6-230 and we didn't score enough runs."

Australia's fourth-day capitulation in Adelaide, where the side was bundled out for 196 in their second innings, was largely blamed for the shock four-wicket loss.

After a career-high 242 in Australia's first innings of 556, Ricky Ponting was caught for a duck in the second while Damien Martyn (3 and Steve Waugh (42) were dismissed by the part-time spin of Sachin Tendulkar.

"I am sure they are professional enough and they are good enough to focus properly," Hohns said.

"I am sure the coach will be asking for that. I think we will certainly see that in the third Test.

"They have lost a Test match, it's the first one in a long time. Once again, they are entitled to lose a game from time to time. If it becomes a habit, then we have problems."

Australia are likely to maintain a conventional attack of three fast bowlers and leg-spinner Stuart MacGill in Melbourne, with either Bracken or Williams favoured to carry the drinks.

But there has also been talk that the home side could go into the must-win encounter with five bowlers, meaning Simon Katich could miss out.

Hohns said Lee, who had performed well for NSW in two Pura Cup matches back since having ankle surgery, would add "zest" to the attack.

"Brett is an established Test player and has demonstrated that he is back to full fitness following injury," Hohns said. "The two Pura Cup matches he now has under his belt have been ideal preparation for his comeback, and we were encouraged by his recent form against Tasmania in Sydney."

Williams, who hurt his left A/C joint in Adelaide, was declared fit to play.

[Donny]

Shock tactics from Aussies

By Jon Pierik - Fox Sports

AUSTRALIA are ready to go against their attacking instincts and adopt a defensive mindset to smoke out Indian batsmen Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman in the Boxing Day Test.

Fired by a scorching 303-run stand between traditional stylist Dravid (233) and debonair Laxman (148) in Adelaide, the tourists lit a bushfire under Steve Waugh's men and pocketed a surprise 1-0 series lead.

Needing to win the final two Tests to claim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, the Australians have decided the best way to stop the free-flowing Indian batsmen is to pitch wide of off-stump and force the tourists to take a chance as they set the pace.

After landing in Melbourne yesterday, vice-captain Ricky Ponting said he had spent the past week working on ways to ensure the series is not lost on what looms as a bouncy MCG wicket.

"I think that's what we have got to do with these guys - make them sweat on us," Ponting said.

"We have to be as patient as we can as a bowling group and a fielding group and try to put pressure on their players.

"As we saw in Adelaide, they can be very free-flowing and fast-scoring batsman.

"It's up to us to come up with some plans that are going to put pressure on them."

Test selector Allan Border has also endorsed the patience theory, particularly against Laxman, but conceded in his column with The Press Trust of India that "it could come at a price because Laxman is such a brilliant strokemaker when he gets a chance to free his arms".

Former Australian wicketkeeper Ian Healy agreed the plan had merit.

Champion leg-spinner Shane Warne, who has had repeated success in getting Dravid out, said the best tactic for him was to bowl well up around off stump, but to Laxmann short, fast and wider was the best tack.

"It's only been one game, it's not as if Australia can't get them out," Warne said of the pair's Adelaide heroics when Dravid scored 233 and 72 not out and Laxman 148.

For all bar Steve Waugh, the pressure of dealing with and recovering from a major loss so early in a home series is something new and will test just how good this revamped Australian side is.

While selection chairman Trevor Hohns may have exonerated the bowlers from blame in Adelaide, there are still major question marks over the potency of the Australian attack missing the "big-name" factor of Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Shane Warne.

Lee will spearhead an attack at a time when his career bowling average continues to rise while the Indians do not fear No.1 tweaker Stuart MacGill.

Coach John Buchanan's leaked scathing report of the team after its day-four lapse in Adelaide has also added to the pressure, although Ponting added the Queenslander was "right on the ball" with some of his observations.

[Donny]

The fastest pitch in Australia

Sambit Bal in Melbourne - Cricinfo


For about a week now, the pitch at the Melbourne Cricket Ground has been the subject of such intense scrutiny and speculation that had it been made of less stern stuff, it would have started cracking by now.

Australia are looking for deliverance from it, and India regard it with a hint of suspicion, for the very thought of a drop-in pitch brings back horrible memories of New Zealand, where portable pitches turned every ball delivered by a quick bowler into a potential cannonball. Not surprisingly, Tony Ware, the 41-year-old curator of the MCG, has found himself besieged by the media.

"I am going to have a word with the Indian team this afternoon," he says affably, "I will tell them that they will be all right on this pitch. Just because they had a bad experience in New Zealand does not mean that it will be the same here. In New Zealand, they contract pitch-making to an outside agency. We do it all ourselves, with our own technology, with our own expertise. We know what we want and how to get what we want."

The strip that will be used for the Boxing Day Test is one of the central ones in a square that has six portable pitches. It is more brown in colour than the one at the Gabba, but has a fair amount of semi-dry grass, which Ware says will be taken off before the Test and rolled. "I like good cricket," he says, "It's no fun if sides get bowled out for 100 on the first morning. India shouldn't worry too much, they will be okay here."

But Ware promises pace and bounce. "The MCG is probably the fastest pitch in Australia today," he says. "I don't know why other states don't produce quick wickets any more. The ones at Brisbane and Adelaide were really slow, and sometimes those kind of pitches are good for batting. On this pitch, there will be some encouragement for the quick bowlers, but it will be good for batting on all days."

If Sourav Ganguly was looking for a hint, here it is: "I usually leave a little moisture in the pitch, so it will not be at its quickest on the first day," Ware says. "It will quicken up towards the end of day one and perhaps will be at its quickest on day two."

Ask Ware if there will be any turn and he isn't too encouraging, but he says that spinners can succeed here if they learn to adapt. The soil here does not crumble enough for the balls to turn a lot, he says. "It might crack a little but it stays hard right till the end. If bowlers create footmarks, it might get a little rough, but it will never yield sharp turn." But the pace and bounce here will help the spinners: "Stuart MacGill was turning it square on the last day at Adelaide, but because the pitch was so slow, it was easy to adjust to the turn."

Anil Kumble, says Ware, will enjoy bowling at the MCG. "At Adelaide, the Australian batsmen played him comfortably on the front foot. That might not be the case here, because the ball will hurry and it will bounce."

The MCG decided to adopt portable pitches because, despite its name, it is not only a cricket ground. It is the home of Aussie Rules football, and in the winter it hosts 44 football matches, which take a heavy toll of the surface. "It really gets muddy and the grass cover goes off and the wickets get badly damaged," says Ware. "It came to a point where we couldn't accept it any more. We had developed portable technology, and in 1999 we decided to take the squares off before the winter."

The Test against India at the end of 1999 was the last one played on the permanent centre at the MCG, and Sachin Tendulkar scored a century then. Ware says that Tendulkar should not expect anything different this time, because the profile of the pitch hasn't changed. "It's the same black soil, the same depth, the same grass and, in fact, it has been tended better.

"Sachin will enjoy batting here."

[Donny]

Waugh to see red

By Michael Warner - Fox Sports

A SEA of red rags will greet Australian captain Steve Waugh every time he graces the MCG during this week's Boxing Day Test.

Melbourne fans are being urged to pack a red cloth or handkerchief to wave throughout the match as a tribute to the outgoing skipper.

Waugh, who retires from international cricket after this summer's four-Test series against India, has carried a tattered red rag in his left pocket since the 1993 Ashes series in England.

The treasured good luck charm - almost as famous as his baggy green cap - has become a part of Australian cricketing legend.

"I've done well with it . . . it's like a security blanket," Waugh once said.

This year's Boxing Day Test will be Waugh's 17th and final Test appearance on the MCG, the same ground where he made his Test debut at 20 in 1985.

The Wave Our Hero Goodbye campaign - brainchild of the Herald Sun and Cricket Australia - began in Brisbane but will reach fever pitch in Melbourne.

Recalled speedster Brett Lee said yesterday the side was desperate to atone for the defeat in Adelaide and give Waugh a fitting MCG farewell.

"We will make sure the Boxing Day Test is a success not only for Australian cricket but also for Steve Waugh," Lee said.

[Donny]

What pressure?

Fox Sports

FACING the possibility of an inglorious end to his career, Steve Waugh yesterday turned the blowtorch back on India by suggesting the pressure is all on the tourists in the blockbuster third Test beginning today.

Waugh believes the pressure of dealing with an unexpected series lead and the unrelenting expectations of one billion fans at home may work against Sourav Ganguly's men as they chase history at the MCG.

India are on the verge of their greatest ever away series win, leading 1-0 after their shock victory in Adelaide.

"I think there will be more pressure on India now," Waugh said yesterday.

"They are in front, they probably didn't expect to be, their record wasn't good away from home.

"Now they have an opportunity to win a series and people in India will expect them to win from here. I'd like to think there is more pressure on them than us. We can relax and play our brand of cricket."

Today, it all comes full circle for Waugh, who made his debut at the MCG against India in the corresponding match in 1985, scoring 13 and five and taking 2-36.

Australia will this morning decide between Brad Williams and Nathan Bracken as the third paceman.

As the Indian team enjoyed a leisurely Christmas Day, captain Ganguly dismissed Waugh's suggestion they will feel the burden of expectation in Melbourne.

"There is pressure on both teams," Ganguly said. "We know we are one-up in the series, but we know if we don't turn up focused and if we don't play to the best of our ability it's going to be different over the next five days.

"We have been up 1-0 before whether it be in the West Indies, Zimbabwe ..."

India eventually lost both series, having not won outside of Asia since 1986.

"It's not a new situation but we need to carry on from here," Ganguly said. "I don't think Waugh is being fair and right by saying that the pressure is on us."

While the second innings batting performance was blamed for defeat in Adelaide by coach John Buchanan and selection chairman Trevor Hohns, Waugh said his men would maintain their typically aggressive mode with the blade in hand.

"I think we will play the same way we have always played," he said.

"Just because we messed up once with our batting, we are not going to change the way we play.

"We know we could have batted better on that day. Occasionally that is going to happen."

Selector David Boon arrived in Melbourne yesterday to discuss the make-up of the Australian side, with the decision about whether to go with Bracken or Williams in the third paceman's slot the chief talking point.

There remained a mystery element to the MCG wicket late yesterday with flakes of grass rolled into the turf.

Both teams held short training sessions yesterday morning at the MCG with the Australians later joining their families for the traditional Christmas team lunch at Crown Casino.

[JLC]

Anyway here is my prediction for the 3rd test.

Result - Aussies will turn it around and win this test late on the 4th day weather permitting.

Brett Lee will be the key bowler as he will dismiss Chopra early and that will expose the key batsman to the new ball.

Even though i think he is crap i think MacGill could be the surprise packet.

With the bat Hayden and Langer will be the stars imo.

jlc

[Donny]

Andy Bichel has been named as 12th. man.

This is the most inexperienced Australian bowling attack for many years. We know Nathan Bracken is very dangerous with the new ball but how he bowls later on will be vital.

[Donny]

Ganguly won the toss and India will bat.

Both camps are probably happy with this as the word was Waugh wanted to bowl first.

Zaheer Khan comes back into the Indian eleven.

[Donny]

A nervous start by both sides.

So far, the luck has gone India's way although Lee's throw to Gilchrist, when an easy run out was on, was atrocious.

[Donny]

India have survived the first 23 overs to be 0/56 with Sehwag on 36 n.o.

[Donny]

At lunch, India is 0/89 from 27 overs.

Sehwag is 51 n.o. abd Chopra, 30 n.o.