2nd Test Aus V India

saintly1996
2014 December 17 10:36:50 
A very different looking Australia line up in the second test.

Clarke out, Shaun Marsh in (not sure that he was the best batsman in Shield cricket not in the test side).

Hazelwood and Starc in for Harris and Siddle.

Smith to bat at 4.

Hopefully they get off to a good start, as I do not see this side as a particularly strong test side. Australia haven't lost a test at the Gabba since 1988, which is a good stat, but this would have to be a weaker side than most that have taken to the Gabba field since that test against the West Indies all those years ago.

Rogers needs a big innings, as too much is left to Warner and Smith these days in what could be a brittle batting line up if those two don't get a lion's share of the runs.

We have a set of brothers taking the field together again, let's hope they can be nearly as productive as the Waugh boys were.

The pitch looks like it will suit the faster bowlers a lot more than Adelaide, so looking at Johnson to create some havoc here. It gives Starc and Hazelwood an excellent chance to shine as well.

Dhoni comes in for India which is a bonus for them, they would see this as an excellent opportunity to exploit an inexperienced Australian side at a ground where they have had little success.

Australia are 1 up in the series, but India will go in full of confidence. Let's see Johnson shatter a bit of that with an excellent opening spell.

C'mon Aussies!!!!!!!

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7 Comments

bodsy

2014 December 22 13:31:52

Great to see Joe Burns get the call-up for the Boxing Day Test. I thought they should have picked Burns for the Gabba Test but if you couldn't crack a home debut, I reckon Boxing Day would be the next choice!

Massive few weeks coming up, some blokes on seriously thin ice but then again, the bar is lowered for some..

bodsy

2014 December 22 13:17:36

the world champ whingers are a conniving lot aren't they - they don't mind having a yap when it suits, and hopefully it keeps suiting because it certainly suits us!

saintly1996

2014 December 20 11:56:53

The tail wagged hard, and now they have gone on with it this morning with the ball.

MD

2014 December 21 11:21:08

You have to laugh at the Indian sledging, almost invariably it backfires on them.
- Rohit Sharma has a crack at our leading quickie who then proceeds to knock it to all parts and turn the match on its head. Not to mention Sharma then gets a second ball blurter to said quick - hilarious!
- Kohli never shuts up, but should concentrate more on catching and making a score on a deck that's not a road.

bodsy

2014 December 19 16:59:24

well there is nothing more entertaining than an wagging Aussie tail, pure GOLD.. put the counter-blitzkrieg squarely on Kohli - keep yapping son!

Useless interesting fact of the day - before Starc's dismissal, he was averaging more with the bat than Watto in the 8 Tests that they have played together.. AND bear in mind, Watson scored his HS 176 in those Tests while Starc's HS 99 was not included.. CA is so overdue in punting the myth!


bodsy

2014 December 19 16:52:10

MD, it was great to see a bowler on debut let the ball and deck do the work - it wasn't overcomplicated, just persistent and used his weapons well.. fantastic start to Intl career and will be interesting to see how he handles, and how India handle him, on a more lifeless deck in Melbourne!

haha we both gave it to Rogers but I think the critique was justified, tho he has made a long career of successfully playing to his limits, no matter how painfully ordinary it is to watch - makes deadbat Katich look a prolific strokemaker doesn't he?!

bodsy

2014 December 18 13:08:05

well done Hazlewood - good areas!

MD

2014 December 19 12:21:11

Wasn't Hazlewood nice to watch Bods' - with MJ leaking runs and Starc bowling a buffet ball every over it was great to see the debutant get reward for line and length delivered with good pace. Agree re Harris - we look at totally different bowling attack without him.

Good to see my recent form of criticising someone who then plays well continue with Rogers - mind you he does have a bit of a habit of making runs when he's on the brink.

MD

2014 December 17 13:31:19

Mitch just doesn't look himself this series so far. But I think they've got the bowling lineup right based on those available - Siddle had to go imo.

I have to say I'm disappointed Rogers kept his spot - I would have had Watson back opening, where he has his best record, Marsh at 3, Smith at 4, albeit there isn't anybody in Shield cricket who is knocking the door down to get (back) into the team for the 5 spot.

Like you say, India have to give themselves a massive chance in this test, and series, against such an inexperienced side and with some of those with any experience out of form.

bodsy

2014 December 18 11:35:26

g'day lads, thanks for the thread Saintly. I enjoyed watching the Indians bat yday, they really prayed on the loose ball which came far too often.. i hope rhino was in fact not playing due to injury and none of this rotation/resting rubbish, as we missed his consistently tight nagging lines. He hasn't had much luck getting a Test @ the Gabba, but with figures of 5/77 in last Summer's Ashes, surely you try get him through this and rest him from Melbourne. I was happy to see Starc get a run but I couldn't work out his plan of bowling 5 good balls, one sh!te floater per over.. go back and watch McGrath mate!

Anyway, despite us getting a pile of runs in Adelaide, we need to focus more on this batting line-up. Agreed on Rogers MD, I haven't previously been critical of him (hard to when his 1st class average hovers around 50) but his 1st innings in Adelaide was dreadfully hard to watch - he looked terrible, no footwork, prodding, it was just a matter of time before he departed without influence.

He and Watson need to step up, as the most experienced bats in the team. I don' think there's much between Watson's stats as opener or #3, averaging around 40 but for a player as overhyped as he, he has continuously underperformed having failed to average more than 40 since the 2010 calendar year - I can't recall any other bat in the past 25 years afforded such luxury.

Interesting the push for SMarsh, a very ordinary test average slightly bettered by average 1st Class figures but at least they have picked him in form, unlike the Doolan selection and the completely disastrous mismanagement of Khawaja over the last 2 years. Marsh already has half the Test tons of Watto from 84 less innings, but also more ducks, so needless to say, massive day for him to cement his position. I would have preferred to see Joe Burns selected for this Test - it seems just a matter of time but a debut Gabba Test where he averages over 100 this season was perfectly logical and warranted, yet he was hardly spoken of despite his 1st Class figures easily covering his rivals.

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