Meanwhile in India...

... people appear to be playing cricket. Proper cricket, with white clothes and red balls and drama and tension. And Australia are getting walloped again. Poor Australia. Their bowling attack really doesn't look that convincing at the moment, with the exception of the redoubtable controlling Clark.

I didn't see much of the match this morning, but I watched for a while as Gambhir and Tendulkar took the game away from the touring side with a partnership of 130. At times, Tendulkar looked at his classic, relaxed best, with the trademark flowing strokes and whippy cuts backward of square that not long ago we thought were gone for ever. Much of this series has been dominated by talks of when the Indian Famous Five would retire, but if Tendulkar (and for that matter Laxman too) is in such good touch, don't hurry him off the stage.

And Gambhir is coming of age before our eyes, making his third Test century just one match after his second and ending any talk of him being a player who can make starts but not see through the job. He is 27 and has many good years ahead of him if he can keep this up. Making his first Test double hundred, perhaps beating his first-class best of 233, is the task tomorrow. And if he does that then Australia will kiss goodbye to the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

Comments

[Peter McGuinness]

Ha Ha...

How are you Rusty?

Our mate Roy has an aggregate of about 15 so far for Qld, so maybe Watto is safe in Tests regardless of my pontificating! Wait a minute...what about Ash?! Most wickets in the Sheild season last year and second most runs. Not good enough for India.

Good point. Here's my long and boring rationale (for what it's worth!) Sorry...you may as well read it too Oscar old mate. After all, what else have we got to do?

Post back injury, Watto gets no shape whatsoever in the air or off the deck. He bowls very effectively in Limited Overs cricket where batsmen are compelled to attack deliveries they otherwise would not. But you can't 'contain' your way to victory in Test Match. Every specialist bowler must have the intent and the ability to attack the opposition's best batsmen's weaknesses - to defeat them by getting them out, rather than by 'persisting until they get themselves out'.

Watto simply does not have the weapons these days to consistently threaten the world's best batsmen in Test Matches before they are set. The form/health of Lee and Clark has been down - true - and Johnson is his mercurial self. However these blokes can (and frequently do) go through top batsmen's best efforts to keep them out. That's my point.

In White's case, many a leggy has succeeded without a turning leg spinner. But never without a spinning Toppy or Wrong'un either.

Perhaps I should have said 'International TEST Match quality' in my comment.

Wattos wickets have - truthfully - been 'get out shots' by set batsman. He is trying his guts out (as is White) and he's an automatic selection in the Limited Overs stuff for sure. In my opinion, the Aussies are definitely short a specialist bowler and maybe a specialist batsman, thanks to the inclusion of two Limited Overs compromise players.

Test Match cricket, is by necessity, an attacking sport. No 20 wickets, no victory. Therefore I'd much rather see Tait, Bollinger, Hilfenhaus or even Bracken (with his great variety) get creamed going after the top order before they're set, than Watto getting creamed anyway bowling containment lines. Ten overs of containment is a job well done in an ODI. Ten overs of containment is a drop in the bucket across two days. They will eventually get to you. Only wickets keep the pressure on.

With India's current rich form, they'd likely be winning anyway. However, with only 3 truly specialist bowlers, I would be more comfortable getting beaten knowing that Australia was leaving no stone unturned after the 20 wickets, rather than tooling around with a limited overs mix.

Maybe Australia could get by with keeping Watto provided there was also a 4th attacking option with the ball. But Watto and White together (particular against India!) was always going to make victory a tough prospect and pour the pressure on the top 3 and on Ricky.

All that aside, it is a morbid pleasure to marvel at the heavenly gifts of VVS yet again! Somethings transcend all parochialism don't they?

[Rusty]

Peter,

Have you noticed that Watson is getting wickets? And our "international quality" bowlers aren't?

[Peter McGuinness]

The cricketing public in both India and Australia have been ripped of by the crazy pride of Australia's new selection panel.

Watson and White are not international quality bowlers. Far, far from it. Ponting has no choice but to use them and set fields for bad bowling.

White is simply ineffective. Katich and Clarke are much better spinners. Because Watson's standard ball skids into the pads (and don't the Indians hate that), Ponting must set ludicrous off-side fields and force Watson well outside off. Hence, the batsmen simply shoulder arms to 90% of his deliveries and send the remainder to the boundary.

There are dozens of better bowlers in Australia than either Watson or White. There are a dozen better batsmen than Watson. There are many more than that better than White. Why the hell Jamie Cox and Co are picking a Test Team using T20 'Jacks of All Trades' defensive mentality is anyone's guess. You cannot 'contain' your way to 20 wickets in the reality of a Test Match.

At least one (maybe two) specialist bowlers are missing out, and definitely one specialist batsman.

Insanity. Dangerous. It is not the Aussie talent pool that should be encouraging Poms. It is the new Aussie selectors. Interesting times ahead.