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*Official* India Tour of Australia 2018/19
- Thread starter Starfighter
- Start date
morgieb
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Yeah I guess. Though Head is at least not a completely proven failure at Test level....yet.
Handscomb could go either way, haven't really seen enough of him to say for sure as to whether he's fixed his technique or not.
Starfighter
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
The only other problem I have not having MMarsh is that I'm (justifiably) paranoid about one of the quicks breaking down, but his bowling has been absolutely awful as of late so it mightn't mean anything anyway.
mr_mister
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Looking forward to Ashwin taking about 2 wickets total at Adelaide and the WACA then Jadeja getting brought in for the actual helpful pitches for spinners and making the selectors think he has now usurped Ravi Ashloss as premier Indian spinner
Bye bye ashwin
Bye bye ashwin
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
I'm sure the sports scientists in the setup aren't thrilled with the decision. Even if none of the quicks break down during the game, if India bat for a long time we're either going to have a situation where one or more of them bowls more overs than the sports scientists are comfortable with, or one or more of Head/Finch bowls more overs than Paine or us are comfortable with.
I can absolutely see the concerns, but I'd do it anyway. I just think the bowling is better than the batting at the moment by such a margin that pie chuckers bowling even up to 10% of the overs would be worth it to get the best six batsmen playing.
the big bambino
International Captain
I can't get our batsmen's technical deficiencies out of my mind and I just replay them getting out in my head which probably exaggerates my pessimism for this series. maybe a better way of rating our batting is to consider them a pretty good shield side that can sometimes score well against an international attack but will fold often enough to ensure we will be in danger every match. Hopefully our bowling will be good enough to utilise whatever runs we manage to score and it's been helpful India's batting has been wobbly lately. Trouble is I think Rahane will remember he can score runs out here and provide the support for Kohli. I think overall India will bat better out here than they did in Eng and SA and I can't see our boys having the class to match them.
Starfighter
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Even from what's available I don't think we have the best six playing nor do we have them in the best order.
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
Haha well yeah I'd agree with that, but I do think we're closer to it with this lineup than are would be with one with Mitch Marsh in for any of the H's.
Starfighter
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
We'll see. At least Handscomb showed against Pakistan that he does know how to score a hundred, and there'll be no Vernon Philander to cope with.
Starfighter
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Plays very deep in his crease and is vulnerable to inwards moving deliveries just full of a good length because he usually pushes his front foot out towards mid-on even when playing on the off side, leaving a big gate. I've heard some people mention other things too. One of Ishant or Bumrah is most likely to get him, especially the latter.
Prince EWS
Global Moderator
When he goes back he goes a long way back, and as such when he doesn't read the length perfectly early on he can get trapped on the crease. Just full of a good length -- say, a half-volley to Kevin Pietersen -- can get him into trouble a bit, especially on bouncier tracks when he's moving his feet more in general.
I actually think Ishant's naturally length is one Handsomb would feel pretty comfortable with, and that Bumrah and Shami are much more likely to trouble him.
Starfighter
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
It's the inwards slant that would cause the problem facing Ishant, I'd perhaps expect him to get bowled off an inside edge playing away from his body, whereas Shami will mainly be going away, that said it depends what exactly length Ishant bowls. Shami should get him if there's any reverse though.
Magrat Garlick
Global Moderator
uses his hands to comb
Starfighter
Cricket Web: All-Time Legend
Oh boy can I not wait to make way too many terrible unfunny jokes along these lines this series.
Gomez656
U19 Cricketer
1st Test, India tour of Australia at Adelaide, Dec 6-10 2018 | Match Preview | ESPNCricinfo
05:30 AM IST
1st Test, India tour of Australia at Adelaide,
Big Picture
India's year of trying to conquer overseas challenges has reached Adelaide. Australia's year of turmoil has reached their first home Test series since the game was thrown into crisis. No one really knows who starts favourites, but never have India begun a series Down Under with such expectation that this could be their time.
However, that was said about the tours of South Africa and England as well, and both those series went the way of the home side - partly due to a lack of preparation and partly due to some poor selection decisions. India's warm-up match in Sydney was hardly inspiring as they conceded 544 against the CA XI. They have also lost the hugely talented Prithvi Shaw for at least the first Test. Nothing comes easily in Australia, even when the hosts are beset by their own problems.
It has felt a long build-up to this occasion for Australia - they have played in England, Zimbabwe, the UAE and faced South Africa and India this season in white-ball cricket before this much-anticipated duel. Their bowling attack has survived the turmoil which has cost a multitude of people their jobs, but plenty of questions remain about the batting they have put together for the start of the series.
At home, however, they are rarely dominated. Only South Africa have done it consistently since the days of the great West Indies team. If they can get off to a good start in Adelaide, putting enough runs on the board for the stellar bowling attack, then they could still be tough to stop. India must learn from the tours of South Africa and England - do not give the opposition a head start.
Every time Australia have taken the field since South Africa it has been billed as the new start, but after a lot of limited-overs cricket and a Test series overseas, this feels like their real opportunity to start afresh. This time last year Tim Paine had just returned to Test cricket, now he is captain. What sort of team can he develop? The next six weeks, starting in Adelaide, will tell us a lot. It's a series that could define both teams.
Form guide
(last five completed matches)
Australia LDLLL
India WWLLW
In the spotlight
Out of Australia's big three, Pat Cummins emerged as the most consistent of the quicks earlier this year - testament to his years of hard work to overcome the injuries that hampered the early parts of his career. He took a largely forgotten career-best nine-wicket match haul in Johannesburg when the focus was on anything but the cricket, and did not feature in the UAE. As with his fellow pacemen, he has been very carefully handled heading into this Test series, so hopefully he is ready to push up the speed gun. Do not ignore his improving lower-order batting, either.
How about someone other than Virat Kohli? India's pace attack is the best they have pulled together, but they either don't have great numbers or haven't played much in Australia. Jasprit Bumrah falls into the latter category but shapes as a key part of India's armoury. He made an instant difference to the attack when he came in during the England series, causing particular problems to the left handers, of which Australia have a few. However, many a talented fast bowler has come to Australia and taken too long to adjust to the conditions, especially the lengths required.
Team news
Mitchell Marsh has been dropped in favour of frontline batsman Peter Handscomb, while Marcus Harris is confirmed for a debut opening the batting. That will be alongside Aaron Finch, with Usman Khawaja taking the No. 3 spot
Australia 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Marcus Harris, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Shaun Marsh, 5 Peter Handscomb, 6 Travis Head, 7 Tim Paine (capt & wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood
India have ditched their five-bowler policy and named only four frontline bowlers in their XII - the pace trio of Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah to be complemented by R Ashwin's off-spin. The only point that is uncertain is who will bat at No.6, with both Rohit Sharma and Hanuma Vihari named in the XII.
India 1 KL Rahul, 2 M Vijay, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Rohit Sharma/Hanuma Vihari, 7 Rishabh Pant (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Jasprit Bumrah
Pitch and conditions
Adelaide's previous three Tests have been day-nighters, but India didn't fancy one of those on this tour so it's the ground's first traditional Test match since 2014 when these two sides last met. The surface looked dry the day before the match and there is hot weather predicted for the first day, then warm, sunny conditions throughout so spin could be a factor.
Stats and Trivia
Kohli averages 98.50 at Adelaide Oval with three centuries
Australia will have just one player - Nathan Lyon - who appeared in the 2014-15 Test following the omission of Mitchell Marsh. India could have seven.
India have won just five of their 44 Tests in Australia - they won in Adelaide in 2003-04 on the back of Rahul Dravid's tour de force and Ajit Agarkar's six wickets.
Quotes
Tim Paine: "The (Adelaide Oval) wicket over the last few years here has given enough throughout the game. We've got a lot of confidence in Nathan Lyon bowling the overs we need and all three of our quicks are going in very fresh."
Virat Kohli: "We're not taking anything for granted. We just want to focus on our skills and what we need to do. We're looking to correct things that haven't gone right in the past."
05:30 AM IST
1st Test, India tour of Australia at Adelaide,
Big Picture
India's year of trying to conquer overseas challenges has reached Adelaide. Australia's year of turmoil has reached their first home Test series since the game was thrown into crisis. No one really knows who starts favourites, but never have India begun a series Down Under with such expectation that this could be their time.
However, that was said about the tours of South Africa and England as well, and both those series went the way of the home side - partly due to a lack of preparation and partly due to some poor selection decisions. India's warm-up match in Sydney was hardly inspiring as they conceded 544 against the CA XI. They have also lost the hugely talented Prithvi Shaw for at least the first Test. Nothing comes easily in Australia, even when the hosts are beset by their own problems.
It has felt a long build-up to this occasion for Australia - they have played in England, Zimbabwe, the UAE and faced South Africa and India this season in white-ball cricket before this much-anticipated duel. Their bowling attack has survived the turmoil which has cost a multitude of people their jobs, but plenty of questions remain about the batting they have put together for the start of the series.
At home, however, they are rarely dominated. Only South Africa have done it consistently since the days of the great West Indies team. If they can get off to a good start in Adelaide, putting enough runs on the board for the stellar bowling attack, then they could still be tough to stop. India must learn from the tours of South Africa and England - do not give the opposition a head start.
Every time Australia have taken the field since South Africa it has been billed as the new start, but after a lot of limited-overs cricket and a Test series overseas, this feels like their real opportunity to start afresh. This time last year Tim Paine had just returned to Test cricket, now he is captain. What sort of team can he develop? The next six weeks, starting in Adelaide, will tell us a lot. It's a series that could define both teams.
Form guide
(last five completed matches)
Australia LDLLL
India WWLLW
In the spotlight
Out of Australia's big three, Pat Cummins emerged as the most consistent of the quicks earlier this year - testament to his years of hard work to overcome the injuries that hampered the early parts of his career. He took a largely forgotten career-best nine-wicket match haul in Johannesburg when the focus was on anything but the cricket, and did not feature in the UAE. As with his fellow pacemen, he has been very carefully handled heading into this Test series, so hopefully he is ready to push up the speed gun. Do not ignore his improving lower-order batting, either.
How about someone other than Virat Kohli? India's pace attack is the best they have pulled together, but they either don't have great numbers or haven't played much in Australia. Jasprit Bumrah falls into the latter category but shapes as a key part of India's armoury. He made an instant difference to the attack when he came in during the England series, causing particular problems to the left handers, of which Australia have a few. However, many a talented fast bowler has come to Australia and taken too long to adjust to the conditions, especially the lengths required.
Team news
Mitchell Marsh has been dropped in favour of frontline batsman Peter Handscomb, while Marcus Harris is confirmed for a debut opening the batting. That will be alongside Aaron Finch, with Usman Khawaja taking the No. 3 spot
Australia 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Marcus Harris, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Shaun Marsh, 5 Peter Handscomb, 6 Travis Head, 7 Tim Paine (capt & wk), 8 Mitchell Starc, 9 Pat Cummins, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh Hazlewood
India have ditched their five-bowler policy and named only four frontline bowlers in their XII - the pace trio of Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma and Jasprit Bumrah to be complemented by R Ashwin's off-spin. The only point that is uncertain is who will bat at No.6, with both Rohit Sharma and Hanuma Vihari named in the XII.
India 1 KL Rahul, 2 M Vijay, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Rohit Sharma/Hanuma Vihari, 7 Rishabh Pant (wk), 8 R Ashwin, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Jasprit Bumrah
Pitch and conditions
Adelaide's previous three Tests have been day-nighters, but India didn't fancy one of those on this tour so it's the ground's first traditional Test match since 2014 when these two sides last met. The surface looked dry the day before the match and there is hot weather predicted for the first day, then warm, sunny conditions throughout so spin could be a factor.
Stats and Trivia
Kohli averages 98.50 at Adelaide Oval with three centuries
Australia will have just one player - Nathan Lyon - who appeared in the 2014-15 Test following the omission of Mitchell Marsh. India could have seven.
India have won just five of their 44 Tests in Australia - they won in Adelaide in 2003-04 on the back of Rahul Dravid's tour de force and Ajit Agarkar's six wickets.
Quotes
Tim Paine: "The (Adelaide Oval) wicket over the last few years here has given enough throughout the game. We've got a lot of confidence in Nathan Lyon bowling the overs we need and all three of our quicks are going in very fresh."
Virat Kohli: "We're not taking anything for granted. We just want to focus on our skills and what we need to do. We're looking to correct things that haven't gone right in the past."
cnerd123
likes this
As usual the challenge for the Indian quicks will be to not bowl too short, and to actually build sustained pressure. This is by far the most skilled attack we've brought to these shores, but I don't know if they're up to it. I want to be optimistic but it's hard to believe in something until you've actually seen it happen, and I remain in doubt that this pace battery can actually find the right lengths and be consistent for more than a session at a time.
Ashwin has disappointed us already, several times. I expect more of the same - abandoning line and length for funky variations and weird field settings, bleeding easy runs in the process.
The batting doesn't quite inspire confidence either. Vijay has lost his zen like calm and is likely to fish at a wide one after a few quiet overs. Lokesh will invent a way to get out, most likely by mis-executing a poorly selected attacking shot, while Pujara will absorb deliveries without rotating the strike, and Rahane will get eaten alive by Lyon. Pant might pull off a crazy counterattacking innings at some point but it won't make up for the chances he'll miss behind the stumps, and Ashwin will look good till he eventually chips to cover or midwicket.
This side has the talent but I'm prepared to be thoroughly disappointed as the same mistakes from past tours and previous generations will be repeated, and Australia will romp home to another easy home Test victory
Ashwin has disappointed us already, several times. I expect more of the same - abandoning line and length for funky variations and weird field settings, bleeding easy runs in the process.
The batting doesn't quite inspire confidence either. Vijay has lost his zen like calm and is likely to fish at a wide one after a few quiet overs. Lokesh will invent a way to get out, most likely by mis-executing a poorly selected attacking shot, while Pujara will absorb deliveries without rotating the strike, and Rahane will get eaten alive by Lyon. Pant might pull off a crazy counterattacking innings at some point but it won't make up for the chances he'll miss behind the stumps, and Ashwin will look good till he eventually chips to cover or midwicket.
This side has the talent but I'm prepared to be thoroughly disappointed as the same mistakes from past tours and previous generations will be repeated, and Australia will romp home to another easy home Test victory