India vs. Australia 2013 : Australia Squad Analysis

Yesterday we gave you a full breakdown of the Indian squad for the first 2 tests of the upcoming Australia series. So in the spirit of balance, here are the 18 Australians they will face;

Batsmen

Michael Clarke (c) : We touched on the quality of Clarke in our IPL auction article. Something we didn't do was give you some of his test match statistics. So here goes.
Since the Australia/New Zealand series (Dec 2011);

Matches: 15, Innings: 25, Runs: 1867, Average: 84.86

Bradmanesque.

David Warner : The rockstar of Australian cricket. Sure to open the innings in his own dynamic style. May just take a liking to Indian wickets.

Phillip Hughes : One of the weaker batsmen in the side. A career average of 36.25 tells a story. May have to fight for his place against...

Ed Cowan : Australia's answer to Murali Vijay. 30 years old with a career average of 32.81. Has one century in 13 tests.

Usman Khawaja : Another underwhelming batsman - possibly batting at 3. Pakistan-born Khawaja has just 6 tests and 3 ODIs to his name with a highest score of 65.

Shane Watson : After recently deciding to temporarily give up bowling to help his recovery from a calf injury, there has been speculation as to where Watson will bat. He has expressed his preference to return to the top of the order whilst showing a willingness to lend his skills to the middle order. Australia coach Micky Arthur has stated his belief that Watson is most effective at 4 - and that's where we expect to see him.

Matthew Wade (wk) : One of the best wicket-keeper/batsmen in the game. As talented behind the stumps as he is with the bat. At the age of just 25, Wade has 2 centuries in his 9 tests and his ever-increasing average currently sits at 42.50.

All-Rounders

Glenn Maxwell : The $1million man is going to be looked at under a different light since the IPL auction, and will be expected to thrive with the bat as well as the ball on turning tracks. He is yet to play a test match for Australia.

Steven Smith : Everyone loves a leg-spinner. Smith was once tipped for greatness but hasn't yet delivered. His 5 tests have yielded a bowling average of 73.33. The 23 year old will look to start delivering on some of that potential on India's spin-friendly wickets.

Moises Henriques : Another for the 'unfulfilled-potential' file. Henriques has just 5 ODIs to his name and doesn't look like getting his baggy green here.

Ashton Agar : I know nothing about Ash other than the following; He is a 6ft 4in, 19 year old left arm orthodox bowler who averages 32.66 with the bat and 30.12 with the ball in his 2 first class games. He is of Sri Lankan heritage and has been compared to a "young Vettori" by Justin Langer. High praise.

Bowlers 

 

Peter Siddle : In the absence of Ben Hilfenhaus, Siddle finds himself the leader of the Australian pace attack. Since the New Zealand series in December '11, he has racked up 59 wickets at an incredible 22.86. He was recently quoted as saying; "The way we've won Test matches for years now has been with our pace and I think that is going to play a big role."

Nathan Lyon : The pride of Australia's spin department, Lyon will play a huge role on turning wickets. Asked about lessons learned watching England in India last year, Lyon said; "I did watch Swann very very closely and I hope to take in a few things and put the same method in practice against India." Lyon went on to state his wish that Australia start the first test with two spinners.

Mitchell Starc : The left-armer has cemented his place as one of Australia's key strike bowlers. Standing at 6ft 6in, Starc will waste no time offering up some sweet chin music to the Indian batsmen.

James Pattinson : Finally fit after a run of injuries and niggles, Pattinson will have to earn his place in the starting XI. Aged just 22, the Victorian boasts an average of 22.09 in his 7 tests.

Mitchell Johnson : Johnson is among the best in the world on his day, and he has spoken recently on his affection for bowling in Indian conditions; "I love bowling with the SG ball. It's a nice feel in the hands, it's a bit thin at the seam but it stands up taller."

Xavier Doherty : Aged 30 with a test bowling average of 102.00, the slow-left-arm bowler gives us an insight into the thinking of the Australian selectors.

Jackson Bird : We didn't have much to say about Jackson Bird. His stats (98 first class wickets at 19.32, 11 test wickets at 16.18) suggest he can play. Something about him is just underwhelming. We even tweeted him @Jackson_bird for advice;

No reply as of yet.

Possible Starting XI

A few players in this squad pick themselves; Clarke, Warner, Watson, Wade, Siddle, Starc & Lyon. The rest of the team is very much in limbo. Khawaja's lack of match practice may see him left on the sidelines. Maxwell and Smith may have a straight spin-off to decide the number 7 spot. Australia's depth in seam bowling leaves questions over who will get the nod...

All things considered, we expect Austrllia to line up on 22nd February in Chennai like this;

David Warner
Ed Cowan/Phillip Hughes
Phillip Hughes/Usman Khawaja
Shane Watson
Michael Clarke (c)
Matthew Wade (wk)
Steven Smith/Glenn Maxwell
Mitchell Johnson/James Pattinson/Jackson Bird
Peter Siddle
Mitchell Starc
Nathan Lyon

It will be intriguing to see if the Australians stick to their strength and load up on seamers, or pick according to conditions. I think I know which India would prefer.  (No pace please)

Is this Australia side good enough to overcome India? Leave a comment below. Make sure to check back regularly as we continue the build up to India/Australia.

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India Squad Announced; Gambhir dropped. Dhawan, Dinda included...

The Indian selectors emerged from a dark room and announced the following squad for the first two test matches of the 2013 series against Australia;

Openers

Virender Sehwag - No surprise here. Gambhir has long since been for the chop and the dearth of openers in India has given Sehwag yet another chance to nick one to slip.

M Vijay - So here's what we think happened. Everyone in India had there name put in a (big) hat. Chief BCCI Selector Sandeep Patil was made to close his eyes and pick out two names to fill the 2nd and 3rd opener spots. The first name; Murali Vijay whose name was plucked from the same hat in November 2008 by Kris Srikkanth. Vijay has played 12 test matches for India with an average of 30.45. Although he turns 29 on April 1st, it seems we are the ones who have been made to look like fools here.

Shikhar Dhawan - The next name out of the hat and presumably the backup opener. Dhawan has 69 runs in his 5 ODI appearances. What I can't understand is - if you're going to throw someone in at the deep end, why not trial a youngster who can learn & develop? There are young and hungry openers out there - as we outlined in 'Our India Squad...' earlier in the day.

Middle Order

Cheteshwar Pujara - An indisputable choice at number 3. Will need to bat well and bat long given the temperamental batsmen around him.

Sachin Tendulkar - No surprise here. We touched yesterday on how it is now up to Sachin to decide when enough is enough. He is best positioned to say whether or not he can still perform. Until he says otherwise, Sachin walks out at 4.

Virat Kohli - Has had a love hate relationship with test cricket but is simply too good to be dropped. When SRT does call time, he will presumably move up to number 4 in the batting order.

MS Dhoni (c/wk) - Hands up, who really thought the Indian captain would be dropped and kicked to the curb? Shame on you. The captain usually bats at 7 but with no Yuvraj in the team, I wouldn't be surprised or disappointed to see him ahead of Jadeja at 6.

Ajinkya Rahane - The perennial backup. Any chance of India springing a surprise and opening with Rahane? One can only hope. For now, Rahane carries the drinks.

Spinners

Ravindra Jadeja - A busy cricketer who both MS Dhoni and Duncan Fletcher are high on, Jadeja will contribute in all 3 aspects of the game. His pedigree in the 5-day game is yet to be proven but his performances with the ball against England were more than enough to retain the no. 7 spot.

R Ashwin - Surely one of the first names on the team sheet. The leader of the spin attack. Ever impressive as a batsman. In at 8.

Pragyan Ojha - Has shown himself to be disciplined with the ball, as well as a legitimate wicket taker. In the absence of a test-caliber leg-spinner, SLA is called upon.

Harbhajan Singh - India took one of their biggest strides forward in recent memory when Harbhajan was dropped from all sides. He was persistent in bowling the Ashley Giles leg-stump line, bowled far too quick and didn't get wickets. Now, he's back - presumably as the backup off-spinner.

Seamers

B Kumar - Big questions remain over Kumar's ability to bowl in test cricket (he was most effective in ODIs when bowling his 10 overs first up). That said, he impressed in ODIs and so got called up to the test team. Logical selection!

Ishant Sharma - We have touched on Ishant's reported injury a couple of times of late. The fact remains, if he is fit to play he is India's best out-and-out bowler.

Ashok Dinda - Regular readers of the site know our views on Ashok Dinda. To say he is not my favourite player would be a massive understatement. To say his selection is a disgrace to Indian cricket is not. That said, and for my own sanity, I went looking for reasons for Dinda's inclusion. 

Was he selected based on ODI form a la Jadeja?  

No. We took a list of every bowler who has bowled in an ODI in the last 12 months. We filtered out players who had not played at least 5 matches and bowled 25 overs (anyone who bowls 5 overs per game qualifies as at least part time in our book). We then sorted by average giving us, in effect, a rundown of the 78 most effective ODI bowlers since this time last year. Ashok Dinda ranked 63rd. No Indian has bowled fewer maidens. Only Umesh Yadav has a higher economy rate.

Here are the Indian's represented on that list;

Indian bowlers in ODIs (11th Feb '12 - 10th Feb '13) 

Was he selected based on first class performance like the openers Dhawan & Vijay? 

No. This season, Dinda has 19 wickets @ 36.52 (ranking him 85th out of all the bowlers who have bowled 100 overs over 5 or more first class games). To put that further into context, tried/tested/discarded Vinay Kumar has 22 wickets @ 22.63. The promising Shami Ahmed has 28 @ 21.35. Exciting young swing bowler Sandeep Sharma has 41 @ 19.41. And yes, they all have better economy rates than Ashok Dinda.

Maybe his style is just more suited to International Test Cricket.

No. Dinda struggles to maintain his line and length for 2 overs, how will he bowl to plans and fields for sustained spells. Will he just continuously bang the ball in short on flat wickets?

Sanjay Bangar syndrome? aka Friends in High Places?

Quite possibly. My hope is that India go with the combination of Sharma & Kumar. 5 days of Dinda is too big a risk.

Likely Starting XI

For the first test at least, here is how we believe India will line up;

Virender Sehwag
M Vijay
Cheteshwar Pujara
Sachin Tendulkar
Virat Kohli
MS Dhoni
Ravindra Jadeja
R Ashwin
B Kumar
Pragyan Ojha
Ishant Sharma
---------------------
Shikhar Dhawan
Ajinkya Rahane 
Harbhajan Singh 
Ashok Dinda 

On paper it is a strong collection of individuals who have not functioned well as a team in test cricket of late. Almost every man in this 15 is under pressure; major question marks remain over M Vijay & B Kumar. There is the ever-present sub-plot of Sachin Tendulkar and whether or not he can still cut it. Sehwag too is playing for survival, whilst Virat Kohli has his fair share of doubters. Ishant Sharma's ankle will be under the spotlight, as will India's captain for whom this is simply a must win series. This series is also a final hurrah for Duncan Fletcher who will want at least one happy memory from his time as Indian coach.


It all kicks off on the 22nd February - we have even installed a little countdown clock! Leave your series predictions below and in the poll on the right hand side of the page. Bookmark us and check back regularly as we further build up the India/Australia series. 

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