Driving length needed from Aussie pacemen

Daniel Laidlaw

Now that Australia has some cricket under its belt on the much-anticipated tour of India, we can begin to draw some early conclusions with an eye to the tourists' prospects in the main event.

Having battered West Indies into submission with pace and succeeded against India with the same method last season, the early talk was of overwhelming the hosts with fast bowling. The Australians were undoubtedly expecting to do this in the tour opener against India 'A' as they prepared to take on the full Indian batting line-up. But after Test players Sadagoppan Ramesh and VVS Laxman handled the second line of attack in Fleming and Kasprowicz with apparent ease, some doubts must surely have surfaced in the Aussie camp.

In theory, the pre-tour strategy of victory through hostile and accurate fast bowling was sound. In reality, and execution, the indication is that the result will be somewhat different.

By compiling a partnership of 195 on a flat track in Nagpur, Ramesh and Laxman surely prompted the tourists to undergo a minor re-evaluation of strategy heading into the Test series. Despite the certainty of flat pitches, it is conceivable the Australians were planning to start the series with just one spinner, Shane Warne, to complement a pace attack of McGrath, Fleming and Gillespie. But in light of Colin Miller's haul of 6/90 and the relatively fruitless efforts of Fleming and Kasprowicz, team selectors must now be seriously contemplating the two-fast, two-spin option.

Although a repeat of the batting success of the 1998 series is unrealistic, the Indian batsmen may be a far tougher proposition than Australia suspected. Though they speak in respectful terms of the Indians' capabilities at home, it is possible that the memory of the harsh treatment received three years ago has faded, or been written off due to McGrath's absence and Warne's injury. If that is the case, then it is an extremely dangerous path to tread, and one that must be averted immediately. Australia should be mentally geared for some tough days in the field.

If the performance of Fleming is equally unproductive against a Tendulkar-less Mumbai, then Australia must consider entering the first Test with only McGrath and Gillespie as the quick men, unless the Wankhede wicket is prepared against expectations and offers pace and bounce. More specifically, Colin Miller has to play, which means omitting once paceman to clear a spot for Warne.

Ideally, consideration would be given to playing Miller, Australia's Test player of the year, as the sole spinner, but Australia is seemingly obliged to select a physically fit Warne or endure the 'Warne dropped!' headlines like those seen after the leg-spinner was left out of the fourth Test against the West Indies two years ago. Never mind that Miller, with his accurate, fastish off-spin in addition to the element of surprise he brings, will prove more difficult for the Indians to handle than Warne.

On top of that, the Australian pacemen have to realise that to be effective in India, they need to adapt to the conditions. They can't bowl the same length they do on the bouncier pitches of Australia and expect equal success. With the batsmen having more time to play their shots on the slower wickets, they have to adopt an 'Indian length'.

Nayan Mongia made the point in a recent interview on rediff.com that the Australians bowled too short in the one-off Test back in '96 and thus did not exploit the conditions. The reports from the first tour match indicate that the pace trio again bowled too short for the conditions and were carved through the off-side by Ramesh. The Aussies need to bowl a driving length to get rewards.

This should be of particular relevance to Glenn McGrath, who produces the majority of his wickets with immaculate line and length. McGrath has tended to struggle when he bowls shorter, negating movement off the seam and giving the batsmen more time to get positioned. As well as having his temperament tested, McGrath may find he has to pitch further up and risk being driven down the ground to get edges.

Of less concern, but still in need of addressing, is the approach the Australians will take to batting. It seems the Aussies succumbed in the first innings against India 'A' by attempting to bat too aggressively, knowing that there were plenty of runs to be had. The Indians proved this and the Aussies learned from it in the second innings, taking time to get a feel of conditions first before cutting loose. Two innings against Mumbai is all the time they have left to get it right.

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