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chris ryan
The Mohali Test
By Will 2 years ago, mid-October, 4 Comments »
It’s shaping up into a corking Test match over in Mohali. With two days to go, India lead by 301 with all second-innings wickets intact; they cantered to 100 for 0 in just 23 overs by stumps today. And, true to form, Shane Watson has said Australia “can chase down anything”, in a sub-conscious reference to his wild days on a pig farm, perhaps.
“I think we can win it,” he said. “If we’re set 430 or something in four or five sessions, I’ve got no doubt, if we bat well, we can chase down anything. The wicket is still playing well. There’s a bit of turn and the ball will go reverse. If we bat extremely well, I really believe we can chase down anything.”
It’s a good deck, for sure, but I’m far less confident than Watson. Fifth-day pitches in India are a spinners’ dream, and Amit Mishra already has five in the bag. Watch with interest.
With Australia’s predicament in mind, I was drawn to Chris Ryan’s piece on the Almighty-less side Ricky Ponting skippers:
It is too soon to guess how far Australia’s cricketers might fall. It is not easy to pinpoint the exact moment they peaked. But it seems reasonable to suppose they fielded no better team than the one they put on the park in 1997. That team had aces in most bowling departments, nigh-on infallible catchers, and just the right pinches of batting polish and grit. Underpinning all that was a keeper in Ian Healy who could pluck dragonflies with his tongue, and a fair and clever leader in Mark Taylor. Of the triumphant XI who guzzled champagne on the players’ balcony in Nottingham, only Ricky Ponting survives. Who else among the current lot might jag a spot on Tubby’s team? Mike Hussey would, coming in for graceful Greg Blewett, and Brett Lee would tip out trusty Paul Reiffel. No others.
It’s an interesting time, certainly. But if the seesaw is beginning to tilt away from Australia, it doesn’t take long for it to tip back quite dramatically. If, for example, they chase down 450 to beat India, once again Australia will be considered the all-powerful leviathon they once were. Albeit one whose cracks are widening as the years roll on.
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