Published: Jun 07, 2015, 03:40 PM (IST)
Edited: Jun 07, 2015, 05:47 PM (IST)
Australia secured the Frank Worrell Trophy, for at least another six months and inside three days. But their greatest achievement over the last 72 hours was to win a Test match on a 22 -yard strip that resembled a pitch straight from the sub-continent.
Australia’s recent Test failures on slow turning pitches is evident in their recent record which stands at 0-6 from the past six outings. To overcome the nightmares of the recent past on slow pitches, made this commanding win over West Indies an accomplishment that showcased Australia proceeding in the right direction.
It has been eight Tests since the Australian bowlers have taken 20 wickets on such a low bouncing pitch. The opposition might be inexperienced and raw but they never lacked in skills. Rather it was the mental application that cost the West Indies.
While some of the Australia batsmen should also lament their shot selection in their first outing and there are a few issues some of the batsmen need to overcome.
Michael Clarke might be an outstanding player of spin, but recently his inability to crouch and stretch forward due to his back has hindered dancing down the wicket to smother the spin. Steve Smith has eclipsed Clarke as premier batsmen in the team, but he needs to be aware of the fact premeditated shuffles down the track to spinners on pitch that turn can lead to misjudgments. Shane Watson ability to handle the ball that changes direction off the surface continues to remain his greatest thorn in his batting. Brad Haddin might be first man picked because Australia keeps winning, but a slight stumble and fingers will be pointed at the fact that he averages 14.85 from his last 18 innings.
Despite the top order malfunctioning, it must have been satisfying watching a rookie, Adam Vodes, albeit a veteran of 100 First-Class matches to adapt his game to such alien conditions with ease. It must further illustrate the ability of season campaigners in the domestic circuit.
On the other end of the scale, the bowlers who always seemed hapless on such slow wickets were exemplary. It is positive for the future that Hazelwood at such a young age can adjust his length so easily. When the ball got old, he got the ball to reverse, more than the two left-armers. He has shown with his first outing he will master the sub-continental like conditions.
Mitchell Johnson has developed his bowling since the series in UAE, the cutters, the around wicket angle, bowling with a crossed seam. But in fairness, wickets seem to elude him. On such tracks Johnson is still far too reliant on catches behind the slips, while his partner Mitchell Starc seems to just know how to rattle the timber. It is an area that Starc had it over Johnson and if the pitch is a rank turner in Jamaica, Starc is ahead of Johnson so low bouncy wickets. Add to the fact that Starc is more effective with the new ball.
Similarly Johnson’s over reliance on bounce is the also the same for Lyon to a degree. No doubt the off-spinner has lovely loop on the ball, but on pitches that are conducive to spin, it is effective to ball the ball into the pitch. It is something that Australians spinners are not accustomed to, even Shane Warne after couple of tours to sub-continent said, “I learnt that I was trying to spin the ball like an Australian pitch but on those pitches you have to keep it simply and let the pitch do all the work.”
At the end of the day, Australia will be delighted they capitalised on the crucial stages and they were brutal when the game was in the balance. But this team is still on the learning curve and pitches such as the one in Dominica still poses the greatest challenge for this group of men. To prevail in these conditions is in fairness a major achievement than disposing of an inexperienced opposition.
As Michael Clarke said, “Whenever you win a Test match inside three days you must be happy”.
(Gaurav Joshi is an Indian-born Australian who played with Michael Clarke in his junior days. He coaches and reports for a Sydney radio station. Over the years he has freelanced for Australia Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) and is a regular on ABC cricket show Cow Corner. He is the author of the book “Teen Thunder Down Under” – The inside story of India’s 2012 U19 World Cup Triumph)
