A time for some old-fashioned grind - Gilchrist

[vvvslaxman]

http://www.espncricinfo.com/magazine/content/story/654939.html A time for some old-fashioned grind The Australian batting group certainly has the talent but now it's all about mental application Adam Gilchrist July 25, 2013 Eight years ago, the Australian squad headed to Manchester for the third Ashes Test, at Old Trafford, on the back of a defeat. We had struggled as a batting unit in the previous Test, at Edgbaston, and for me personally, the Old Trafford Test loomed as a serious mental battle. My approach to batting had been forced away from its natural balance. I was struggling to get my head around Andrew Flintoff bowling from around the wicket, while Simon Jones, Steve Harmison, and Matthew Hoggard were all finding some reverse swing. In the ten minutes before I went out to bat, I was still juggling whether I would try to defend and bat for two hours, letting the England bowlers slowly come to me, or if I would try to belt them off their plan straight away. My approach had become first gear or sixth gear, with nothing in between. And while your mind is swirling with that uncertainty, the one certainty is that you won't produce your best. You must remember that your skill level won't improve in the short space between Tests: it's all between the ears. Just like in 2005, the challenge for the Australians as they look toward the third Test at Old Trafford is now a mental one. In finding the best approach, Australia's batsmen could do worse than look to their opponents. England's batsmen are all versatile and play limited-overs cricket as well as Tests, yet they have found a way to manage the different formats effectively. The key in this series has been that the foundation of England's batting has been crease occupation. Both teams have found themselves at 30-odd for 3 more than once already in this series but the difference has been that England have had batsmen who then resorted to what these days would be called old-fashioned grinding: occupying the crease and forging a partnership. As the Australians have found to their detriment during the first two Tests, every minute that you resurrect your innings it wears down your opponents. Joe Root was the man who led that response in the second innings at Lord's and he looks like a terrific player with the foundations to develop into a fine cricketer for years to come. But it was Ian Bell who really provided the backbone for England in the first innings, allowing them to push up to 361. Jonathan Trott's half-century did not receive the acknowledgement it deserved either - the partnership between Trott and Bell stopped any momentum Australia had taken from Nottingham and run with during the first hour at Lord's. Bell and Trott provided a fine example to the Australians. The whole England top order - Root, Alastair Cook, Trott, Bell, Kevin Pietersen and even Jonny Bairstow - have those capabilities. They all feature in limited-overs games as well, but have shown that there is no need to pigeonhole yourself as a certain kind of player. In this era of three formats, the quality players are versatile enough to adjust their games to suit the requirements whether it's T20, 50-over, or Test cricket. The Australian batting group certainly has the talent but now it's all about mental application, and that is such a difficult part of your game to apply when you feel under siege. That's how the Australians would feel now. Hopefully the batsmen, individually and with the expertise they have around them, will be able to work out their plans for Old Trafford and not lose focus. It is one thing to pounce on loose balls, but quite another to attack without regard for the bowling. When I started playing for Australia there was an approach of scoring 300 in a day, led by Steve Waugh, and since then scoring rates have gone up significantly. But the best teams always had players who were willing to set the innings up first. Ricky Ponting was the most free-flowing of batsmen, but he would come in at No. 3 and occupy the crease, leave the ball, soak up some deliveries and make sure he was well set to eventually counterattack. Eight years ago, the Australian squad headed to Manchester for the third Ashes Test, at Old Trafford, on the back of a defeat. We had struggled as a batting unit in the previous Test, at Edgbaston, and for me personally, the Old Trafford Test loomed as a serious mental battle. My approach to batting had been forced away from its natural balance. I was struggling to get my head around Andrew Flintoff bowling from around the wicket, while Simon Jones, Steve Harmison, and Matthew Hoggard were all finding some reverse swing. In the ten minutes before I went out to bat, I was still juggling whether I would try to defend and bat for two hours, letting the England bowlers slowly come to me, or if I would try to belt them off their plan straight away. My approach had become first gear or sixth gear, with nothing in between. And while your mind is swirling with that uncertainty, the one certainty is that you won't produce your best. You must remember that your skill level won't improve in the short space between Tests: it's all between the ears. Just like in 2005, the challenge for the Australians as they look toward the third Test at Old Trafford is now a mental one. In finding the best approach, Australia's batsmen could do worse than look to their opponents. England's batsmen are all versatile and play limited-overs cricket as well as Tests, yet they have found a way to manage the different formats effectively. The key in this series has been that the foundation of England's batting has been crease occupation. Both teams have found themselves at 30-odd for 3 more than once already in this series but the difference has been that England have had batsmen who then resorted to what these days would be called old-fashioned grinding: occupying the crease and forging a partnership. As the Australians have found to their detriment during the first two Tests, every minute that you resurrect your innings it wears down your opponents. Joe Root was the man who led that response in the second innings at Lord's and he looks like a terrific player with the foundations to develop into a fine cricketer for years to come. But it was Ian Bell who really provided the backbone for England in the first innings, allowing them to push up to 361. Jonathan Trott's half-century did not receive the acknowledgement it deserved either - the partnership between Trott and Bell stopped any momentum Australia had taken from Nottingham and run with during the first hour at Lord's. Bell and Trott provided a fine example to the Australians. The whole England top order - Root, Alastair Cook, Trott, Bell, Kevin Pietersen and even Jonny Bairstow - have those capabilities. They all feature in limited-overs games as well, but have shown that there is no need to pigeonhole yourself as a certain kind of player. In this era of three formats, the quality players are versatile enough to adjust their games to suit the requirements whether it's T20, 50-over, or Test cricket. The Australian batting group certainly has the talent but now it's all about mental application, and that is such a difficult part of your game to apply when you feel under siege. That's how the Australians would feel now. Hopefully the batsmen, individually and with the expertise they have around them, will be able to work out their plans for Old Trafford and not lose focus. It is one thing to pounce on loose balls, but quite another to attack without regard for the bowling. When I started playing for Australia there was an approach of scoring 300 in a day, led by Steve Waugh, and since then scoring rates have gone up significantly. But the best teams always had players who were willing to set the innings up first. Ricky Ponting was the most free-flowing of batsmen, but he would come in at No. 3 and occupy the crease, leave the ball, soak up some deliveries and make sure he was well set to eventually counterattack.

[vvvslaxman]

I understand where he is coming from. Question do Aussies have the skill to play grinding game. Henriques played okay in Chennai Test. Didn't last long though.

[CG]

I understand where he is coming from. Question do Aussies have the skill to play grinding game. Henriques played okay in Chennai Test. Didn't last long though.

More mental strength than skill.