Aus determined, but Kotla history backs India

[putrevus]

Aussie unlock the secret of Reverse Swing Reverse swing not quite what it seams as Australians unlock India's secret THE secret to India's early reverse swing has been revealed, and came as a surprise to Australia despite their extended preparation, extensive intelligence and esteemed bowling coach. The secret lies not with a particular variety of mint, nor any other shady ball-manipulating practices, but with the Indian pacemen's decision to hold the ball across the seam after only a handful of overs, or as soon as they have stopped generating conventional swing. This causes the ball to land on its side rather than the seam, so as to scuff up one side on the abrasive surface of the pitch - at which point the bowlers shine the other side and let the reverse swing begin. It goes a long way towards unravelling the mystery of why Zaheer Khan and Ishant Sharma have been able to generate reverse swing after only eight overs, while it has taken the Australians as long as 70 or 80 overs to get the ball in the right condition. The Australians were caught unawares by the tactic in Bangalore. Hours of footage studied in preparing for India did not feature any vision of the Indian fast bowlers holding the ball across the seam in the early overs. Vice-captain Michael Clarke said he was taken by surprise but the Australian bowlers would learn from the Indian pacemen and attempt to emulate them in the remaining Tests in New Delhi and Nagpur. "The ball is reverse swinging in the 10th over of the game, and that has such an impact. India are holding the ball across the seam the first four or five overs of the game to try and rough it up as much as possible, to get it to reverse swing as early as it can," Clarke said. "That is something I have learnt. I didn't even see that in my first tour in India. I knew the ball was reverse swinging but I didn't take any notice of how. We are learning as we go, so I see so many positives come out of the last two Test matches that I am certain will hold us in good stead for Delhi and Nagpur." There is heavy irony in the fact the Australians have had to learn on the run, because much was made of their arrival in India almost three weeks before the first Test to adjust to the foreign conditions and get the feel of the SG balls used in India, which have a smaller seam than Australia's Kookaburras and soften more quickly. In fact, the Board of Control for Cricket in India was less than impressed with the hospitality extended by the Rajasthan Cricket Academy in Jaipur, where the Australians had the use of three different types of pitches and the experience of Greg Chappell, former India coach and assistant to Australian mentor Tim Nielsen for the first month of the tour. If they had possessed this one crucial snippet of information, the bowlers could have practised holding the ball across the seam but instead Shane Watson did it for the first time in his career during the second Test in Mohali. Although Mitchell Johnson has been able to swing the old ball, Brett Lee has gained little movement through the air in taking four wickets for the series at an average of 59. It is doubly embarrassing because Australia have in their dressing room Troy Cooley, the bowling coach regarded as the grand master of reverse swing, who was poached by Cricket Australia from England after Simon Jones and Andrew Flintoff used the mysterious art to devastating effect during the 2005 Ashes. "The coaches can only ever pass on advice to the player," Australian captain Ricky Ponting said after the 320-run defeat in Mohali. "They can't actually execute anything for the player when he is out on the field and they can't think for them out on the field either." WOW what genius is their bowling coach , it took them so long to decode:omg: let us see what they do in kotla

[Ram]

Really, its not just the quality of spinners of the two sides that has made the difference, but this phenomenon of reverse swing too. What we’re seeing here is a remarkable thing really. Usually, in India, the pacers have been a liability once the new ball loses its shine. Even when its new, there isn’t that big a threat from the pacers. So, the general strategy if you’re playing a test in India was – “See off the first hour and feast for the next 5”. But amazingly, the real threat from the Indian pacers is actually starting AFTER the first hour, when the reverse swing begins to set in, which seems to have caught the Aussies completely off guard. Its clear as blue-sky that they didn’t foresee such a thing happening. Their top and middle order have been taken completely by surprise. Of course, they would have known reverse swing will happen, but what they couldn’t possibly anticipate is that it will happen in 10-12 overs time. Batsman after batsman after been completely flummoxed by it. Literally, reverse swing has been India’s most potent weapon this series. It has completely changed the entire dynamic of the situation.

[Sachinism]

Lmao.....

[DomainK]

Yeah. How to write in English? Learn ABCD. As simple as that.

[fineleg]

will aus reverse as well at delhi now? interesting to see

[h4te]

is this actually a serious article?

[putrevus]

http://www.smh.com.au/news/sport/cricket/reverse-swing-not-quite-what-it-seams-as-australians-unlock-indiassecret/2008/10/22/1224351350629.html here is the link

[cowboysfan]

this is not rocket science.I suspect one of the aussie bowlers is messing it for everyone by roughing up both sides of the ball when bowling.

[flamy]

Yeah. How to write in English? Learn ABCD. As simple as that.

Excellent analogy!

[DomainK]

this is not rocket science.I suspect one of the aussie bowlers is messing it for everyone by roughing up both sides of the ball when bowling.

Nah.....its Sehwag and Gambir.....roughing up both sides by hammering it mercilessly. Poor Aussie bowlers are just clueless.

[flamy]

Nah.....its Sehwag and Gambir.....roughing up both sides by hammering it mercilessly. Poor Aussie bowlers are just clueless.

:cantstop::cantstop:

[flamy]

This article is just unnecessarily adding pressure to Kumble. The Author is writing as if Kumble playing = India losing. He is asking Kumble a question - what is important - India's victory or your farewell? Isn't this harsh? This article is rubbish so to say, to compare what happened with a Hungarian Soccer team and Indian cricket. How would the Author feel if you or I write him an email saying, your article have become boring and useless, why dont you resign your job so that a new comer at Cricinfo can do a better job?

Why dont u put that in his comments? :winky:

[cowboysfan]

Nah.....its Sehwag and Gambir.....roughing up both sides by hammering it mercilessly. Poor Aussie bowlers are just clueless.

:hysterical::hysterical:

[ludhianvi]

Nah.....its Sehwag and Gambir.....roughing up both sides by hammering it mercilessly. Poor Aussie bowlers are just clueless.

Brilliant Sir!:winky: As for the OP: The commentators picked this up in the first test. So I dont know why this is news all of a sudden for the Aussie think camp

[coffee_rules]

It is a conundrum and only Kumble can resolve it. If he decided to put his money where his mouth is and back himself up to deliver in Delhi, then all power to him. If he fails, he will go out in shame. I think if I am kumble (less of a risk taker), I would sit out Delhi and back for the next test and then retire.

[coffee_rules]

How did Indian bowlers manage to land the ball on the same side holding the ball across the seam? You try once, the fielder will get the ball polish on the side which was not roughed, he gives it to the bowler. He bowls cross seam again, how does he make sure now that the ball lands on the rough side again. What if he lands the ball in the polished side again..and now both sides are rough... Indians must be geniuses to control where to land the ball!

[fineleg]

Manoj Prabhakar contacted by Aussies in Delhi to help with reverse swing Will Manoj Pra assist them? http://www.hindustantimes.com/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=HomePage&id=a778e6d0-a7fd-4c5c-9835-c91f926f9d59&&IsCricket=true&Headline=Aussies+seek+Prabhakar%e2%80%99s+help

[fineleg]

Prabhakar was contacted by a member of the Australian camp on Thursday and asked if he was willing to help Brett Lee and Co. at the nets. Prabhakar, who was Delhi's bowling coach last season, played a big part in the development of Ishant Sharma and was undoubtedly one of the finest exponents ?of reverse swing in India

[vadodaravictor]

Interesting..was he really good at reverse swing ?

[Fontaine]

How did Indian bowlers manage to land the ball on the same side holding the ball across the seam? You try once, the fielder will get the ball polish on the side which was not roughed, he gives it to the bowler. He bowls cross seam again, how does he make sure now that the ball lands on the rough side again. What if he lands the ball in the polished side again..and now both sides are rough... Indians must be geniuses to control where to land the ball!

That and a lot of practice. Even last year during and after the England tour Prasad made it clear that all the bowlers had worked really hard on their wrist position and release which allows for such control. The simple answer is that guys like Lee/Mitchell Johnson etc will find it very very difficult to change now because they strive for pace and their hand/wrist release is much more different and geared towards snapping the wrist to make it go faster and land harder. At least that's what I can see. Whereas guys like Rp, Ishant, Zaheer strive for control and swing so their wrist position and release is far less forceful and don't snap their wrists. Australia can try all they like but not gonna happen.