Australian tour the acid test....getting tougher?

[Sachinism]

I can imagine Ishant feeding Hughes strengths :((

[BeautifulGame]

Anyone who can bounce the ball trouble India.

Load of rubbish.What troubles of batsmen is swing not bounce.Thats why our batsmen struggled in England. If that is the case how does Sachin Dravid Laxman Sehwag all have great records in Australia.It is ridiculous to even suggest the likes of Sachin Dravid and Laxman are troubled by bouncers.

[MCcricket]

I think the selection of Mithun is a step backwards for the Indian team, right now he bowling at 130 k will be canon fodder for the OZ, NO SWING, PACE BOUNCE, a surprise he is being persisted with, he needs to get fit, work on his action , he was better bowling with a side on action where his pace was 10 k's higher and had bounce,Gony, Dinda, even Irfan , would have been a better choice.

[MCcricket]

So Aussies have started the first round of trash talking, next they will stir the pot about UDRS LOL, then about Indian ageing players, Bowlers injury so on lol,If u look at the changes to their squad looks like things are the ones should be worried about their team instead.Indians have to start well, hopefully they bowl first, all bowlers are fit, as we do not have backup to our bowlers thanks to Selectors,also as we are not good starters, bowling will give us time to get into the game. I see our bowling as very strong especially as for the first time, all our bowlers Zak, UY, Ishant, Ashwin are wicket takers and if fit will trouble the Aussies,this might very well the tour where we win the test series, only we have been handicapped by the poor selections of Mithun and VK, KOHLI MIGHT TURN OUT TO BE THE ONE WHO WILL SCORE RUNS AT 6 WHEN HE COMES IN BOWLERS WILL NOT BE THAT FRESH ALSO SHORT BALL WILL NOT BE THAT LETHAL WITH OLDER BALL, Rohit though might not be a bad choice, also R Sharma would've been a better choice in OZ for a 2 nd spinner.Neither Australian bowling or batting is strong nor their mental state as their players are struggling.:yay:

[panther]

getting easier now

[Needforspeed]

The Melbourne Test is a real acid test for India. Perhaps this is a unique series in the sense that both teams are seeking redemption. India after their 4-0 drubbing in England andAustralia after their defeat by New Zealand. As Indian Cricket lovers we have to keep our fingers crossed..hoping that the England series was just a one-off scenario and not the beginning of India's decline as a Test Cricketing Nation.

[MCcricket]

Ishant being fit , India certainly have a g8 chance to beat Australia in Australia also I want to see if Dhoni improves on his performance overseas , as his batting outside sub continent in test's is poor.

[MCcricket]

We have lost the first test 3 main reasons being Dhoni's captainship, both the Aussie innings we could've finished them off for atleast 50 runs less, the field setting were obnoxious to say the least,with Aussie on the mat at 4 or 5 down, offie bowling or Umesh bowling well, against a tailender we had point at the boundary, fielder behind the square at the boundary, giving easy singles to Hussey as per Dhoni we can't get him out , lol, Also Ashwin being an offie how can u have fielders down there lol. Very poor batting by Dhoni which was expected also most of India's batsmen after Tendulkar and Dravid gave away their wickets, fishing outside off, Virat Kohli well I had predicted he will fail. We lost this test primarily bcoz of Dhoni , everyone from , Tom,Ganguly, Chappel, Shastri were surprised by his tactics, he is not worthy of being selected as atest keeper or captain, also the selectors need to pull their socks up with bench strength, we have walking targets in VK, Mithun, Rahane, Virat, get Rohit in. We might still draw or who knows win the series or some test's , we had aussies on the mat twice and we let em go , now they are confident,more difficult to beat.I will wait for the day we replace Dhoni in the test team , especially as a captain, he sucks big time.:finger:

[MCcricket]

I am sure this is not going to happen ,but the ideal scenario would be for Dhoni to be unfit for this test series, handing over reins to Sehwag, Parthiv or Kartick called in as replacement with Irfan, Rohit coming in for one of the VVS or Gambhir,Parthiv or Dravid opening so we have Parthiv or Kartik Sehwag capt Dravid Tendulkar Laxman Rohit Pathan will be lethal with his swing, opening with Umesh, also a decent bat, better equipped then Virat or Rahane in this conditions Ashwin Umesh Ishant Zaheer This gives us a strong bowling , better batting, better captain

[bulbul]

I am sure this is not going to happen ,but the ideal scenario would be for Dhoni to be unfit for this test series, handing over reins to Sehwag, Parthiv or Kartick called in as replacement with Irfan, Rohit coming in for one of the VVS or Gambhir,Parthiv or Dravid opening so we have Parthiv or Kartik Sehwag capt Dravid Tendulkar Laxman Rohit Pathan will be lethal with his swing, opening with Umesh, also a decent bat, better equipped then Virat or Rahane in this conditions Ashwin Umesh Ishant Zaheer This gives us a strong bowling , better batting, better captain

parthiv :hysterical: Irfan :hysterical: :hysterical: no need to any drastic changes...

[MCcricket]

Rattled BCCI looks at long-term recovery plan The writer has posted comments on this articleIndranil BasuIndranil Basu, TNN | Jan 8, 2012, 12. The two humiliating Test defeats Down Under, coming just months after the thrashing in England, have left the BCCI perplexed. The board does not know how to explain it. (Agency Photo) NEW DELHI: As India's tour of Australia continues to play out like a bad dream and the brickbats come thick and fast, a rattled Indian cricket board (BCCI) is trying to put a long-term recovery plan in place. For starters, the board has written to the top Test-playing nations to revive the India-A tour matches. A senior official of the board said on condition of anonymity: "After what happened in England, we have already identified measures to help improve our Test performance. We have contacted boards of cricket playing countries like Australia, South Africa and England and expressed a desire to restart the India-A tours. Their responses are awaited." The two humiliating Test defeats Down Under, coming just months after the thrashing in England, have left the BCCI perplexed. The board does not know how to explain it. The team playing in Australia, they feel, is one of the best in the world. So, what's gone wrong and what is to be done now? Sources within the board hinted that at least two senior batsmen are expected to retire from Test cricket by the end of this year, or early next year. "We can't talk about drastic measures. We can't drop a Rahul Dravid who was last year's top scorer but has failed to notch-up runs during the ongoing Test series. He is still a world class batsman. Even a player like VVS Laxman has a worthy reputation. If he too is faltering in Australia, it's really a cause for concern. At the end of the day, they are not getting any younger," the concerned official said. As for the youngsters, the feeling in the board is that they have to be inducted into the playing XI gradually. With the team already down 2-0, it would be too much to ask Rohit Sharma - if he gets to play in the third Test in Perth - to get cracking on a fast, bouncy wicket in his debut Test match. Even a biggie like Laxman took 30 innings to score his first Test century, the official pointed out. "It's completely up to the selectors as to how they plan out the future course of action. We will surely have to take corrective measures and we should start with domestic pitches, which are mostly batsman-friendly. We have to prepare sporting wickets and restructure the National Cricket Academy and most importantly, we need to give some time to this team to come up again," another senior official reasoned. In a country where this game is followed like a religion, will the fans be patient enough for the transition to take place? "What other option do we have? If England are No. 1 Test team today, it's because they planned their cricket well," the official said while indicating that BCCI wouldn't mind following in England's footsteps. If injuries hampered India's chances in England, technical deficiency, poor tactical and lack of application has been the hallmark of the team's show in Australia. As for the bowlers, the board can only hope that the pool of fast bowlers, which it will shortlist for the future, will come good in time. The transition has to be smooth and a lot will depend on how this team performs in last two Test matches in Australia. "If it's a whitewash again, we will take necessary measures. We won't hesitate to take some harsh steps," said an official. Right now, it is a wait and watch policy for BCCI. THE AFTERMATH SLEEPING GIANT WAKES UP LOL BCCI

[MCcricket]

India should have different captains for Tests & ODIs: Jones Former Australian batsman Dean Jones feels sooner than later, teams would also have separate coaches for different formats of the game. (Agency Photo) SYDNEY: Former Australian batsman Dean Jones has a different take on India's poor show in the ongoing Test series against Australia. He feels that India are struggling, and will continue to struggle in Test cricket as long as they don't have at least three genuinely good pacers who can bowl consistently at over 140kmph. "Make no mistake, limited overs cricket is tailormade for batsmen, but to win Test matches you need bowlers who can take 20 wickets," Jones said, adding, "India have just one genuinely quick bowler in Ishant Sharma, while Umesh Yadav is a promising lad. It will be tough for them to win Test matches abroad with such an attack." Talking about Ishant, Jones said he found it absurd to see Ishant operating against the wind at the SCG. "I pity him. He was given the wrong end to bowl from by his skipper. He is the fastest of the lot and he should have been bowling with the wind, not into it," Jones observed. The big-built Australian felt it is time for the Indian selectors to split the Test and limited-overs captaincy. "As a captain, Dhoni is like a python. He waits patiently for the opposition to make mistakes and slowly but surely chokes them. This works well in ODIs, but in Test matches a captain has to be proactive and at times make things happen," he said. "It would be a good idea to for India to have two captains," he added. Jones feels sooner than later, teams would also have separate coaches for different formats of the game. "Different formats of the game need to be approached differently. It's too much to expect one person to deliver on all fronts. For example, Duncan Fletcher should have been planning for the Australia series after the debacle in England, but he had to focus on the ODIs against England and WI in-between. It might also work to have a chief coach and three other coaches working under him." Pointing to history, Jones said all top Test sides that have dominated world cricket for a period of 4-5 years, or more, have had great fast bowlers. "It is a common denominator. Look at the West Indies and Australian sides of the Seventies and Eighties and the recent South Africa and England teams. You would back them to bowl out any opposition," Jones said. Jones then gave the Sri Lanka example to underscore his point. "If Sri Lanka haven't won too many Test matches abroad despite having a top spinner like Murali in their ranks over a decade-and-a-half, it is because they haven't had genuine quicks," Jones added. He explained his need for speed by saying, "The quicker a bowler comes on to the bat, the lesser the reaction time for batsmen. Lesser reaction time means a batsman is more prone to make mistakes, which in turn increases the bowler's chance of claiming a wicket." Jones was quite upbeat about the pace talent at Australia's disposal. "We have quite a few young kids like Pattinson, Starc and Cummins lining up to bowl. Australia's pace attack is in good hands." TRUE THAT, VERY SUBTLY PUT , OUR TEST CAPT IS CRAP.

[maniac]

May be we can try Pathan in a Mohd.Hafeez kinda role(No this is not a dig at pathan's pace)..... He is more than a decent bat and a good 5th bowler option to have....We cannot keep taking 20 wickets with 4 bowlers in most conditions... Look at Watson,Kallis,Bresnan,Broad...obviously I wouldn't put Pathan in the same league as Kallis or Watson....This is why I put him in the Hafeez category...Like it or not that experiment has paid rich dividends to Pakistan I must say. I would say he wouldn't be a worse bat than Kohli,Raina,Yuvraj in foregin conditions

[MCcricket]

Talent potential are not always a good indicator of success alone, Pathan , Jadeja, Ashwin should be looked at as they can fulfill both roles.Rohit is the future, we have Sehwag, Gambhir, Yuvraj if he raises his game a notch to work with.Pujara, Mukund, Rahane , Vijay, Kohli, among bowlers Gony , Dinda, Tyagi, Aaron, Iqbal Abdulla.

[maniac]

Talent potential are not always a good indicator of success alone' date=' Pathan , Jadeja, Ashwin should be looked at as they can fulfill both roles.Rohit is the future, we have Sehwag, Gambhir, [b']Yuvraj if he raises his game a notch to work with.Pujara, Mukund, Rahane , Vijay, Kohli, among bowlers Gony , Dinda, Tyagi, Aaron, Iqbal Abdulla.

It's time we looked ahead....It's time the Yuvraj Singh test chapter is closed.... As far as pathan goes,he deserves one last crack at test cricket....He will definetely be a good option in overseas tests.

[chainsmoker1985]

It's time we looked ahead....It's time the Yuvraj Singh test chapter is closed.... As far as pathan goes,he deserves one last crack at test cricket....He will definetely be a good option in overseas tests.

Yuvraj is a match winner. He can turn around the match single-handedly. He will surely comeback to the test team. You cannot ignore such a big player and with so much experience

[MCcricket]

India has failed in Australia on all counts, intensity, planning, captaincy, selections, outplayed, I feel the seniors, more captain, selectors need to take the blame here, also D Fletcher looks like he can't get past Dhoni and the selectors and just resigned to see the team go from number one to number zero.BCCI, selectors need a long term plan and a organized approach to cricket, development, selections, it is time to have a new test and odi capt, Dhoni seems to have lost it, in terms of ideas, field settings ,batting, approach, very partial towards certain players and ignoring the rest.We want to be the top team but our planning, execution, selection and persistence of mediocre players is very very poor. The first step after the miserable tour is choosing a new capt, hopefully cheeka and co resign or are fired,BCCI lays a 5 year plan, a complete evaluation of our team performance, cricket, and selections[ARGUS REPORT] LOL, alot of work needs to be done in terms of domestic cricket ,selections at all levels from state to zonal, are very poor,mediocre, quota players are selected mostly, same with Dhoni's penchant for playing 11,Sachin, Dravid are close to 40's we need to make some drastic decisions, different teams for different formats and capt's. BCCI needs to know even if they are a medeival sports bodt they need to change as all the money and revenue will come only if we are successfull let that be a motivation , it is an archaic ,political sports body with not planning or long term goals, accountability.