Pitch that's out of touch with ground realities

[Chandan]

^ Your argument is flawed because the Australian batsman bat on pitches that provide a fair bit of assistance for pace bowlers' date=' with extra bounce and carry, which really tests a batsmans technique out. So when they get to a flat run-bed, it is actually a step down (Spinning tracks are a different story, but Eden Gardens was not a spinning track either really).[/quote'] Bharat, Tell me, does Sehwag have a very sound technique? He doesn't even move his feet. How did he succeed on the bouncy tracks 4 years back which according to you tests a batsman's technique? Same with Laxman. And he has had dream tours of Australia against much better bowlers.

Now as far as spin-friendliness goes, I still do not understand why we are doing this ... our spinners arent good enough to trouble most sides in the world anymore. So who are we really benefiting?

At the moment, they are good enough and the pitches have improved a lot from last decade when for the last two days pitches used to be minefields and Kumble used to destroy other teams with uneven bounce on the pitch! And we need to have good spinners and few younger ones are coming through.

Tell me what positives we can take out of this tour (Yes there is the joy of beating a depleted Pakistan side for the first time in 27 years).

Yes. This is one. But mind you, we haven't won the series as yet.

So all our batsman appear to be in form. However, how do we know that ... because they just smashed around Tanvir and Sami on a flat wicket?

Tell me, how did we know in 2003-04 that such and such batsmen were inform?

There was a discussion during the Cricket Show (a lunch-time show in Australia shown during Test match days) , and it was unanimous that the number one reason that teams struggle in Australia is that they do not accustom to the conditions quick enough. Nowadays teams only have 1 warm up game. Michael Slater said that back when he played, on some tours they would have 5 or 6 warm up games.

This clearly is one of the disadvantages of having excess of cricket. But players have to put up with that. And if they are better players, they will have to adapt quickly to the conditions. And this is one reason I laugh when people say that batting in this era is much easier because there aren't enough quality bowlers. Quality of bowling might not be that great but there are far more things which a batsman has to adjust quickly to.

So, since you have rejected my idea of trying to emulate Australian conditions and try to beat Pakistan in Australian-like conditions so that our batsman can sure up their techniques against pace bowling, how do you believe India should prepare for Australian conditons?

Ideally I'd have liked one more practice match before the first test. But even that is not granted, so batsmen will have to do the hard yards themselves. No body can produce Australia like conditions in India. Our players know what the conditions in Australia is like and they'll have to adjust to it quickly. More than the lack of practice, I'm concerned with the non stop cricket that we've been playing since June onwards and it has started taking its toll on our bowlers. I just hope that we have a full strength team in Australia. That is all.

[talksport]

Why should Australia play in Sydney.... They should play all tests in Perth

[The Outsider]

Why should Australia play in Sydney.... They should play all tests in Perth

Because when they play against India at Sydney they make sure it doesn't turn even in the last session of the Test.

[bharat297]

Ideally I'd have liked one more practice match before the first test. But even that is not granted, so batsmen will have to do the hard yards themselves. No body can produce Australia like conditions in India. Our players know what the conditions in Australia is like and they'll have to adjust to it quickly.

You keep referring back to 2003/04 ... back then we had 2 warm up games at the MCG and Brisbane (where we played 2 of the 4 tests) ... we played a game at Brisbane 3 days before the first test at Brisbane. This time we have 1 warm up game in Melbourne ... but not at the MCG, at Junction Oval, so we would not have even had a warm up on the pitch we will be playing on the first test. Even the Australians in 2004-05 played a warm-up game at Mumbai, and that still wasnt enough for them to adjust to the Mumbai conditions. Essentially, besides 1 game at Junction Oval, we have no warm ups. We would not have even played 1 game at the ground we are to be facing Tait, Lee, Johnson and Clark on. Knowing what conditions are like is one thing, but actually adjusting your game to those conditions quickly enough is a different thing. OK maybe the middle order will have enough experience in that regard, but what happens to Jaffer and Karthik (or maybe Gambhir if he is replaced). Their performance is crucial to our success in Australia. They would have just finished a series where balls at a good length bounce no higher than knee height and they can comfortably stay on the front foot, then they head off to pitches where they have never played before and have to face balls at a good length that bounce up to your abdomen ... not to mention the fact that it will be at 150-160km/h. I just feel that producing pitches like this, we have shot ourselves in the foot now. I am confident that our team can beat Pakistan on any surface, so why not produce hard and bouncy surfaces so that it benefits the team for the next series, against the world's best team, as well?

[Guest BossBhai]

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[bharat297]

Well that stat is accounted for by the high-scoring series that was 2003-04 and I already said that we had 2 warm up games on the actual test pitches heading into that series. This time we only play 1 warm up game , and its not even on the test pitch. Also add the fact that the Australian bowling attack now is I feel stronger than the one in 2003/04.

[Guest BossBhai]

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[bharat297]

The first column includes all 3 series from 92 onwards.

Well, basically in the 7 tests that were played between India and Australia in Australia during the 90s, only once have India as a team scored more than 350, and only twice have we scored more than 300. However, that is drifting off the point (pitches back then were different). Since 2000, we have done much better abroad. However I still feel that we are putting our batsman under unecessary pressure by asking them to adapt to conditions which could not be more contrasting in such a short space of time, when we could have prepared some hard and bouncy pitches (that provide pace bowlers some assistance) and still beaten Pakistan.

[Chandan]

Since 2000, we have done much better abroad. However I still feel that we are putting our batsman under unecessary pressure by asking them to adapt to conditions which could not be more contrasting in such a short space of time, when we could have prepared some hard and bouncy pitches (that provide pace bowlers some assistance) and still beaten Pakistan

I agree with you here. But then this is how BCCI works and its getting worse and worse with every day, month and year. There was no need to have 12 ODIs right after T20 championship, but no. BCCI is not at all bothered for players or cricket as such. They need money and that is all. And I told you that it is not possible to manufacture wickets like they have in Australia due to soil conditions, weather and other things. On top of that you expect BCCI, yes BCCI of all the organisation to put up that effort? Forget it!!

[bharat297]

I agree with you here. But then this is how BCCI works and its getting worse and worse with every day, month and year. There was no need to have 12 ODIs right after T20 championship, but no. BCCI is not at all bothered for players or cricket as such. They need money and that is all. And I told you that it is not possible to manufacture wickets like they have in Australia due to soil conditions, weather and other things. On top of that you expect BCCI, yes BCCI of all the organisation to put up that effort? Forget it!!

Yeah, I am saying it is the BCCI's fault. However, I disagree that it is impossible to create hard and bouncy pitches in India. It is all to do with how the pitch is compressed and how much compaction is acheived at each level and sub-level of the surface. Also, how much grass is allowed to stay on the pitch. Yes soil and weather conditions play a small part, but only a small part.

[Guest BossBhai]

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[The Outsider]

In his book Wright talks about the difference in pitches in India during November/December and February/March. He says India should play all it's important series at the end of the season because the wickets don't break up early in the season to assist our spinners and have quite a bit in them for the pacers early on. But since thought process was never a strong point of the BCCI we have scheduled our clash with Australia again at the start of our season next year.