Clarke was Australia’s shining light once again
Just days after losing the first Test against India in Chennai by eight wickets, Australia captain Michael Clarke has pointed out that England were in the same position after losing their first Test in Ahmedabad before going on to defeat the Indians in the next two Tests and win the series 2-1 to prove to the world that they are no longer as dominant as they used to be on home soil.
Australia made a rather surprising decision to only play one spinner in the match and it turned out to be a grave mistake as off-spinner Nathan Lyon was taken to the cleaners by the Indian batsmen, giving away 244 runs for just four wickets in the match.
However, even though the pace bowlers, who are led by Peter Siddle and Mitchell Starc, did not make much of an impact, Clarke still believes that they will play a key role in the three remaining Tests.
“It has been historically proven that quicks can be successful in India if they strive hard,” Clarke told the Times of India. “In the 2005 series Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie bowled extremely well for Australia. Dale Steyn has done well for South Africa in India and James Anderson bowled brilliantly for England recently. We have a very good crop of fast bowlers and they are aware of the challenge a tour of India poses.
“In fact, they all [have been] waiting to come to India and play before Indian crowds in what is going to be a really tough and important cricket assignment for each of them going forward in their careers. Bowlers like Siddle have the experience of bowling in India before and I am confident our fast bowlers will be up for it.”
Despite losing the first Test, Australia national selector John Inverarity believes no changes should be made to the current 17-man squad.
“This squad has the flexibility that will be required for the varying conditions expected in India and it will provide valuable experience to a number of young players,” Inverarity said. “The squad includes a spin bowling all-rounder in (Glenn) Maxwell and a medium-fast all-rounder in Moises Henriques. In aiming for more depth in a bowling attack, the squad would allow for three pace bowlers, a leading spinner and Maxwell or two pace bowlers, the two spinners and Henriques. These are two of the options.
“Xavier Doherty also returns to the Test squad. We certainly feel he is much improved in the longer format of the game since he made his Test debut in 2010-11 against England.”
Having scored 1595 Test runs in 2012, Clarke continued his excellent run with a century in the first Test and is hoping to come out of India with a win and follow it with a victory over arch-rivals England in the back-to-back Ashes series, which would not only return the coveted urn to Australia, but put them atop the International Cricket Council (ICC) Test team rankings as well.
“Year 2012 was indeed an enjoyable year for me,” Clarke said. “I played some good cricket and more importantly helped Australia have some success. The team did well to defeat India 4-0 at the start of the year in 2012 and right through we had some good results to show for our efforts. We are on our way to climbing up the Test ladder and in doing so the batsman in me has to step up and perform.”
Inverarity noted that the India tour was extremely important for Australia since it would set the tone for their Ashes series in England later this year.
“It is a long tour and a very important one as we look to continue our improvement in Test cricket and our quest to return to the top of the ICC Test cricket rankings,” Inverarity said. “We are also building towards back-to-back Ashes series.”