The Matraville Mauler

The WACA ground in Perth was the scene yesterday of another (unsuccessful) attempt at the record for the fastest Test hundred.  David Warner thrilled the crowd and the television audience with a memorable display of powerhouse hitting as he reached his hundred from just 69 balls.

Warner’s effort was the equal fourth fastest Test hundred (measured in balls faced) ever.  He edged out Chris Gayle’s 70 ball effort in Perth two years ago and fell in behind Adam Gilchrist’s 57 ball whirlwind five years ago.  Perth’s fast, bouncy, true wicket must favour the right type of batsmen for fast scoring, as Roy Fredericks weighs in at number seven with a 71 ball century, also scored at Perth way back in 1975 (I remember that well – that was my first summer watching cricket and it was the first time I ever saw Lillee and Thommo get a good “touch up”).

But enough on records.  Let’s hear it for David Warner. After the bowlers, a slightly different set of bowlers, did their job, again, Australia’s openers proceeded to wipe off the deficit at a spectacular rate.  Things could not be much better for Australia.  Having sent the opposition in, they dismissed them with little resistance and by stumps on day one, are 13 runs short of being in front on the first innings, with all ten wickets in hand.  It is hard to assess how well the Australians are travelling because it is hard to know just how bad India are at the moment.

I don’t think Brad Haddin should have made his comments earlier in the week about India’s fragility – people in glass houses should not throw stones.  However, he is probably right.  After the 1st Test, Australia’s bowling was looking good but almost the entire batting line up was unconvincing (despite boot camp). After the 2nd Test, the middle order announced its return to form.  And now, in the 3rd Test, the openers have hit their straps.  Since the fall of Cowan’s wicket in Sydney, Australia have scored 771 runs for the loss of just one wicket.  It just does not seem possible.

I have to say that I love it when the cricket is in Perth.  It is true that waiting until 1:30 Sydney time for play to commence is hard.  However, it has benefits.  I can listen to it on the train on the way home and watch a couple of hours when I arrive.  And how lucky that this was the case yesterday.  When I boarded my train home, India was just four wickets down.  By the time I alighted, they were six wickets down and that included the tea break.  And by the time I walked home, it was eight.  And wouldn’t you know it, they were all out by the time I served myself dinner.  Six wickets for 30 runs in 10 overs.

I then got to witness Warner’s entire innings and what a treat it was.  What I like about Warner is that he keeps his head down and swings through the arc with a “club” speed that Tiger Woods would be proud of.   The three sixes he hit yesterday were all straight(ish).  He does cut and pull but he plays each ball on its merit.  I like the way when on 95, he left two widish balls outside off stump.  He then dispatched the next ball for six over long-on.

When on 80, Warner took a nasty blow to the head.  He attempted a hook shot, was through much too early, turned his head away and the ball seemed to hit him right behind the earpeace.  He went down and seemed very shaken.  But the little fella is a fighter.  He got back up and took strike with three balls remaining in the over.  Predictably, the first ball was a bouncer but it was ill directed, too wide of off stump.   Warner smashed it a vicious upper cut – he actually airborne when he struck the ball.   The next ball was pulled for four.  The final ball of the over was also cut ferociously.  It would also have been four if not for a spectacular save made by seagull no. 12,302.

When Warner was partnered with Hughes, the pair may have been seen as a couple of dashers, and it was true.  Some commented that perhaps it was not a good opening combination.  However, there is a big difference between those two lads.  Warner is far more orthodox and far less flawed in technique than is Hughes.  Now, in Cowan, perhaps Warner has found his perfect foyle.  At the crease, Cowan is dour, although by his usual standards he was a greyhound yesterday.  He nudges, deflects and accumulates.

Quite the contrast to Davey Warner.  They would seem to be opposites off the field as well.   Warner was born and bred in the rough and tumble Sydney suburb of Matraville – probably a background that serves him well on a cricket field.  Cowan spent his formative years in New South Wales’ well healed Southern Highlands and then went to Cranbrook High – a posh high school in Sydney.  I have no idea if that served him well on a cricket field but he did come under the eye of the late Peter Roebuck and he is very well spoken.

I have heard it said that the great opening partnerships were build around styles that complemented each other on the field and that opening partners are often friends off the field, or at least have some sort of natural bond or chemistry.  I’m not yet convinced that Cowan is a long term Test opener but he has his chance now.  And perhaps Cowan and Warner do have what it takes to form a great partnership. There certainly seemed to be a lot of love in their embrace when Warner reached is hundred yesterday.

Never Change a Winning Team?

The new Australian selection panel must be feeling rather happy.  It is true that since they started taking over for the South Africa tour, that it has been a rocky ride.  There have been some ups and downs to be sure.  Thrills and spills.  Both two Test series were drawn one-all.  But thanks to the current series, there have been more wins than losses.  And this series is the first time that they have dropped players in preference to others (rather than being subjected to the forces of natural attrition).

They axed Starc, some said harshly, for Hilfenhaus.  But that was proven an inspired move.  Hilfie immediately took two five wicket hauls.  They stayed with Hussey and Ponting and aside from Clarke, they have outscored all others.  Warner and Pattinson were selections that paid immediate dividends.  But even though the team is winning handsomely, the selectors have some hard decisions to make.

Warner’s effort in Hobart aside, the top three have been anything but solid.   There is a wicket keeper who is light on runs, is spilling catches and fumbling often.  Another problem is that until six weeks ago, Ryan Harris was Australia’s number one bowler.  When he was injured in South Africa it was assumed that we would come straight back into the team when fit.  And now he is fit, he is in fact, being kept out by his successors.  I guess that could be seen as an A1 problem to have.  (It seems forces of attrition are at work again as Pattinson has a turn being injured so the A1 problem lasted about 5 minutes.)

For this article, I will focus on Haddin and Marsh.

First let me say that I was intrigued by Haddin’s antics in India’s first innings.  Upon pouching his first two catches – regulation efforts – he ran towards the press box, arms outstretched, ball in palm as if to say, “What’s the big deal.  Too easy.”  What a tosser.  Pride cometh before the fall, Brad.  Come the end of day three, having spilt a chance that was only slightly difficult, at a time when Australia was struggling to break through, I can imagine that there was not a shovel big enough.

There is a lot of talk about Haddin.  The general consensus is that if Tim Paine were fit, he would be in.  Matthew Wade is a name that comes up.  They say he is a class batsman but his keeping is not actually that flash.  So stick with Haddin as he does add something to the team and there is nobody else.

How this is so, I don’t know.  A wicket keeper who regularly drops catches and a batsman who gives his wicket away cheaply would seem to be a liability to me.  So I found myself saying, “Is that it?  There are six states in Australia.  Doesn’t each one have a wicket keeper?”  So I checked it out.

Maybe the commentators have a point.  To start with, I had to look through the Sheffield Shield scorecards from this year to find out who they were.  I admit, I had not a clue.  I guess that is not a good sign.  This is what I found:

Chris Hartley (Qld), 77 matches, ave 31.11.  He’s played some cricket but I can’t say his name rings a bell.
Michael Johnson (WA), 10 matches, ave 12.5.  He can do the 200m and 400m in world record time but he’s not pressing for Test cricket selection.
Tom Triffit (Tas), 9 matches, ave 28.16.  Paine’s under study and no claims to fame.
Peter Nevill (NSW), 18 matches, ave 49.3.  Haddin’s understudy.  From the right state and not bad numbers but probably not in calculations.
Matthew Wade (Vic), 50 matches, ave 40.16 (ave 63 this season).

There you have it.  Luckily for Haddin, the cupboard is bare.  Wade is the only other contender.  So barring a shock, Haddin would seem safe for now, which I think is a shame because he deserves to be dropped.

The other player I will focus on is Shaun Marsh.  This is for two reasons. One is that I think he is hard to read.  The other is that he is occupying the most import spot in the batting order and given the brittle nature of the Australian batting in general of late, and the top order in particular, the selectors have to produce a winner for number three.

Shaun Marsh has played just five Tests and even in that short space of time has managed to scale the heights and plumb the depths.  This would appear to be an ability possessed by most of the Australian batsmen from the captain down and may account for the team’s batting roller coaster ride of late.  It is something the selectors need to consider.

Marsh scored a century on debut and followed that with an eighty in the next match.  Both of those matches were in Sri Lanka.  He made 44 in the first innings against South Africa and was the only batsman to lend support to the captain on that occasion.  Since then, Marsh has hardly scored a run.  In five more innings he has scored just nine runs and made three ducks.

Marsh does not have much Test cricket to analyse so I have checked his first class results.  He averages just over 38 in first class cricket and that concerns me.  I would think that a batsman should be averaging over 50 at Shield level if he is a genuine contender for Test cricket.

People say he looks fantastic in IPL and he has a big reputation there.  I have seen him bat there and it is all true.  But we have seen many times that a batsman can prosper against the white ball but fail when it is painted red.  And where is IPL played?  The sub continent.  And what are the pitches like?  Flat.  I don’t think it is any coincidence that Marsh’s Test successes were also on the sub-continent.

Marsh clearly struggles in conditions where there is movement in the air and off the pitch.  All Australian batsmen do, as in fact, do most batsmen in world cricket.  Since the Sri Lankan tour, until day three at the SCG, Australia has been playing on spicy pitches.  The batsmen have suffered and the bowlers have triumphed.  It is harsh to single out Shaun Marsh, and I won’t.  I think he will be given more time but I’m not yet convinced that he is the best man for Australia’s first drop.

Onwards and upwards to Perth.  It is a fascinating ride with the Australian cricket team.