New beginnings for Australian cricket
Sam McNally on Cricket
With the Argus review and the (long overdue) sacking of Andrew Hilditch making all the cricket headlines in mainstream media of recent times, it’s easy to forget that the national team is currently on tour.
Australia begin their three Test series against Sri Lanka in Galle on Wednesday, the first under the full-time leadership of Michael Clarke.
The Aussies played exceptional cricket in the recently completed ODI series, winning 3-2 with match winning performances coming mainly from the bowlers (Mitchell Johnson, Brett Lee & Xavier Doherty) although the batting of Ricky Ponting, Clarke and Shaun Marsh was also great to watch.
As has been the rule in recent times, when it comes to Test cricket – Australia are set to hand out two new baggy green caps on Wednesday morning. Trent Copeland, the former St George third grade wicketkeeper will be taking the new ball for his country after a remarkable rise in the last four seasons. Sheer weight of wickets (a welcome quality, over ‘potential’) for St George, then NSW earned him a seat on the plane to Sri Lanka, where he impressed taking match figures of 6/61 from 28 overs in the drawn tour match against the Sri Lankan Board XI.
Copeland’s First Class career record is now an ultra-impressive 93 wickets at 20.94 in 18 games. For those not familiar with his style, think Stuart Clark (without the twitching). Not blessed with express pace, Copeland’s greatest asset is his ability to hit the seam on a good length and he rarely concedes more than three runs an over. He will bowl a lot of overs in this series.
Followers of the Australian team will be familiar with Shaun Marsh, who appears to have the inside running for the number six batting spot, despite Usman Khawaja’s century in the tour match. With 35 ODI’s under his belt, Marsh has international experience and is considered able to handle the sub-continent conditions better than Khawaja. Both left handers have made their names in the top order, so whoever the selectors choose will have to play a different role than they are accustomed to.
Also returning to the Test side after an absence through injury is Ryan Harris, who along with Mitchell Johnson will provide the X-factor in the Australian bowling lineup. Harris is one of the few genuine 145km/h men going around and his ability to reverse swing the ball will be valuable in the hot and humid conditions. Michael Beer looks set to play his second Test as the spinner ahead of Nathan Lyon and faces an extremely tough task to keep the super-talented Sri Lankan line-up quiet in their own conditions.
While the home side’s batting is very strong, the same cannot be said for their bowling attack. With the recent retirement of Murali followed by Lasith Malinga’s decision to focus on short-form cricket only, Sri Lanka have lost their two biggest strike weapons. Mystery spinner Ajantha Mendis has also lost some of his aura and in picking a 16-man squad (including 4 spin bowlers), it’s obvious the Sri Lankans aren’t too sure of their best lineup.
One player that did impress for the locals in the ODI series was leg-spinner Seekkuge Prasanna. Mendis and Rangana Herath will be the preferred tweakers in Galle, but don’t rule out Sri Lanka adopting a three-pronged spin attack as the series progresses. Shaminda Eranga was a tall fast bowler who debuted in the ODI series and hurried Ponting and Clarke for pace on a couple of occasions. He looks set to get his first Test here.
If Australia’s batting can put scores on the board and its bowlers can stay fit, they are a huge chance of winning this series. Concerns surround the poor form of Brad Haddin, which lengthens the tail significantly and the fitness of Harris, who must be considered long odds to get through all three Tests in just 21 days.
Shane Watson, Clarke and Mike Hussey loom as the key figures in the Australian batting line-up as the three best exponents of spin play. Clarke in particular was in terrific form in the ODI series, scoring 242 runs whilst being dismissed just twice in five innings. Will Ricky Ponting, now free of the pressures of captaincy, return to his best form? Two half centuries in the one-dayers suggest he’s seeing them OK, but it’s a different kettle of fish with men around the bat and the ball turning.
Test cricket in Sri Lanka tends to be a rather boring grind, with hot weather and slow wickets combining for attritional matches. Both teams look evenly matched and this series could hinge on one magical spell by a bowler, or a batting collapse from either side.
Those looking for a punt could do worse than take the $6.00 on offer for Trent Copeland to take most Australian series wickets, while Clarke looks good odds at $5.50 for most Australian series runs. A 1-1 drawn series is the favourite at $4.50 and provides some appeal, with at least one draw likely, however a 2-1 Australian series win is juicy at $11.00.
It was just over 19 years to the day since Shane Warne announced himself to the international cricket world with a sensational three-wicket spell to win a Test in Sri Lanka. With Australian cricket seemingly about to undergo a major change, will we see another future superstar fire an early shot this time around? Only time will tell.
Photo by Mark Kolbe/Getty Images AsiaPac
