Don't forget Sridharan Sriram

While the cricketing world is still moved by the majestic spell of Steve O’Keefe, they have forgotten about the man who played a key role in transforming SOK a lethal weapon. The name is Sridharan Sriram, who played only eight one-day internationals for India, but Cricket Australia invested faith in him and use his experience to discover the secrets behind performing on Indian conditions.

Sriram’s coaching was not fruitful in Sri Lanka, but CA didn’t take any hasty decisions and maintained the partnership. The partnership, however, is starting to bear fruit on the toughest tour of them all. O'Keefe claimed Sriram had been his "biggest influence" and Sri’s advise to change the angle of seam and arm while bowling changed things dramatically for Australia.

Change of seam and arm angle – how big an impact such simple things can have, many can’t even imagine.

Yet again, men like Sriram have busted the myth existing among the fans and critics – to be a very good coach you need to be a star. Coaching is totally a different job. Not all star players are very good coach and in fact, the majority of the star players has not been a successful coach.

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

How Australia conquered Pune

“If Australia play well, India will win 3-0. That is if Australia play well. Otherwise, 4-0”, Harbhajan was quoted as saying by the New Daily just six days before the start of the first Test between Australia and India at Pune. Meanwhile, ten days before the start of the battle at Pune, 113-Test veteran Sourav Gangulay said, “Yes, it will be very difficult (for Australia). As I said, I don’t predict in cricket, but I won’t be surprised if India wins 4-0”.

Sourav Ganguly and Harbhajan Singh didn’t sound arrogant, but in my opinion, their statements were more realistic if one consider’s Australia’s dismal record in India for the last thirteen years. It was in the third Test at Nagpur in 2004, when the Kangaroos beat India for the last time and since then, Australia’s Indian journey had been vexatious. Neither Ricky Ponting nor Michael Clarke’s men could halt an absolute humiliation on Indian soil.

The state of Steve Smith’s team was not good before setting foot on Indian soil. Rangana Herath’s teasing spin broke the backbone of Australia’s batting and during the Australian summer, Faf du Plessis’ South Africa hammered Steve’s men at their own backyard and bruised the ego immensely which created a shock wave in the Australian cricket camaraderie. Smith was down and dusted while the former cricketers and think tank, advised for a change – a much more resolute attitude was in demand instead of hyper-aggression.

Young bloods were injected in the third Test at Sydney against South Africa and few other new faces were seen who played the game with an Australian spirit, but knew very well how to maintain calm and composure.  Australia could rediscover their lost form after winning the Test at Sydney and after escaping some close calls in the series against Pakistan, the confidence of Smith’s new Australia gradually grew.

But their ability to perform on Indian soil and against the likes of Ravichdran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja who’re in the form of their lives, still remained a matter of doubt.  Not only on Indian soil, but in Asia, over the years, Australia’s performance had not been impressive and spinners like Yasir Shah and Rangana Herath could easily cast a spell over the Australian batters.

The faith in the abilities of Steve Smith’s men was not enough, except Steve Waugh, who said before the start of the first Test, “It will be foolish to write off Australia. I have known this Australian team and they can spring a few surprises. They have some match-winners in the team and I think Sourav is a bit optimistic … anything can happen.” He then added, “Australia won’t be going to India thinking that they will lose four nil”.

Anything can happen in this glorious game of uncertainty and something staggering happened at Pune where, to the astonishment of many, Australia broke the Indian hoodoo after thirteen years and took a 1-0 lead in the Border-Gavaskar trophy.

What might the reasons behind Australia’s amazing victory against the number 1 Test team in the world?

Australia kept the basics right while batting

Firstly, Australia were more resolute and technically superior than India while batting.

“We should have shown more restraint,” Anil Kumble said on day 2 at a press conference. Australia, certainly showed it better than the hosts.

On tricky tracks, it’s very important for one of the top order batsmen to display enough resolve and arrest a collapse. In case of Australia, Matt Renshaw in the first while Steve Smith in the second innings, displayed the sort of resolve which is ideal for Test cricket.

Then, on a rank-turner, where using the feet and playing the ball late with a straight bat was the order of the day, the Australian top order kept these two basics right throughout the Test match and thus paid a rich dividends.

Superb athleticism of the Australian fielders

Secondly,  Australia’s fantastic athleticism on the field throughout the Test match play a vital role behind achieving such a wonderful victory. Especially on the second day, their close fielders were grabbing catches like Eknath Solkar. Peter Handscomb in particular was at his very best and was responsible for two brilliant reflex catches during India’s first innings. The close in fielders and slip cordon were like vultures and were always ready to convert half chances into full ones.

Whereas the Indian fielding had been very sloppy. Steve Smith was dropped three times on his way to a half century and he made India pay for their mistakes by scoring a brilliant hundred.

Cut short of Virat Kohli’s stay at the crease

Thirdly, Australia bowled according to a plan against Virat Kohli to cut short his stay at the crease. Australia knew very well, if Virat stayed longer at the crease, the going would be tough for them.

Steve O’Keefe’s heroics is the talk of the town, but it seems, people have forgotten one man’s majestic  display with the cherry in the first session of day 2. Mitchell Starc had played a big role with the bat on day 1 and when the time came to show his skills with the ball, he was simply stupendous.

There was very little for the pacers at Pune, but Starc, along with Josh Hazlewood, made the ball talk to make life difficult for Indian batters. Starc dragged his length shorter and angled the ball away from the batters which led to the dismissal of two of India’s most prolific run getters in recent times – Cheteshwar Pujara and Virat Kohli.

Especially, the wicket of Virat Kohli was a huge morale boosting. Mitchell Starc used Virat’s super confidence against him. On day 2, he pitched a ball full and wide of offstump at pace so that Virat had a go at it. Virat chased it and walked to the pavilion early.

Australia shortened his stay in the fourth innings as well, by creating doubts in his mind about the length. O’Keefe undid him with a delivery which didn’t turn and Kohli was bowled while shouldering arms – a rare mistake from a batsman who’s already rated among the greats of the game.

Smart use of DRS by the Australians

While the home team kept on wasting the DRS, Australia had been very smart in using the same. On the first day, after 80 overs, Australia still had one review left while India used all of their reviews within forty overs. Again, when Virat Kohli and Ajinkya Rahane came out to bat on day 3, they had no reviews left to use as KL Rahul and Murali Vijay used them within ten overs of the day.

On day 2, Australia only managed to use one review which turned out to be a successful one  and on day 3, their smart use of DRS continued.

Smith and Co appealed for a leg before decision against Ravi Ashwin in the second session of day 3. The on field umpire turned it down as he thought, Ashwin might have an inside edge, but Smith went for the review and it gifted O’Keefe his fifth wicket.

According to Sourav Ganguly, “In India, you have to play spin well and bowl spin well to win. It’s simple”. Surely, it’s simple and at the end of the day, Australia did the simple things very well and conquered Pune. 

Note: This article has been published at Cricketsoccer on 25/02/2017 How Australia conquered Pune

Thank You

Faisal Caesar 

When Australia’s last wicket partnerships in the 1st innings proved costly for opposition teams

It’s hard to imagine, how the number 1 Test team in the world could collapse in such a dramatic fashion. It’s even harder to imagine how the best batting line-up against spin bowling could surrender against a spinner who was only playing in his fourth Test match.

Steve O’Keefe set jitters in the Indian batting line up and made the second day of the first Test between India and Australia an eventful one with his left-arm orthodox bowling aided by some fantastic catches taken by the Australian close fielders. All of a sudden, India lost seven wickets for just eleven runs after lunch, leaving the fans and experts stunned!

At stumps, the visitors were leading by 298 runs and they must thank the last wicket adventure of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood, which helped to boost the confidence of Australia.

At one point, it seemed, the Australians might find it tough to post a total around 220, but Mitchell Strac unleashed a superb counter-attack to swell the Australian total as the last wicket pair added 55 valuable runs.

This was not the first time that the last wicket pair of Australia managed to dish out such influential partnerships, but history suggests, they scripted such on various occasions. Whenever the Australian tail-enders, especially the last wicket pairs, contributed more than 50 runs, it proved extremely beneficial for the Kangaroos and costly for opposition teams.

Here are some of the instances:

Glenn McGrath and Jason Gillespie gift New Zealand agony 

At the start of the last decade, New Zealand were one of the teams, who exhibited enough courage to challenge the might of all-conquering Australian side at their own backyard. They drew the series in 2001 under the leadership of Stephen Fleming and came back in 2004 to repeat the same feat.

In those days, posting a 350 plus score in the first against the likes of Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie and Shane Warne and that too in Brisbane was regarded as a stupendous performance. Batting first, New Zealand, courtesy of a brilliant hundred from Jacob Oram, posted 353 in the first Test at Brisbane.

Australia were reeling at 222 for 5. A partnership of 216 for the sixth wicket between Michael Clarke and Adam Gilchrist helped them to take a good lead, but it was not enough to put the Kiwis under pressure who could pose a threat at any moment and thus, the last wicket pair of Jason Gillespie and Glenn McGrath, who was a layman with the bat, batted on and on, to add 84 for the last wicket and gifted the visitors enough agonies.

Gillespie remained not out on 54 while McGrath was dismissed for 61. Australia were all out for 585 and when New Zealand came out to bat in the second innings, the Australian pacers blew away the Kiwis in just 36.2 overs. The Kiwis managed to score just 76 in the second.

Adam Voges and Josh Hazlewood dent West Indian spirit

It was the first Test of the 2015 edition of Frank Worrell series. At Dominica, the West Indies won the toss and batted first, but the pace and accuracy of Mitchell Johnson, Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood set jitters in the Caribbean batting line-up. The hosts could last for just 53.5 overs and were bundled out for 148.

The Australian reply was shaky. The top and middle order of the visitors found the going tough against the legspin of Devebdra Bishoo. At 221 for 9, the hosts thought of keeping the margin of the lead below hundred and come back strongly in the second innings. But Adam Voges and Hazlewood had other ideas.

Voges simply occupied the crease and rotated the strike more while Hazlewood provided the perfect foil to Voges’ composure. The tenth wicket pair added 97 runs and a lead of 170 was achieved.

The West Indies managed to post 216 in the second, but it was not enough to avoid a nine-wicket defeat.

Michael Hussey and Glenn McGrath’s spirited display

 Graeme Smith’s men were high in confidence during the Boxing Day Test match in 2005. They drew the first Test at WACA and Australia were still searching for a win to boost their morale after the Ashes defeat after eighteen years.

Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to bat first. Ponting notched up a 117 but it was not enough to put Australia in a strong position. Shaun Pollock, Makhaya Ntini and Andre Nel proved lethal for the hosts and when Glenn McGrath came out to bat, Australia were 248 for 9. McGrath’s wicket is always thought to be an easy one to get, but at times, he can be a thorn in the throat for the opposition bowlers and captain.

McGrath stayed at the crease for 120 minutes and provided Hussey the ideal support to swell the score as much as possible. The last wicket pair added 107 runs. South Africa trailed by 44 runs in their first innings and when Australia gave them a target of 366 runs in the fourth, the Proteas could manage just 181. 

The Albert Trott show at Adelaide

It was one of those Test matches which was played during an era when timeless Tests were in action. Australia met England at the Adelaide Oval in the third Test in 1895 and the hosts were trailing by 2-0. Australia won the toss and elected to bat on a 4-ball/over match.

England’s Tom Richardson was in a destructive mood as his raw pace cut short the stay of Australian batters at the crease. The last man Sydney Callaway joined the number ten batsman Albert Trott at the score of 157 for 9.

Trott and Callaway spent more than one hour at the crease and added 81 valuable runs for the last wicket. Tom Richardson, Bobby peel and Bill Brockwell bowled their heart out, but failed to dismiss Australia’s last wicket pair.

England were bundled out for 124 in their first innings and Trott’s bat proved productive in the second as well. His 72 helped Australia to take a lead of 525 runs. England were bowled out for 143 in the fourth innings. Trott finished with figures of 8 for 43.

Tom Garrett and Edwin Evans' epic fight back at Sydney

It was another timeless Test match affair and what a Test it turned out to be. This Test match is regarded as one of the epic battles in the history of Ashes. Arthur Shrewsbury’s England were leading the 1884-85 edition of Ashes by 2-0 in the five-match Test series and the hosts were needed to win the third Test at Sydney.

Hugh Massie won the toss and decided to bat first. Bobby Peel and Wilf Flowers were too hot to handle for the Australian top and middle order. Australia’s position was a pity one and it became the worst at 101 for 9. Edwin Evans came out to bat and joined Tom Garrett.

Tom’s batting average in Test is 12.55 while Evans’ average is 10.25. The average suggest both of them were novices with the bat and another Australian humiliation was on the cards. With the score at 106 for 9, the English slip dropped Tom and it proved to be one of the costliest of misses as the tenth wicket pair of Tom and Evans added 80 runs.

The vengeance of  Frederick Spofforth mauled England in their first innings, but Australia’s reply was not satisfactory enough the second. The lead in the first innings helped to give England  a target of 213 in the fourth. Spofforth proved handy for England yet again and Australia bagged a win by just six runs.

The last wicket partnership between Tom and Evans aided Australia to escape a defeat.

Note: This article was published at Cricketsoccer on 24/02/2017 When Australia’s last wicket partnerships in the 1st innings proved costly for opposition teams

Thank You

Faisal Caesar

Should Bangladesh be satisfied?

Bangladesh played a Test match on Indian soil for the first time in their history of Test cricket. Critics and fans expected a fitting reply from the Tigers in familiar conditions, but in the end, it turned out to be an easy win for the home team. Whether the Bangladeshi cricket fans and critics should be satisfied with the performance of the Tigers or not remains a moot question.

The tea break was postponed. India were one wicket away from yet another series win under the captaincy of Virat Kohli. Ravichandran Ashwin dished out a slider which beat Bangladesh’s last man Taskin Ahmed. India appealed for a leg before wicket. But umpire Marias Erasmus went across to his partner Joel Wilson to consult and decided to check for a bat-pad catch with the help of third umpire. The replay showed, there was no contact between bat and pad and the case of a bat-pad catch was over ruled.

Virat Kohli decided to review again for an lbw and confirmed the end of Bangladesh’s innings before tea. On a very good batting track, the visitors ended up the ghost without putting up any brief resistance and lost the Test by 208 runs.

On the final day of the only Test between India and Bangladesh at Hyderabad, the visitors were needed to exhibit resolve on a very good batting track and fight hard to save the Test match. Mushfiqur Rahim and Mahmudullah Riyad’s 56-run partnership was an inspiring one, but as soon as Mushfiq’s rush of blood ended his stay at the crease, Bangladesh lost their way in no time and digested a heavy defeat.

The popular  print and electronic media and celebrities of social media in Bangladesh are trying to highlight the performance of the Tigers as a satisfactory one. As because, in both innings, Bangladesh have played more than 100 overs and they were able to take the game to the fifth day where teams like South Africa, New Zealand and England failed.  Whereas, the tracks on which South Africa, England and New Zealand were tougher than Hyderabad.

Moreover, there was an epic hundred from Mushfiqur Rahim and a stubborn resistance from the 19-year old sensation Mehedi Hasan Miraz, which triggered a wave of satisfaction among the Bangladesh cricket pundits and fans.

But in my opinion, Bangladesh's performance lacked intent and professionalism.

Failure of the Bangladeshi top order batsmen on a flat track

The conditions at Hyderabad were similar to Mirpur and Dhaka and a lot friendlier than New Zealand. It was a flat deck and till the final day, it remained absolutely perfect for batting. The Hyderabad track neither offered movement and bounce for the pace bowlers nor turn for the spinners. All Bangladesh needed to do was exhibit patience and occupy the crease as much as possible, rather than relying on playing more strokes and fetch runs via striking boundaries.

In Test cricket, boundary-based batting and over-adventurous strokes have little value. It’s a pity, even after playing Test cricket for 17 years, Banglades still have not realized this.

In reply to India’s mammoth first innings total, the top order of the visitors was needed to give Bangladesh a steady start. Sadly, the top order of Bangladesh succumbed on a flat deck and put enough pressure on the middle and lower order. Yes, there were some hostile spell of pace bowling from the likes of Umesh Yadav and Ishant Sharma, but surprisingly, Soumya Sarkar, Mominul Haque and Mahmudullah Riyad lacked the technique to survive the guile of Umesh and Co.

Umesh was able to reverse the ball at pace and if you are a top order batsman, you should have the ability to counter those. The Bangladeshi batsmen lacked a sound technique while playing against the reverse swing. Bangladesh did experience playing against some top quality reverse swing bowling against England at home, but sadly, they didn’t work on their shortcomings.

Moreover, the tendency to throw away wickets after getting well set still remains a thorn in the throat for Bangladesh and, it seems, the Tigers are unable to bury the ghost despite suffering so much for executing suicidal strokes during the crucial stage of a match. Again; sloppy fielding, funny reviews and lack of discipline in bowling undid the visitors.

The fitness factor

Bangladesh failed to keep their energy on the field as the day progressed. The way Taskin Ahmed and Kamrul Islam were bowling in the first session of the first day, it ebbed away in the second and remained the same throughout the Test. Meanwhile, after the first session of play on day 1, the fielders were seen to struggle while running after the ball and lacked the energy which is required for a five-day match.  From a fitness point of view, Bangladesh had not been up to the mark.

To survive the strains of a five-day match, maintaining the fitness is very important. The athleticism and agility of Virat’s men give you an indication about the importance of fitness in Test cricket. If you get tired early, it becomes tough to maintain the same level of concentration and urge to perform in a Test match.

Should Bangladesh be satisfied with the performance at Hyderabad?

If I consider Bangladesh’s improvement in the last two years, I don’t think one should not relish such smaller achievements and bask in a false glory. In the name of so called patriotism, trying to highlight the ‘positives’ is nothing but an attempt to hide the problems which are bigger and requires rectification.

Bangladesh should not be satisfied only by playing hundred overs in both innings and surviving five days at Hyderabad, but they need to sit down and ponder about how to win Test matches and avoid defeats.

‘We play few Test matches’ is not a valid statement anymore after playing 17 years of Test cricket. Bangladesh need to ask themselves how much emphasis they gave on playing five-day matches, how much they tried to utilize the opportunities they got and how much effort they put in to improve in Test matches over the years.

Note: This article has been published at Cricketsoccer on 15/02/2017 Should Bangladesh be satisfied?

Thank You

Faisal Caesar