Australia will walk out onto the ‘New’ Adelaide Oval this week in a position that they have often found themselves over the past 25years: 1-nil up in the series. Although this time, it was not just very comprehensive, it was also their second test win for the calendar year. Which for the locals made the win so much sweeter, and the complete opposite to what most expected.
Like many, my prediction for the First Test at the Gabba was way off. Honestly, who in their right mind could’ve expected a bouncer-fuelled spell from Mitchell Johnson to spark a stunning collapse of 6wickets for 9 runs in England’s first innings? And then a similar 4 wickets for 9 spell in the second dig? Yes, Mitch had bowled fast in India, but his output was the same it had always been, and his first class record wasn’t pretty either. That x-factor that no one can properly describe yet commentators go on about it so much with Johnson, came to the fore. A Man of the Match performance from one of the players under the most scrutiny pregame.
Could anyone predict the complete lack of form from the English batsmen, who had several warm up games across the country, and had comprehensively beaten us 3-0 in the winter. (Not to mention the come from behind series win against India not so long ago, who with a similar lineup smashed Australia 4-0!) Something wasn’t right, the cheap dismissals the lack of energy by some of their fieldsmen, the uninspiring bowling from their spin bowling star Swann. It wasn’t until after the match news developed about Jonathan Trott, and it started to make sense. I’ve already had my say on this issue HERE but I can only assume it had an effect on the England side during the test, and will be interesting to see how they can rebound in Adelaide.
Although my prediction with Brisbane was wrong, I feel it definitely won’t be a result within 4 days kinda pitch in Adelaide. For starters, traditionally Adelaide has often gone the full quota, recently with a result on the final day too or a captivating finish. The new drop-in pitch too, from some writers that would know best, has a bit of the MCG look to it. Which to me means it will flatten out, and make for a good batting surface. Kinda the opposite to what the old Adelaide pitch would do, start very well, eventually tire & crumble.
One would assume there would be no changes to the winning lineup for Australia, a couple of batsmen would be under some pressure to perform, but a win helps them gain another start. Had said pre the first Test I expected a strong series from Rogers, so far he has been underwhelming and nervous at the crease. Another failure and selectors might consider dropping him…might….must emphasise that! Must also mention the previous round of Shield games saw 5 centurions, and the summer so far has seen almost as many tons as there was for the whole of last season, and the average runs per wicket jump almost 30%. Yes the pitches have been more batsmen friendly, but Rogers needs to perform when there are younger candidates for his opener’s spot.
Debutant George Bailey also made little impact, besides from some sledging to James Anderson it wasn’t really a debut for the ages. To drop someone after one winning test though would be a tad harsh, so I’d be inclined to give him another chance, a final chance, as I don’t believe he is worthy of a Test spot purely going off stellar ODI & T20 form. Shane Watson again failed with the bat, hardly surprising given his Test record. His bowling was intriguing, the lead up was all about how he expected to be fit enough to trundle in. But his facial expressions and body language all said no, he didn’t want to be bowling at all. Needs to lift in both areas, he’s had more lives than most so surely he’s approaching his final chance.
For England, the loss of Trott can’t be measured. It’s no coincidence that this era of success for England in the Test arena had coincided with having Trott at 3, so to lose him for this series is a big blow. But it’s best for the man to have a break and head back to his family at home. This means a shuffle of the order, and a blessing in disguise perhaps after a couple of poor batting displays by majority of the side. I’d like to see Root jump to 3, and Bairstow come in to replace Trott, making the top 7 lineup Cook/Carberry/Root/KP/Bell/Bairstow/Prior.
Tremlett gave zilch in the first test. The Richie Benaud parody twitter account said it best, looks like Tarzan bowls like Jane. And most would agree, he was picked purely as the last man standing until Bresnan came back from injury. And well, now he’s fit, Bres should be a straight swap. Saying that, there would be a slight temptation to drop Tremlett for Monty Panesar, as Graeme Swann also struggled, going at 2/200+ for the first Test. Either way, the bowling besides Broad didn’t look overly troubling for the Aussie batsmen, so a lift in performance is required.
What to expect in Adelaide? Hopefully batsmen valuing their wickets, both sides threw away cheap wickets, some uglier than others. Whoever wins the tos just bats first, and bats longest. For those attending, I’ll be in the members bar. Which is usually what happens in Adelaide, watch cricket for a couple of hours in the heat, no wickets fall, head to the aircon bar! Enjoy the Test.
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