For Australia, India has always been the last frontier of cricket. Australian cricket captains are judged by their performances on this, the most challenging of tours. For the current Australian team this frontier is at least one too far. They have been ambushed by an Indian side smarting from a defeat by England on their own turf and the Indians made sure that against Australia there would be no sign of turf on the pitches that they produced.
The first Test wicket was so dry and powdery that Shane Warne wondered whether Rafael Nadal might find it more to his liking, equating the pitch to the red clay of the French Open. The groundsman, perhaps in a moment of candidness, admitted to watering the pitch selectively, leaving the outside dry and firming up only the area between the wickets. As a result, the Indian spinner Ashwin was at his destructive best, turning the ball at acute angles. The Australians had no such spinners and were completely outclassed.
The fallout from these losses was unprecedented. Mickey Arthur, the Australia coach cited a lack of rest in the form of backchat and attitude that forced him to suspend and drop four players for the third Test at Mohali
This move to suspend the vice captain Shane Watson, Usman Khawaja, James Pattinson, and Mitchell Johnson has created controversy in Australia among both fans and former cricketers.
Arthur claimed that this suspension was a cumulative effect of “lots of small minor indiscretions that have built up to now” and could be a “defining moment” for Australian cricket.
“This is a line in the sand moment – a point we’ll look back on in a couple of years’ time when we’re back to No 1 in the world and say was a defining moment.”
Michael Clarke, supported his coach, saying that the players had shown a lack of respect for Arthur, and that he had noted a general slide in attitudes on the Indian tour.
Discipline: This is how
The whole furor started when Coach Arthur asked each player to submit a paper in which the player would give suggestions on how to improve his personal performance as well as that of the team. The four suspended players missed the deadline for submitting this report. They were immediately suspended for one Test.
This episode seems to have had a salutary effect on the remaining Australian players as was reflected in their performance in the opening stages of the third Test, which again was lost to give India the admirable 3-0 lead.
The question that arises here is, whether the Pakistan coach and captain would have the power and initiative to take this type of disciplinary action. The answer would definitely be in the negative. One weakness of our cricket administration is that the PCB tries to micro manage everything from PCB headquarters rather than to give the coach the authority to take actions such as these. As a result the coach or captain is hamstrung by the fear that any disciplinary action that he takes might be overruled by the higher authorities who themselves might come under pressure from vested interests. This would result in further erosion of their authority and a resultant decrease in respect. Until and unless the coach and captain are given such powers, their effectiveness is fatally undermined.
The most entertaining part of the Border Gavaskar series has been the commentary of former Indian batsman Navjot Singh Sidhu. His is an irresistible blend of in depth knowledge, humour and an endless supply of folksy sayings. Not a dull moment when the Sardar is in the booth. What a difference from some commentators who insist on struggling with a language that they do not have mastery over and in the process lose complete track of what they are trying to say.
Pakistan bounce back but still trail
After being thoroughly outclassed by a brilliant Test side, Pakistan bounced back to take the T20 match in some style. But the problem for Pakistan is that most of their batsmen seem to give the impression that they are playing on borrowed time. It is evident that apart from some good innings by Younus and Asad Shafiq, most of the batsmen failed to come to terms with the pace and swerve of Dale Steyn, Morne Morkel and Vernon Philander. Steyn at his best has been too good for our batsmen and could be so for most batsmen on the circuit. He has incisive control over his outswinger which moves just enough to take the edge. His straighter one is therefore lethal as the batsmen fish around off stump. Morkel provides the bounce and Philander the controlled line, length and swing a la Mohammad Asif.
The first ODI continued to underscore the gulf between the two sides. The South Africans paced their batting splendidly, getting well over 300 without taking too many risks. They then bowled out a Pakistani side that looked anxious about the huge target from the outset.
Pakistan bounced back in the second ODI with a much improved bowling and batting performance. Irfan made the initial breach, taking four key wickets, with Junaid, Ajmal and Hafeez taking a brace apiece. What was encouraging was a much more mature batting performance with a tricky target. Misbah led from the front and was ably supported by Hafeez, Younus and Shoaib.
South Africa resumed normal service in the ODI series with a comfortable win in the third ODI. Hashim Amla and de Villiers tore into the Pakistan attack, both scoring hundreds. Pakistan made a spirited reply and as long as Shahid Afridi was at the crease, no score was unreachable, but with his demise after his best innings in several years a target of almost 350 was too much and Pakistan were about forty runs short. A good effort for a team not known to be good at chasing, but the bowlers, especially a rusty Wahab Riaz, leaked too many runs
It would be unfair to judge Pakistan coach Dav Whatmore on the team’s performance in this series alone. But it would be fair to say that his presence with the team has not had an impact similar to that he had with the first Sri Lankan team that he coached. In fact, that assignment was Whatmore’s only really productive one and he continues to be rated on that achievement. The only coach on the international circuit who is a game changer just happens to be on the opposite side. Gary Kirsten turns to gold everything he touches and he has transformed South Africa from a hypertensive group of chokers into a champion team that bears comparison to the South Africans of the 1960s. And that is praise enough.
