Cricket Writer’s Challenge: Be the first to discuss the bowling in the Brisbane Test without mentioning Nasser Hussain. It’s better to fail that challenge on the first line and get it out of the way. The former England captain overcame unwarranted heartbreak with his decision at the toss in 2002. A captain who bats first and loses badly will never be criticized for making that decision.
At the time England were likely to be beaten by a groundbreaking and great Australian side whichever they chose. Playing against Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Jason Gillespie, they were bowled out for 79 in four innings. Playing against these three first probably wouldn’t have helped.
So when Rohit Sharma made the same remark at this year’s Brisbane Test, the question was not that Hussain’s history should have been a lesson. The problem is that all history here should have been a lesson. An obvious recurring feature at the Gabba is that pitches can sometimes look much more threatening than they actually are. The green tint regularly hides the friendly striking surface underneath. Of the last 24 Tests played here this century, 15 have had a first innings of more than 300, and 10 of those have been 400 or more. Batting first in Brisbane is not something to be feared, it is something to be desired.
It’s not like there wasn’t much batting on the first day. Precipitation in this city is typically short-lived, flooding the ground within 30 minutes or so, and raining along the way. This day was unusually persistent. Instead, it was short bursts of cricket, totaling 13.2 overs with two futile attacks by the Indian bowlers.
Recent changes to create a more dynamic Kingfisher ball may make all the old Gabba stats obsolete, but if that’s the case, India will not be taking advantage of the added danger at all and will be able to improve the width I made the mistake of making it too wide or too short. Usman Khawaja and Nathan McSweeney have successfully completed negotiations to return for the second day.
Fortunes could turn around quickly on that second day and Rohit’s decision to bowl may finally be vindicated. But the question of a decision so early is not a question of whether the gamble will pay off. It’s about reflecting on the process that led you to make that gambling choice.
Let’s start with the obvious factor that batting at number four tends to be more difficult, as Australia found out earlier this year when they failed to chase down 216 against the West Indies here. A captain who chooses to bowl first must be convinced that by doing so he is at such an advantage that he loses the opportunity to bowl last. It’s hard to imagine Rohit thinking that the grass on the wicket will fool him and he won’t be able to stop the bowler.
We must therefore assume that there was also some defensive reason for this decision. This means you won’t lose a test by session bowling the first time around. Even a successful early partnership may be subject to an overhaul. However, if you lose enough wickets, you can lose the Test in your first batting of the session. The avoidance of fate that India so brilliantly achieved after the initial collapse of Perth is not something that can be repeated often. It is therefore difficult to assume that the Indian captain, at some level, was concerned about his team’s poor batting returns and wanted to postpone testing by the Australian bowlers.
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If so, it brings a defensive atmosphere to the game, with the team trying to carefully navigate a difficult match. If Australia can do what Australian teams usually bat first at the Gabba and rack up a substantial score, India will face an equally difficult play when the home team eventually wins the ball. Become.
Perhaps Rohit will be proven right, as he has often done when doubted. Perhaps the returning rain will wash this game out completely, but it doesn’t matter either way. Perhaps the Indian bowlers will take advantage of this reprieve and, after another night’s sleep, find the missing zipper and come back on day two with a much better approach. However, as things stand, with the chances of an over on the first day being very slim, India’s best position is to not resume bowling when the opposition is present and to resume batting on the second day with no wickets down. It seems like there was.
