Cricket Update: Can the Australians pull back on tour?
They have been there and have come out strongly. In England, they won the World Cup in 1999, when their backs were pinned to the wall, so coming back is nothing new for the Australians. Yet the way they are performing in England, they will need luck, home support as well as a lot of hard work to start winning again.
So what if they have won two matches. Their wins had more to do with England’s complacency than their brilliance since before the two Aussie wins; England clinched the one day series by winning 3 consecutive matches. Michael Clarke then took over with fresh players in the Twenty20 matches, where they fared even badly, losing two matches to a side that had lost 11 matches to them.
What does Australia need to do to win again? The first thing they need to do is to forget they have lost, which is hard considering England defeated them after 13 years in an ODI series while Pakistan’s win is their first against the Aussies in Twenty20 Internationals. They can solace in the fact that they are by far the superior side when it comes to batting and fielding, if compared to Pakistan.
Yet their bowling is no match to the Pakistanis. They don’t have a world class spinner like Danish Kaneria, although Nathan Hauritz proved his mettle when Pakistan toured Australia six month back by being pick of the bowlers. He will be a different bowler in English conditions, where he will not have the home support, while Kaneria will be at his best, at his second home. Mohammad Aamir is fast developing into a pacer trying to emulate http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Wasim-Akram-c96292, something Mitchell Johnson admits to be doing as well. There is Mohammad Asif and Umer Gul for Pakistan, who have excelled at world stage and made a name for themselves by winning matches for their country. Sadly, Steven Smith, Ben Hilfenhaus, Doug Bollinger and Peter George haven’t had that sort of a Test career, giving Pakistan an edge in this department.
Batting is a department of worry for Pakistanis, who will miss the services of Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan due to reasons within the control of the Pakistan Cricket Board. On the other hand, Australia have the best batsmen in the world in Ricky Ponting, Michael http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Clarke-c51120, Michael Hussey, Simon Katich and Marcus North with Pakistan-born Usman Khwaja waiting in the shadows for his chance to don the baggy green.
Australia will miss the services of Brad Haddin, their regular wicket-keeper and if Kamran Akmal doesn't drop any than many, Pakistan will have an edge in this department. Tim Paine may be a good wicket keeper but he is new to Test cricket and will have to play more, to know more. Shane http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Watson-c96326 is the best all-rounder for the Oz, while Pakistan can bank on Shahid Afridi and Shoaib Malik, good batsmen, bowlers and fielders.
The last time Pakistan played http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Danish-Kaneria-c1314, who knows pitches in England like the back of his hand.
The Australians have never faced http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Pakistan-c755 in England, and who knows with the crowds backing them like at home, the men in green could change the course of Pak-Aus matches by winning, for a change. The series will be a test of nerves for Ricky Ponting, whose captaincy has been, questioned whenever he is down. His decision to bowl the hopeless James Hopes against England in the third match of the series, not only cost Australia the match but also the series. Let’s hope he doesn’t make such mistakes against Pakistan, otherwise one bad decision can change the tide in favour of the spirited Pakistanis, who always perform well in England.
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