Aussie bowling comes apart at the seams

The holiday crowd, which came in tens of thousands to boost Test cricket’s ego, slid closer to the edge of their seats as Cameron White marked his run-up from the Pavilion End — ironically the same side that logged Anil Kumble’s perfect 10.

But he didn’t last long, banished after a pasting by the well-settled pair of Gambhir and Tendulkar. White’s entertaining spell read 4-0-27-0. And so, on a wicket where slow bowlers had a better chance to make an impact, the only specialist spinner in the Australian ranks was wandering towards the edge of the square, chasing the ball as part-timers Simon Katich and Michael Clarke formed a rare double-spin attack. With the ball disappearing to the ropes repeatedly while he was in operation, White couldn’t even cater to the falling over-rate for skipper Ricky Ponting.

By not giving into demands that off-spinner Jason Krejza be included, Ponting may have indeed made a wrong selection. That the visitors chose to pick a bowler such as White, banking on his batting abilities as an alibi, reflects on the team’s insecurity against the pressure applied by the Indians.

No swing

Theories that the Australians had learnt the nuances of cross-seam bowling and early reverse also looked horribly wrong on Wednesday. The one-week break between the second and third Tests seemed to have only added rust to the visiting pace battery. Their attacking options, especially once the shine came off the ball, were just variations of stares and spoken words. The wicketkeeper was standing up, and different grips never resulted in swerves in the air or off the deck.

Stuart Clark blocked one end up with a wicket-to-wicket line but Mitchell Johnson bowled into the body of the batsmen too often despite the 7-2 field to ease the pressure. Barring a short spell from Brett Lee with the two new balls — the second was taken in the 86th over — the Australians lacked bite.

Vice-captain Michael Clarke said: “The wicket is flat and beautiful to bat on. The bowlers really tried hard today but Sachin played well, Gautam is in good touch, and Laxman batted beautifully. Our preparation for the Test was spot-on, and it’s still only one day into the Test match. The new ball was crucial — we got a couple of early breakthroughs — and tomorrow again the new ball will be important.”

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