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Australia won six of
the seven Tests they played, including both in New Zealand, and their exciting
chase in Christchurch capped off a successful summer in the southern
hemisphere. After India’s five-Test series against Australia, which begins in
late November, they won’t play Test cricket for nine months. Although
Australia’s team is extremely well-organized, their summer victories have not
been particularly convincing. Before their next Test matchup with India, there
are a few hitches to work out.
Aside from his
outstanding 91 not out in Brisbane, Steven Smith’s returns are 12, 11*, 6, 31,
0, 11, and 9, the last four coming from the New Zealand tour. So far, the basic
data are not promising.
Over the past two months, almost all of the team’s batters have faced criticism
of one form or another, but Smith’s performance against the new ball has been
thoroughly investigated in New Zealand. Smith is deserving of a long list of
accolades because of his body of work. Only five innings have passed since the
undefeated 91, and even though it was a very good performance on a challenging
surface, he was by far the match’s highest scorer.
Smith’s
vulnerability on both ends and his extreme difficulty in determining his
off-stump location are the main causes for concern. An opening batter would be
in for a catastrophic situation there. What was particularly concerning were
his two lbws in Christchurch. For ten years, opposing fast bowlers have been
attempting to strike his pads.
They had only been able to complete 17% of his dismissals before to his switch
to open, which cost them 9514 runs at 58.01. He has been trapped LBW three
times in six dismissals since moving to open, with scores of 6, 11, and 9.
McDonald, though, is certain he can make it work.
Cummins, Josh
Hazlewood, and Mitchell Starc have only played seven consecutive Tests this
summer, as well as 10 of the 11 ODIs during the World Cup and the final two
Ashes Tests together. But the selectors will be forced to consider carefully
before attempting to play them for five straight games against India because of
their recollections of India’s 2020–21 journey to Australia.
They have benefited much from the pitches this summer. In contrast, Australia
paid a severe price in 2020–21 due to the pitches in Sydney and Brisbane, where
not a single one of the seven Tests has progressed to a fifth day.
The batting form of
Australia’s current bowlers has been a significant advantage from the New
Zealand tour. Internal worries were that the tail was being knocked over a bit
too easily and that generally, they had not contributed as much to the home
series as their counterparts in the West Indies and Pakistan’s tail end.
However, during the two Test matches in New Zealand, Australia’s four bowlers
each contributed significantly with the bat and were essential to their team’s
triumphs.
By the time India
lands in Australia, Nathan Lyon will have represented Lancashire in the County
Championship for a complete season, making him 37 years old. He is still an
important part of Australia’s offence and has just returned from a fantastic
tour of New Zealand. Last year, he bowled wonderfully in India.
However, he has not had a fantastic home record versus India. On Australian
surfaces, players such as Virat Kohli and Cheteshwar Pujara have been able to
mitigate his impact. Although he has faced a different looking Indian lineup in
15 home Test matches, he averages 37.11 and hits at 74.6 against them. In the
2020–21 series, he only claimed nine wickets despite having a lot of
opportunities to bowl that went begging.
This summer has
shown that, as has been the case throughout his career, he has excelled on
every surface that provided additional bounce. In 2020–21, there wasn’t much
excessive bounce because there was no Test in Perth and Brisbane was unusually
calm. Australia will be hoping that Lyon is back to full strength following a
full season in England, given they appear likely to play two of the opening
three Tests on those surfaces.