While India are mulling over the experience of their fab five proving an inconvenience for building on the future, Australia are preparing for one of their own. Rest assured, this trip to India will be without the terse monkey and name calling business that dominated the previous encounters home and away.
It has finally been confirmed. Andrew Symonds will not be boarding the flight to India along with the rest of the Australian squad. Symonds’ participation was made unavailable by Cricket Australia who now plan to follow through with a process to ensure only a fully committed Symonds will continue to play for Australia. India have two reasons to rejoice over this decision, although true cricket fans love a seething encounter with bat and ball – firstly Symonds’ absence will bring about some calm within the Indian dressing room, resting Gary Kirsten’s concerns after the previous acrimonious tour down under less than a year ago. Secondly, Symonds, whose average was soaring past seventy in the last year alone, will now leave a hole in the middle order for the Australians, something the Indian bowlers will look to exploit.
Australia hope to be at near full strength as possible with Ricky Ponting reportedly recovering nicely from a wrist injury as is Matthew Hayden. Brett Lee is confirmed to resume his fiery spells after the rather inflamed split with his wife Liz Kemp that became the focus through the home series against Bangladesh with the bowler having to opt out of it. The other unpredictable inclusion was that of Simon Katich who now makes it four of the named Australian party that have previously played in India.
Australia may be world champions. But they are traveling light in the one department they would have loved to bolster. The Australian selectors were hoping that the ongoing tour of Australia A to India would have given Australia the edge in that their bowlers, leg spinner McGain, off spinner Jason Krezja and chinaman Beau Casson would have acclimatized to the Indian conditions as well picked up valuable cues that would have come in handy when Australia arrive at the end of the month. However, Casson, who played in the Caribbean, has not been included and instead Bryce McGain has been given the nod.
Australia’s concerns become apparent in that they are only essentially looking at a stop gap option immediately for this tour by naming the thirty-six year uncapped leg spinner for the lead spinner’s role. Shane Warne is being banked upon to provide assistance but how much of it will actually help rightaway for Australia’s cause will be only available when the series begins. But it should be an interesting scenario for Ponting who is certain to pick up his captaincy duties where he left off. Australia though will miss the spin option that Symonds provided and perhaps someone in the line up, including Michael Clarke, may be required to turn their arm over rather frequently in Australia are to stamp themselves all over India again like they did in 2004.
That series though was marred with the controversies surrounding the pitched. This will focus more on the aging members of both teams, and the plausible considerations for the future. Now the Indian selectors take on the mantle of making some brave decisions and brave they will be, because in their considerations, weakening India by dropping Rahul Dravid at home and running the risk of missing another special innings from V.V.S. Laxman or even of Sachin Tendulkar is what is holding them back from picking the eager youngsters, who are themselves untested in their skill and caliber at this level. Some decisions will soon be forced upon without an easy change of guard and the team that copes the most will come out on top. This promises to be an added incentive to an already long awaited repeat encounter.317677