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All eyes are on the MCG pitch which has led to both teams making changes to the XIs for the Boxing Day Test

Andrew McGlashan24-Dec-201811:02

Dasgupta: Opening with Rohit could revive his Test career

Big Picture

The MCG Boxing Day Test is always an eagerly anticipated occasion, but this year it feels like there is an added edge. The series is poised at 1-1; the stump mics have been turned up; Australia are finding their voice again; Virat Kohli isn’t taking a backward step and there is grass on a Melbourne pitch. It has the makings of a Christmas cracker.If India can bounce back from their Perth defeat and register victory they will have retained the Border-Gavaskar trophy. If Australia take the honours again it will mark a significant upturn in their fortunes at the end of a year of turmoil and no little disgrace. And if it’s a draw let’s hope it’s a thriller and not like last year.The pitches in this series have provoked much discussion and Melbourne’s 22 yards has been at the forefront of everyone’s attention for days. Last year the surface was marked “poor” by the ICC after the drab Ashes stalemate and this Test, under the management of a new curator, feels like a significant moment as an iconic ground tries to repair its reputation.These two teams have shown that when there is some help on offer for the bowlers they can produce compelling cricket which makes for a wonderful spectacle. The contest between bat and ball has been excellent in Tests throughout 2018 and it would be nice to think it will end that way.The unknown qualities of the pitch – despite the evidence of this season’s Sheffield Shield matches – left both sides with thinking to do over their XIs. India won’t admit it, but fielding four quicks in Perth was a mistake – another one in a year of selection blunders – but it doesn’t have to prove terminal for their hopes in this series. They started 2018 hoping to create an overseas legacy for themselves and this match will go a long way to deciding if that happens.

Form guide

(last five completed matches)
Australia WLLDL
India LWWWL4:58

Our batsmen need to step up as a unit – Kohli

In the spotlight

After an unconvincing performance in Adelaide, Aaron Finch shaped up much better under testing conditions in Perth. However, the nasty blow he took on the finger in the second innings curtailed his knock and on return he gloved his first delivery down the leg side. He has looked comfortable in the nets leading into the third Test – which would be his first Boxing Day in the baggy green – but that dodgy digit is certainly a target for the India quick bowlers. Unless the pitch is really slow and low, and everyone hopes that isn’t the case, Finch will surely get some short deliveries early on.India’s selections away from home this year, especially in England and Australia, have been the subject of significant criticism. Ravi Shastri said all that is being ignored – on this tour because they were in a different hemisphere – but while some calls may have been 50-50 others, such as those made in Perth, were more clear errors. There are a number of issues to resolve for Melbourne and their XI will also bring much scrutiny.

Team news

Mitchell Marsh has been recalled at the expense of Peter Handscomb, whose technique has been worked over by the India quick bowlers, but it’s also the overs Marsh can provide which have been factored in on a surface that could yet change character.Australia 1 Aaron Finch, 2 Marcus Harris, 3 Usman Khawaja, 4 Shaun Marsh, 5 Travis Head, 6 Mitchell Marsh, 7 Tim Paine (capt. & wk), 8 Pat Cummins, 9 Mitchell Starc, 10 Nathan Lyon, 11 Josh HazlewoodIndia have dropped both their openers – 97 runs between them in eight innings – for the Boxing Day Test. Mayank Agarwal is set to get his debut with Hanuma Vihari moving up the order from his No. 6 station. R Ashwin has not recovered fully, which means Ravindra Jadeja has come in as part of the four-man attack. Rohit Sharma, though, is back to fitness, slotting in at No. 6. India have resisted the temptation to bring Hardik Pandya right back in.India 1 Mayank Agarwal, 2 Hanuma Vihari, 3 Cheteshwar Pujara, 4 Virat Kohli (capt.), 5 Ajinkya Rahane, 6 Rohit Sharma, 7 Rishabh Pant (wk), 8 Ravindra Jadeja, 9 Mohammed Shami, 10 Ishant Sharma, 11 Jasprit Bumrah

Pitch and conditions

Rated “poor” last year, the pitch has been the topic of much conversation. Having tried various lengths of grass in the Sheffield Shield, it appears more rather than less will be left on in an attempt to give the surface some life. Could it even be green enough to encourage a team to bowl first? The weather may play a part in how the surface develops with hot, sunny conditions forecast for at least the first four days.

Stats and Trivia

• Mitchell Starc needs four wickets to reach 200 in Tests
• Nathan Lyon already holds the record for the most wickets taken by an Australian spinner in a series against India on home soil (23 in 2014) but with 16 already from two Tests this time he could go past that.
• Virat Kohli has scored five Test hundreds in 2018, equalling his tally from 2017 as his best year. A century in Melbourne would put him alone in second place for the most in a year by an India batsman behind Sachin Tendulkar’s seven in 2010
• India have two previous victories in Melbourne: in 1977, then won by 222 runs against a side ravaged by World Series Cricket and in 1981 when the margin was 59 runs as Australia were skittled for 83 chasing 143

Quotes

“I believe in confidence, there’s no doubt. Confidence, like respect, is something you have to earn. We haven’t had much success…to win one, it’s nice to get rewarded for the work the boys are doing. There were some really good signs in Perth.”

“I think 14 games is a good amount,” says Lancashire opener in response to Strauss review recommendations

Paul Edwards15-Sep-2022Keaton Jennings, the Lancashire and England opener, has called for the structure of the English season to be improved but has opposed the idea put forward by Andrew Strauss’s high-performance review that county cricketers need to play less or that the number of Championship matches should be reduced from 14.On Saturday, Jennings will lead out Lancashire against Kent in the Royal London Cup final at Trent Bridge at the end of a week in which the Emirates Old Trafford side have had no game. That works well as regards preparation for a white-ball match but it also means that in the 53 days from July 29 to September 19, Dane Vilas’ team will have played just one four-day game.Related

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Other counties can point to similar eccentricities, not all of them caused by the Hundred, and Jennings’ comments come at the end of a week in which Somerset’s board told the ECB that the current schedule is “unacceptable”.”In my opinion you can keep the 14 County Championship games and that’s only what Ben Stokes said on social media a few weeks ago,” said Jennings. “But you can factor in breaks, so that you can play three four-day games and then have a break from the Championship. I think my view is representative and it certainly echoes what the England captain said.”I think 14 games is a good amount and the cricket we play is of good quality, but the problem comes when you have a week off at the start of April and then another at the start of September. Including the Royal London Final, we play 13 days in September whereas in April we were playing 12 in 17.”

Tom Price took a hat-trick and career-best 5 for 53 but Gloucestershire remain on back foot

ECB Reporters Network14-Jun-2022Gloucestershire 438 and 37 for 5 (Duffy 4-8) trail Kent 564 (Cox 158, Leaning 128, Bell-Drummond 89, Compton 80, T. Price 5-58) by 89 runsKent are scenting a first win of the LV= Insurance County Championship season at Canterbury, after a late salvo by Jacob Duffy reduced Gloucestershire to 37 for 5 after day three, still 89 behind the hosts’ first-innings total of 564.Matt Quinn started the visitors’ collapse when he removed George Scott for 10 and New Zealander Duffy then took 4 for 8 to leave Gloucestershire reeling at stumps.Earlier, Jordan Cox made 158 and Jack Leaning 128 in a record Kent stand for the fourth-wicket against Gloucestershire.After two and half days in which the bowlers struggled to make any impact, Tom Price took a hat-trick and career-best figures of 5 for 53, but wickets continued to tumble through the evening session, with Chris Dent and Miles Hammond clinging on at the close of play on 8 and 0 not out respectively.Kent began day three on 232 for 3, needing another 57 to avoid the follow on, a landmark they sailed past despite Gloucestershire taking the new ball after the first over.Leaning carved Tom Price for four through backward point to pass 50 while Cox reached his half-century with a nudged single off Zafar Gohar.It was 337 for 3 at lunch and Cox won the race to three figures with a flamboyant reverse-sweep for four off Hammond. In the next over Leaning, who’d been ahead of his colleague for most of the session, scrambled a single to bring up his seventh first-class hundred.A cut shot from Cox off Ajeet Dale saw Kent move into the lead, and the duo then passed the previous fourth-wicket record of 233 set by Colin Cowdrey and Brian Luckhurst in 1962, before the stand finally came to an end when Leaning pulled Gohar to Ollie Price at square leg.Having reached 468 for 4 at tea, Kent had moved to 511 when they lost two wickets from two balls. Price had Cox caught behind and then sent George Linde’s off stump flying. After a maiden over from Gohar, Price returned to trap Grant Stewart lbw for his hat-trick, but Kent regained the initiative when Matt Milnes joined Sam Billings and the duo put on a rapid 53.Milnes’ 37 included successive sixes and a four from Gohar in the final over before the second new ball was taken, but he then hit Price to Hammond. Price then sent Duffy’s middle stump cartwheeling for a second-ball duck, but when Billings was also bowled middle stump by Dale for 43 it left Gloucestershire with a dicey nine-over spell to survive before stumps.Scott subsequently edged Quinn to Cox at second slip and Billings took a brilliant diving catch down the leg side from Duffy’s first delivery to remove Bracey.Duffy then charged down the wicket to catch night-watcher Zak Chappell for eight and his next delivery had Dale caught by Ben Compton for a golden duck. Tom Price survived the hat-trick ball, but the next delivery clipped his bails to leaving Kent in a euphoric mood at the close.

Having waited so long for Test debut, opener etches his name on away room board at first attempt

Alan Gardner02-Jun-2021Devon Conway has had to wait a long time for his chance in Test cricket. He moved from his native South Africa in his mid-20s to try to establish himself in a new country, then had to serve a three-year period before becoming eligible to represent New Zealand. He made his T20I debut last year and an ODI debut in March (current averages: 59.12 and 75.00), before being called into the Test squad to tour England.Once over here, there was another wait to see whether he would get his chance – finally confirmed by New Zealand’s coach, Gary Stead, a couple of days out from the Lord’s Test and made public on the eve of the match by captain Kane Williamson. Then, after finally donning the whites and walking down the steps to the middle after Williamson had won the toss, Conway waited patiently at the non-striker’s end as Tom Latham faced 18 consecutive deliveries from James Anderson and Stuart Broad.It proved well worth the wait for Conway, who finished his first day in Test cricket 136 not out, having marshalled a strong showing for New Zealand from start to finish. “It was a pretty surreal moment, I couldn’t have dreamed for a better start to my Test career,” he said afterwards.”It took maybe three or four overs to face my first ball, but I was pretty grateful for that. It gave me an opportunity to have look at the bowling from the non-striker’s end. I’ve never faced Broady and Anderson [before], so it gave me a chance to see how it was going off the wicket and get some clues from Tommy Latham. The communication was good and clear, so it gave me a chance before that first ball.”Related

• 'I sold my property, car, everything, because I wanted to start afresh'

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The details of Conway’s decision to move from Gauteng, having struggled to break through from South Africa’s provincial set-up, to then churning out so many runs it was impossible for New Zealand to ignore him have been well rehearsed. But to have walked straight into the Test arena and onto the Lord’s honours board is something beyond the imaginations of most.”That [scoring a century on debut] never came across my mind,” Conway said. “Just getting a Test debut, a chance to play at this level, was all I thought about. Very happy, grateful for the opportunity from Cricket Wellington and also the Black Caps as well. A pretty special feeling, and one I certainly didn’t think about when I made that move.”When we arrived at Lord’s a couple days ago we walked into the changing room and got the opportunity to have a look at the all the legends and the names up on that honours board. Funny enough I had a conversation with Kane asking what it feels like to see your name on that board [for Williamson’s hundred at Lord’s in 2015], and the first thing he said when I went up into the changing room was ‘Now you know what it’s like, bro’. It’s pretty cool, it’s a great place and I’m grateful my name can go up there.”Besides having his name forever etched in the away dressing room, several other records fell to Conway, who was 136 not out overnight: the highest score by a debutant at Lord’s, eclipsing Sourav Ganguly’s arrival on the ground in 1996; the first overseas opener ever to score a century on debut in England; the fourth-highest score by a New Zealand debutant, with power to add.Devon Conway made an accomplished debut•Getty Images

A career No. 3, Conway said he “tried to not think it was too much different to what I’ve experienced in the past” when told he would be opening the batting alongside Latham. One thing that was different, however, was the lower bounce at Lord’s, which led to his one sustained period of difficulty against the pace of Mark Wood.”It was a challenge, because he was really digging it in. The nature of the bounce where I’ve grown up is, with that sort of length, you trust it going over the top of you and I didn’t quite realise when he digs it in that short it’s still only going to be chest or head height. Once I wore one or two on the body it was about coming up with Plan B here. The positions I was getting into was probably not ideal, so I thought just trust it and take it on. He’s pretty quick but it’s about being nice and still, being positive and making a quick decision.”Conway also showed the faith in his game gained through a 108-match first-class career that started back in 2009 to respond to the demands of the situation. After going to lunch having scored 43 out of New Zealand’s 85 for 1, he retrenched as England claimed the wickets of Williamson and Ross Taylor during the early afternoon, adding just 28 runs in the session to ensure his team’s advantage was not lost. Then, just when it seemed he could be becalmed, Conway kicked on again during the evening and needed just 22 balls to accelerate from 77 to his hundred.”The biggest thing I’ve been working on is my mindset, trying to keep positive throughout,” he said. “Last thing I want to do is get tentative, and if I’m in a look-to-score mindset, that gets me in the best positions, the decision-making is a bit clearer and that’s when I’m at my best. That might be my strength right now.”There was a lovely period from about 70 when I got balls in my areas, so I tried to stay positive. When I got to that moment I didn’t overthink it, it was about acknowledging but still sticking with the job. It’ll take a few days to sink in, but a pretty awesome day.”

What Super Kings, Super Giants, Mumbai, Royal Challengers, Royals and Knight Riders need to do to qualify

S Rajesh17-May-2023

Punjab Kings

Punjab Kings’ defeat to Delhi Capitals significantly diminishes their qualification prospects as they can’t go beyond 14 points, but their situation might have been even worse in terms of net run rate (NRR) had Capitals held on to their chances. As it stands, their NRR of -0.308 is only marginally behind that of Kolkata Knight Riders (-0.256).With three teams already above 14 and another on 14, Kings’ best bet will be if no other team gets to 14. That will happen if Royal Challengers Bangalore and Knight Riders lose their remaining matches. Then, Kings and Mumbai Indians will be level on 14 points, fighting for one spot. If Kings score 180 and win their last game by 20 runs, they’ll need Mumbai to lose by 26 runs, chasing the same score, to go above them on NRR. (Or, the sum of their result margins will need to be at least 46 runs.) That means the result margins required for Kings to qualify aren’t impossible to achieve. Had Capitals held on to their chances, these result margins required could have been far higher.Since Kings play their last game before the other teams, they will have to win by as big a margin as possible, and then hope that all the other results go their way.

****

Kings’ defeat is good news for all the other teams that are still in the fray and looking for every advantage they can get to qualify. For Lucknow Super Giants and Chennai Super Kings, 15 points feels a lot safer now as only Royal Challengers and Mumbai can get to 16, apart from Gujarat Titans who have already qualified. Those two teams will qualify for sure with 15 points if Royal Challengers lose to Sunrisers Hyderabad on Thursday. That result, if it happens, will also mean Mumbai will need a win by any margin to qualify, as they will be the only other team who can get to 16.Royal Challengers, on the other hand, will have a chance even if they lose to Sunrisers, but for that to happen Mumbai will have to lose their last game. Meanwhile, the two other teams that can get to 14, Rajasthan Royals and Knight Riders, need to win their last matches, hope Mumbai lose theirs, and then win the NRR battle against all the teams finishing on 14. Royals (0.140) and Royal Challengers (0.166) are currently much better placed on that parameter than Knight Riders (-0.256).

The former Australia captain believes the team is in a better space now than they were 12-18 months ago

Daniel Brettig23-May-2019Ricky Ponting has declared that Australia’s World Cup chances will be defined by how well Aaron Finch’s team use spin bowling and also bat against it, having only recently placed fresh emphasis on this component of their ODI set-up after ignoring it for some years.Part of Justin Langer’s coaching group as an assistant for the tournament, Ponting provides enormous experience both of playing in World Cups – the 1996, 1999, 2003, 2007 and 2011 editions – but also winning three in a row from 1999 to 2007. Finch, Steven Smith, David Warner, Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc, as well as assistant coach Brad Haddin, were all part of the victorious team at the 2015 tournament on home soil.That success was underpinned largely by top order runs and Starc’s furiously fast, hyper-aggressive bowling, with the Australians choosing their specialist spin bowler Xavier Doherty for only one match in the entire tournament. However this time around, Adam Zampa and Nathan Lyon loom as key components of the team, while Ponting also pointed out that the proliferation of spin bowlers among the world’s leading teams in the past three years have also raised the emphasis on playing spin bowling adroitly.”The thing that will define Australia’s success in the World Cup is, one, how well they bowl spin and, two, how well they play it,” Ponting told . “That’s been their Achilles’ heel the last 12 or 18 months. With [Adam] Zampa bowling well now, Nathan Lyon’s obviously in the squad and Glenn Maxwell’s done a good job with the ball whenever he’s played.”And I think some of our middle order are probably slightly better players of spin now than they were 12 or 18 months ago. With Warner there now and Steve Smith coming back in, the middle order looks a lot better against spin bowling than it probably was.”Smith and Warner have returned to Australia’s set-up after 12-month bans over the ball tampering scandal in South Africa last year. Ponting acknowledged the level of criticism the pair were likely to attract from English crowds, but said it was more important to see signs that both Smith and Warner were finding form at the right time.”They’re both playing really well. Steve Smith still thinks he’s not probably 100% fit just yet – but he’s not far away. And Warner’s been the dominant batsman in the IPL,” Ponting said. “Those two coming in, obviously they’re class players – they’ll have their fair share of issues to deal with from the crowds and stuff when they get over there. But they’re big boys. They’ve been there and seen it all before. I’m sure they’ll be fine.”BCCI

Assessing the way that a successful team would navigate the tournament, which is using a round robin and semi-finals format for the first time since the 1992 event in Australia and New Zealand, Ponting said that Finch’s team could recall past Australian victories to provide inspiration and knowledge of the need to avoid peaking too early.”I guess that’s probably one of the reasons they’ve got me involved – having been around some successful World Cup campaigns,” Ponting said. “Tournament play is a different thing, it’s not just another five-game series or three-game series. This is all about a pretty long tournament of one-day cricket.”You’ve got to find a way to build your way into the tournament and make sure you’re playing your best cricket at the back alley. That’s one thing Australian teams have always done. They’ve tended to play their best cricket in the World Cups and when it has mattered in the big games.”Australia’s got a very proud history. I know that’ll be something that will be spoken about within the group. But it’s also a chance for this current group of players to make a name for themselves on the world stage and a chance for them all to become World Cup winners as well.”As captain, Finch had faced plenty of speculation over his place during an extended run of low scores. But the team’s unexpected series win in India was accompanied by the first signs that Finch was returning to batting touch, and a subsequent series win over Pakistan in the UAE brought runs for the entire top order before it was bolstered by Smith and Warner.”The fact that Aaron Finch has just had a bit of success lately as captain and had got himself back into the runs after a pretty lean 12 months with the bat, that’ll give him a lot of confidence going into this World Cup,” Ponting said. “To beat India in India for him as a captain is a big feather in his cap.””They’ve got a really good chance – I’ve been saying that for 12 months. It looks like a lot of the work that Justin and the senior players have done around the group is starting to pay off.”