World Cup S/F 2, Australia vs India, March 26

[Aidan11]

I forgot this it tomorrow, not today.

[hopeforthebest]

I reckon they won't play Doherty.

It looked like it was going to spin in the Aus/SL game, but that wasn't a factor.

The first rule of tactics is always do what your enemy least wants you to do.

Who in the Indian line up would want the Aussies to leave out a quick for the unthreatening 'spin' of Doherty? All of them. Ergo, don't do it.

I'm a firm believer that you play your best XI players, regardless of the situation. Horses for courses picks so often go wrong. Furthermore, Doherty isn't a wicket taking threat, especially against players who play spin well, and barely turns the ball at the best of times. Containing bowlers have not been successful in this world cup and are unlikely to start to be at this stage. Why bother?

Doing what the opposition least want you to to do is counterbalanced by doing what they least expect you to do. India will expect to face a barrage of pace and their batsmen will be spending most of their net time practicing against pace in that belief. Maybe yo are right about Doherty but Maxwell is expensive and most ofhis wickets come from boundary catches. Perhaps Smith should be practicing his leggies.

[andy]

still can't pick a winner, seriously close call betweeen these sides..

[bigfluffylemon]

I reckon they won't play Doherty.

It looked like it was going to spin in the Aus/SL game, but that wasn't a factor.

The first rule of tactics is always do what your enemy least wants you to do.

Who in the Indian line up would want the Aussies to leave out a quick for the unthreatening 'spin' of Doherty? All of them. Ergo, don't do it.

I'm a firm believer that you play your best XI players, regardless of the situation. Horses for courses picks so often go wrong. Furthermore, Doherty isn't a wicket taking threat, especially against players who play spin well, and barely turns the ball at the best of times. Containing bowlers have not been successful in this world cup and are unlikely to start to be at this stage. Why bother?

Doing what the opposition least want you to to do is counterbalanced by doing what they least expect you to do. India will expect to face a barrage of pace and their batsmen will be spending most of their net time practicing against pace in that belief. Maybe yo are right about Doherty but Maxwell is expensive and most ofhis wickets come from boundary catches. Perhaps Smith should be practicing his leggies.

True, but Maxwell is going to have to bowl regardless of whether Doherty plays. You're giving India the option of 20 overs of unthreatening spin or 10.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Cricinfo's preview has Hazlewood in the Doherty slot, and a predictable India side.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Australia have won their last twelve games on their own pitches. Must count for something. Not only are Australia favourites, it would be a bit of an upset if they didn't win. Of course, India have enough matchwinners to have a victory within their range, and are playing really well. But it seems sensible to fancy Australia for this.

I only post this because I've been on the Guardian site and there seems to be a lot of backing for India on there.

[Arthur Crabtree]

True, but Maxwell is going to have to bowl regardless of whether Doherty plays. You're giving India the option of 20 overs of unthreatening spin or 10.

It depends on the pitch. On the right surface, even an ok spinner will be more useful than a good seamer. But the Sydney pitch is unlikely to be that good for spinners I suppose. Either way, India will bowl at least 20 overs of spin, in spite of their seamers being so strong in this competition.

[Arthur Crabtree]

Should get 100 overs in. Sunny most of the day, some cloud later on.

[bigfluffylemon]

True, but Maxwell is going to have to bowl regardless of whether Doherty plays. You're giving India the option of 20 overs of unthreatening spin or 10.

It depends on the pitch. On the right surface, even an ok spinner will be more useful than a good seamer. But the Sydney pitch is unlikely to be that good for spinners I suppose. Either way, India will bowl at least 20 overs of spin, in spite of their seamers being so strong in this competition.

Like most predictions about pitches in Australia being helpful for one type of bowler or another, I suspect that all the hype about Sydney allegedly turning to help India's spinners is just that: hype. Every ground in Australia for every game in this WC has been a belter, and I can't see why this should be any different.

Last time out the spin at the SCG was allegedly going to help Sri Lanka and the two teams scored nearly 700 runs between them. On the other hand, South Africa's spinners took 7 last week...

India are on a roll, but they haven't really been tested yet. Prior to the World Cup they couldn't beat Australia, and the personnel are the same. India's record at the SCG is horrible, Australia's is outstanding. The stats preview on cricinfo all point to Australia. It would be quite a turnaround if India were to pull off a win here.

[bigfluffylemon]

Double post deleted.

[rich1uk]

hard to predict what will happen at the toss , especially if india win it

they are usually pretty strong chasing but with the extra spin options might not mind bowling second on a Sydney pitch

[Arthur Crabtree]

Maxwell doesn't have to bowl by the way. Australia have Watson.

[GarlicJam]

Australia have Watson.

May you live in interesting times.....

[bigfluffylemon]

Maxwell doesn't have to bowl by the way. Australia have Watson.

Watson hasn't delivered a full complement of 10 since September 2013. They're not going to give him 10 overs. No chance.

[rich1uk]

aus win the toss and bat first

pitch is meant to look very good for batting