by shankycricket » Mon Mar 03, 2014 7:08 pm
Think you're slightly overstating the importance of quicks in Australia, Red. Gotta remember the WC is going to be held in Feb/March i.e. towards the end of the Australian summer. The pitches will be tired and slower. Maxwell and Doherty were Australia's better bowlers during the recent ODIs vs England and that leggie Muirhead in the T20Is and that was in Jan. The pitches will be even slower in Feb/March. Not saying they will be subcontinental dustbowls but think there'll be enough to justify playing 2 spinners all the time at least for the matches in Australia. I mean, even Australia play 2 spinners. May be a slightly different story in NZ but even there, I'd play 2 spinners barring a really green wicket. I don't think the pitches for the recent ODI series were all that seam friendly (bar maybe the last ODI at Wellington). The rest were just flat tracks and our spinners were more economical than the seamers.
We just need to pick the right spinners. Think it should be blatantly obvious by now that Ashwin is not the man outside Asia. Time to give Mishra, Ojha and Bhajji a go in that order (that is, if one fails over a period of 5 games, try the next guy).
No idea what to do with the seam dept. Shami is the obvious first choice but Bhuvi is fast becoming a major concern. His new ball strikes have gone amiss for quite some time now. His death bowling has come on leaps and bounds though. I'd persist with him but not sure he's an automatic pick anymore. The likes of R Dhawan, Pandey, Sandeep Sharma, Kaul, Pankaj Singh need to be tried out. Well, at least a few of them. We need to have as many options on hand as possible.
I'm actually more worried about the batting, as its supposed to be our strength. Virat, MSD, Pujara and to a lesser extent Dhawan aside, the stocks are looking horribly dim. I'd probably not bother turning on the TV if I see the likes of Karthik and Rahane anywhere near the squad.
Cricket Quiz Season 1 Winner
"If Australia avoid playing big teams at Chennai and Delhi, we have a great chance to win the World T20. Only missing trophy from the cabinet" Shanky Dundee, on twitter.