Wednesday 28 March 2007

The Aussie Approach Refreshing


The bludgeoning effect of Matthew Hayden was almost scary. The ball did not come on to the bat, and the drive on the up would have been suicidal, but his long reach and extended levers ensured he would take most of the bowling on the front foot and his exhibition of batsmanship was art, science and action all rolled in to one. It was more like watching a good Bollywood flick embedded with the art element.


I am never going to get tired of the Australian approach and I hope the readers are going to feel the same. The feeling is much along the lines of 'if you can't avoid it, enjoy it'. There was never a dull moment in the game and even the opponents, I am sure, have taken a liking to their approach. It used to be the same when we played against the West Indies during their pomp. Every opponent, in some corner of his heart, wanted the likes of Sir Viv Richards and Gordon Greenidge to do well and it is the same with this Aussie bunch.


The knock by Hayden could not have come at a better venue. The scenic ground named after the legendary Master Blaster was fitting to play host to this daredevil attack। The depth in the Aussie ranks allows the Aussie batsmen the freedom, but to have it is one thing and to make use of it is quite another.


The World Champions might have only one problem and that is the form of Mike Hussey। 20 runs from four innings is not what you expect from one of the better limited overs batsmen in the world. I feel Ricky Ponting missed a trick here by not promoting him in one of the preliminary games where a decent time in the middle could have helped Hussey with his rhythm.


Andrew Symonds is a threat to any attack but he is paying the price for trying to hit the ball hard। Batsmen on a comeback trail always run in to this problem. The timing wont be there and the easier resort is to go at the ball with hard hands and that is the mistake the burly Queenslander is making at the moment.


With someone with the potential of Brad Hodge sitting out, Ponting and his men can get away with murder as at least two in the top seven are going to crack it. This is not good news for the rest of the teams.


The match now gets to the reserve day and the West Indies will have to bat out of their skins to get to the target of 323. Brain Lara and Chris Gayle hold the key, as the Aussies will look for another kill and a potential last four spot.


Lara did the right thing by putting the opponents in, but the way he handled the middle overs left a lot to be desired. There were moments in the game where the batsmen were never under any strain to pick their singles. The target might have just stretched itself to a 'can't reach' zone from a manageable one.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...

It was a great display of batting by the Australians. Even after a jittery start they managed to score close to 325 runs. They did not panic for a minute also.

Hats off to Mathew Hayden nowadays a if a batsmen does not get off the mark in 5 -6 deliveries then more often then not he will panic but Hayden kept his cool and waited for the right opportunities on a dicey pitch.

Anonymous said...

Krish, That is exactly what I thought. So far in this world cup, I have truly enjoyed the amazing batting line up. It gave me the feeling of Windies when they had this line up - Haynes, Greenidge, Richardson, Richards, Gus logie, Jeff Dufon, Marshall, Walsh whoa that was one awesome team. Can you guys play another senior world cup ? like you did some 12 years back ?It was fantastic. I was watching India vs Westindies when I had my 11th (i guess) final exam.

Aurindam said...

Ya....even i felt Lara cud hav tried smthng "out-of-the-box" so as to contain Hayden after he completed his century. May be he missed a trick. Or may be he was saving a trick to use when he goes out with the willow in his hand. Let's c wassup!!

But, given the kind of form Hayden is in .... i m unable 2 figure out what cud he have done!!

Aswin Kini said...

Yes Krish, Hayden's batting has been a treat to watch. There are not many batsmen in the world who score a century inspite of taking 20 balls to get off the mark.

We can't blame Lara for letting Hayden off the hook. Afterall Lara does not have the resources that can rock an Aussie batting order. I feel that Lara relies too heavily on the Spin-Duo or Gayle and Samuels to restrict the runs and put the pressure on the batsman. Unfortunately, the plan backfired miserably as Hayden went for the big ones and Samuels and Gayle together leaked 87 runs off their 13 overs(A rare sight on a slow WI pitch). Kudos to Hayden for his batting.

I am eagerly waiting for the West Indies reply. Let's see how they fare

Anonymous said...

Australia is dominating this match at this point of time with west indies at 45 for 3 but you never know when Sarwan and Lara are on the crease.

Mezmerize said...

Hayden has been batting like a man possessed. He was also playing the fielders so Lara was probably not sure what to do. If he goes to the boundaries, they will take singles and if he comes in, they will hit over the fielders and to the boundary. I also heard that the field was a bit big, so that may have had been part of the problem Lara faced. I am a West Indian so I am supporting my team, they have been playing a bit better [this game aside] than previous games but I am having this nagging feeling that Austrailian is going to have another record on their name by winning 3 World Cup titles in a row. That would be the 3rd I think after the Fastest Hundred and Most runs by an Austrailian by Hayden.
Its a shame that West Indies lost the game today though. They lost some early wickets and some later wickets thanks to some pointless shots. May have had been the pressure and the reality of the situation which sank in them over the night which caused the panic but they did give a pretty good fight.

Also, aside from the Austrailia vs West Indies match today, Congrats to Malinga for this Beaver-trick although it not enough to win the game for Sri Lanka today.

By the way, who do you see winning the World Cup this year ?

Aurindam said...

Well.... finally the expected happens in WC-2007. WI loses to AUS.


And thanx Krish for visiting my blog and inviting me to participate in the blogging-contest. I'd hav loved to, but I can't explain the life of a software engineer at Bangalore. Still if possible I'll try to pull-off some time. Let's c how things so over next couple of weeks!!

Anonymous said...

In India it is politics and domination of the veterans.Also sons of the soil orientation has spoiled cricket.

Money corrupts man and undeserved money absolutely.

Tendulkar and Dravid must retire.

Many new youngsters have better technique but no physique.
There should be a general fitness course for the cicketers.Old bandicoots are interfering with selection.Kapil and Vegsarkar and even Gavaskar etc should not interfere.Dongarkar,s time is past.He gives some elitist comments off the track.Let all learn some technology like the SA and Aussiee players.

Nived said...

I Would like to say that Indian players should not blame the coach for their bad performance. They played pathetically and should all retire and new faces should come in.
They should be removed from endorsements and yes Sachin,Sehwag should be removed.