Australia - 2017 and Beyond

[q felt]

In the lead up to Australia's 2017 tour to India, enigmatic NSW coach Q. Felt was appointed to take over the reins of the national squad. Former coach Darren Lehmann has done a wonderful job to take Australia back to the #2 spot in the test world ratings, behind only England, but an away assignment against 3rd India will be a baptism of fire for Q.

Together with the national selection panel, Q has put the following squad together for the 3 match test series (shown with their 1st class stats from last season). The squad is mostly familiar faces with the only bolter 23 year old Tasmanian off spinner Richard Monks who is expected to play a crucial role on the turning Indian pitches, especially with fellow young gun Ashton Agar under an injury cloud coming into the tour (he is expected to be out for a further 4 days).

The challenge doesn't stop there for Q's Australian team, with a tough summer looming as they play tests against England and New Zealand.

Here's the squad for the Indian Test series:

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India vs Australia - 1st Test

Time for the first test. Richard Monks has been handed a test debut with Agar still injured. Australia wins the toss and bats on a spin friendly pitch.



Day One
Khawaja & Watson took the shine off the new ball before falling cheaply to Kaul. After reaching 2/75 at lunch, Clarke and Hughes accelerated until Hughes fell for 56. and Clarke for 79 either side of tea. Maxwell was in then out but Doolan and Burns guided us to stumps at 5/255, a relatively even start to the tour.

Day 2
The day started poorly with burns out in the first over for 37, then Doolan not long after for 36, leaving the tail to the work. They didn't and we were bundled out for 296. Pattinson and Siddle opened the attack, with Pattinson picking up Reddy in the 5th over to see India 1/35 at lunch. The 2nd session saw India lose their two best batsmen with McDermott and Monks picking up Dhawan and Pujara respectively. The final session saw the Indian run rate climb alarming to see India just 1 run behind at the close of play on 5/295 with Sir Jadeja dominating on 57*.

Day 3
We needed a strong start and Monks delivered, removing Dhoni just before we took the new ball. Pattinson and McDermott then got stuck into the tail, bowling India out for 354, Pattinson the pick of the bowlers with 5/89, while Jadeja top scored with 86. We batted cautiously but 4 quick wickets before tea left us reeling, with a narrow 39 run lead and only Khawaja offering any resistance. He was eventually bowled for 34, however Burns and Doolan guided us to 5/174 at stumps, a 116 run lead.

Day 4
Jadeja removed Doolan early for 43, putting pressure on the tail to reach a defendable total. Burns was the last batsman to fall for an innings top score of 61, with the total at 240, a 182 run lead which will be difficult to defend. Siddle and Pattinson grabbed an opener each to leave India at 2/39 and Pattinson added another with the score at 48. The change bowlers however could not maintain the intensity, a late flurry of wickets flattering us a little as India reached the total 6 wickets down.



AB Medal Points
3. James Pattinson, 8/144 in a losing side, never gave up.
2. Joe Burns, fought til the end.
1. Michael Clarke, held the 1st innings together

Verdict
Agar should bolster the lower order and spinning options in the next test, which is vital despite a decent debut from Monks.

[q felt]

India vs Australia - 2nd Test

A couple of changes for the 2nd test, Smith coming in for Maxwell and Agar in for Monks. We won the toss and batted on what looks like a belter of a track.



Day One
We made a slow start, crawling to 0/65 at lunch. Khawaja dominated proceedings for the rest of the day, finishing 131* and was handily supported by Clarke (70) before the new bought a flurry of wickets to see us close at 4/274

Day 2
Khawaja was dismissed early on day 2 for 140, but Burns shepherded towards the side to lunch at 6/388 with unbeaten half century. He continued the good work after lunch before falling for 71 and was ably supported by Agar (40) who proved a welcome addition to the lower order. From there the tail fell easily again and we were all out 435. Pattinson and Siddle continued their dominance of the Indian openers and Siddle removed Pujara before the close as well to leave India 3/111.

Day 3
Kohli and Khan were determined to make the second day tougher and raced through to first session scoring 95* and 103* respectively by lunch. Agar removed Khan shortly after the resumption and the new ball following shortly after that, and was skillfully handled by Pattinson to dismiss Kohli for 129. From there, however, Jadeja took control again, Clarke eventually snared Dhoni and then Pattinson cleaned up the tail, finishing with 5/92. India's score totaled 479, a 44 run lead. Khawaja and Watson saw us through to stumps at 0/22.

Day 4
We started the day looking to set India a total, but 4 wickets to Ojha and 2 to Jadeja before lunch quickly halted our progress and we limped back to the pavilion for our baked beans at 6/112. Burns and Agar departed soon after without adding a run and we were soon bundled out for 139, a lead of 95. We attacked with the new ball, Siddle taking 3 wickets and Agar 2, to make India's victory a little less comfortable.



AB Medal
3. Khawaja
2. Pattinson
1. Burns

Verdict
The middle orders have been the difference, with only Clarke and Burns contributing anything useful to ours. With the series gone, it might be time for some experimentation.

[KGKOOLKAT777]

Love a story ahead in time. Keep it up!

[q felt]

Love a story ahead in time. Keep it up!

Cheers - Needed to get used to the match engine with a few domestic seasons, so getting the National captaincy seemed a good place to start the story.

[q felt]

India vs Australia - 3rd Test

With Nevill out of form there was little scope to strengthen the middle order, so Burns moves up one on the back of some solid performances and Bird replaces McDermott. Another batsman's pitch and another win of the toss saw us batting again on the first morning.



Day one
Another poor start saw us 3/96 at lunch, Clarke leading the way on 31*. The tough tour continued for the rest of the middle order and by tea we fell to 7/175, with Clarke the sole ray of sunshine. He eventually fell for 80, Pattinson eventually chipping in for the tail with 41. This was looking to be a tough test. India finished the day 0/18 in response to our 229.

Day 2
Siddle accounted for the Indian openers early in the day, and Bird accounted for Khan before Kohli and Pujara came to the rescue and steered India to 3/133 at lunch. They, however, did not last much longer, with 3 quick wickets to Siddle and 1 to Pattinson getting us back in the game. Bird continued to build the pressure, and India were retired for 260. Siddle finished with 5/68 and Bird 3/49, however Agar's 0/69 off 10 was a worry and allowed India the lead. We started well before Watson fell 15 minutes before the close of play and we found stumps at 1/56.

Day 3
With the luxury of time we had a chance to build a total and Khawaja led the way, taking us to lunch at 2/124. Khawaja finally found a willing middle order partner in Hughes and when he was dismissed for 103, their partnership totaled 123. Hughes fell an hour before close on 91, while Smith and Doolan saw stumps with the score 5/303.

Day 4
The wickets tumbled early in the day, but eventually Doolan (50*) and Siddle (30) added a significant contribution to our eventual total of 377, a lead of 346. Agar, Pattinson and Bird picked up wickets before tea to leave India 3/103. Siddle chipped in with the wicket of Khan soon after, bringing the danger man, Sir Ravinda Jadeja to the crease. He was run out for 1, leaving us in the box set with India 5/135. After that the tail fell meekly and when Kohli was stumped off Agar's bowling for 55, we had secured a 172 run win.



AB Medal
3 Siddle
2 Khawaja
1 Bird

Verdict
The middle order finally made a decent contribution and Bird's inclusion added some oomph to the bowling. Agar's form will be crucial to the team and I'm relatively happy with the performance first up. The ODI's however, are a worry.

SERIES RESULT: India win 2-1

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India vs Australia - 5 Match ODI Series

A lot of changes to the squad for the ODI series, looking to bat way down and be aggressive. This could prove a much tougher task, India are ranked 2 in ODI's, we're back in 5th. Here it is along with career ODI stats.



As a side note: I played a NSW game in between the Tests and ODI's. Shane Watson and Steve O'Keefe did not react well to their ODI omission, Watson with 70 off 75 and 1/35 and O'Keefe with 4/24 in the resounding win.

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India vs Australia - 1st ODI

On a spin friendly pitch we select a log batting order. Hopefully we can chase down anything, because India have won the toss and decided to bat.



Indian Innings
Starc and Pattinson started well, reducing India to 1/32 from 10. From here, however, India pick up the pace, wickets to Faulkner and Agar failing to stem the tide. Michael Clarke chipped in with 2 quick wickets and India are 5/145 after 30. From here the wickets fall more quickly and India are dismissed for 242 in 49 overs, Pattinson the standout once again with the ball, taking 2/28, while Agar is expensive picking up 3/57 from 8 overs.

Australian Innings
This looks a chaseable total, and we have the batting order to chase aggressively. Maxwell is promoted to pinch hit and makes 8 from 4 before a first over dismissal. The rest of the order added useful starts before Faulkner was promoted to pinch hit with the score at 5/122 and the required rate 5.5/over. The Faulkner gamble paid off and he added 55 runs with Hughes before departing for 43 (37). Wade departed cheaply, but Hughes and Agar saw us home, Hughes the hero of the day as the only batsman to convert his with an unbeaten 83 (92).



AB Medal
3 Hughes - Steered the chase impressively
2 Pattinson - Clearly the leader of the attack at this point
1 Clarke - Turned the game with the ball and added 32 with the bat.

Verdict
The long batting order worked a treat, though the bowling of Maxwell and Agar was a concern.

[q felt]

India vs Australia - 2nd ODI

Another spinners deck saw us take in an unchanged lineup, while India added some runs to the lower order in an effort to match us. We'd be bowling first again and I'm feeling nervous about this one.




Indian Innings
There was even start to the game before 2 wickets to Starc in the 10th left India 2/47. Maxwell struggled and after 4 expensive overs was replaced by Clarke, while India powered along to 4/187 before taking the powerplay after 35 overs. The fast bowlers took the ball back and eventually pegged the run rate back with a bag of wickets, India ending the innings at 9/261 - Starc and Pattinson taking 3 wickets each.

Australian Innings
Warner was given the task of taking on the Indian openers, and failed on 3. Paine and Clarke got in then out in the 30's. The following batsmen followed their lead and we were soon bundled out for 200 after 44 overs. The sense of foreboding was right and India had shown why they were so highly ranked in the shorter form of the game, Jadeja again the destroyer with 4/29.




AB Medal
3 Faulkner - Carried the attack.
2 Starc - Expensive but took the key wickets
1 Pattinson - 2/40 - in great form

Verdict
Almost everyone got starts again, we need someone to go on with them!

[q felt]

India vs Australia - 3rd ODI

A couple of changes for the 3rd game of the series, with Cameron White making a surprise return to the national side in place of Steve Smith and Mitch Marsh getting the nod ahead of an underperforming Glenn Maxwell. We won the toss and will take the opportunity to set India a total.



Australian Innings
Dave Warner went out all guns blazing and made a quick-fire 29 before being bowled by Kumar. Paine and Clarke fell soon after leaving White and Hughes to rebuild the innings. Hughes struggled to 12 from 48 balls before holing out to Reddy off Chalwa on the 49th. Mitch Marsh departed next ball and we were in deep trouble at 5/96. When White and Wade succumbed for 31 each, it was up to the bowlers to try and set a semi-denfendable total, as we were bowled out for 169 in the last over.

Indian Innings
We bowled aggressively, but there was little use as India cruised to 144 without loss. Mitch Marsh chipped in with 2 quick wickets but that was the only joy as India reached the total 2 down in the 26th over.



AB Medal
3 M Marsh - Bowled titdily despite his golden duck.
2 White - Fought valiantly with the bat
1 Wade - See above.

Verdict
The batting is letting us down and spin bowling is so bad I'm praying for a batsman's pitch to justify bulking up the seam attack.

[q felt]

India vs Australia - 4th ODI

Slight reworking of the order for the 4th match, with Wade promoted to open with Warner, while Maxwell comes in for Paine on another turner. We have won the toss and will try to set a competitive total.




Australian Innings
Warner and Wade continued the trend of getting starts then getting out, making 22 and 33 respectively. Clarke, however, looked in good form and raced away to a 43-ball 50 before upping the ante even further and reaching 80 from 60 balls before being bowled by Kumar. At 3/187 with 18 overs left, we decided it was time for some T20 tatics and went after the bowlers. With ten overs to go, we were 5/244 with Marsh and Maxwell at the crease, a perfect situation for the 2 sloggers who were eventually dismissed in the dying stages for 47 (33) and 43 (26) respectively. By the end of 50 overs we had reached 8/338.

Indian Innings
Despite the big total I was not overly confident, fearing the chase would bring the best out of the Indian batsmen. The first over was belted for 14, so I threw the new ball to Agar, hoping for a quick wicket. It was Pattinson though who recovered his line delivering a maiden in his 2nd over and 2 wickets in his 3rd. Two more quick wickets to Starc and we were well on top, Marsh, Maxwell and Faulkner cleaning up the rest of the order for a 182 run victory.



AB Medal
3 Clarke - A dominating innings that turned the momentum in the series
2 Maxwell - 43 off 26 and 3/42, take a bow, son.
1 Starc - 2/13 off 5 snuffed out any chance of an Indian victory.

Verdict
That's what I was looking for! A real team effort leaves the series level at 2-2 with one to play.

[q felt]

India vs Australia - 5th ODI

We took an unchanged lineup into the decider on another spinners paradise in Chennai. The 3rd toss win on the trot will see us searching for another score of 300+



Australian Innings
Warner and Wade provided a steady start until the latter was dismissed for 26 (36) trying to lift the run rate in the 10th over. Warner and Clarke, however, were undeterred and powered us along to 150 in the 23rd over before Warner was dismissed for 82 (73). Hughes, White and Marsh departed cheaply, but Clarke continued on merrily, reaching a fine century from 90 balls, before being dismissed by Sir Jadeja on 103 in the 40th over. Maxwell chipped in with 30 useful runs, but the rest of the tail fell away to see us all out for a disappointing 289, wasting 16 balls.

Indian Innings
We needed quick wickets if we were going to win this one. Pattinson obliged, removing Dhawan with the very first ball of the innings. I took a gamble and gave Marsh the new nut at the other end and it too paid off. India were reduced to 4/38 after 10, Pattinson and Marsh grabbing two wickets each. From that point it was smooth sailing, with Faulkner cleaning up the tail, taking 4/40.



AB Medal
3 Clarke
2 Warner
1 Pattinson

Verdict
Proud as punch of my boys for their performance over those last 2 games. If we can keep this form up we'll improve on our 5th place in the world ODI's rankings quick smart. Nothing has changed in the last 4 years though, this team still revolves around the Captain Michael Clarke

SERIES RESULT: Australia win 3-2.

[q felt]

India vs Australia - 1st T20

I'll spare you all the tedium of another squad selection, and just show you the team for the first T20. India won the toss and decided to chase on a very flat deck.



Australian Innings
Doolan and Warner provided a blistering start, with 40 (19) and 14 (9) respectively. Hughes took the responsibility of guiding the middle order with a solid 50 (35) but it was number 5 Glenn Maxwell who was the star with an unbeaten 66 (37) to power us to a mammoth 7/209.

Indian Innings
India started cautiously, before 2 wickets in the fourth over from Starc reduced them to 2/23. India were determined to go down swinging and were 6/60 by the time the openers finished their 4-over spells. From there, Sayers and Kohli rallied, resulting in some expensive overs from Sayers and Faulkner, but it was ultimately fruitless and India were all out in the final over for 162.



AB Medal
3 Maxwell - 67 and 2/25 - Great all round performance
2 Starc - an impressive opening spell meant I wasn't go to fall to an embarrassing defeat.
1 Hughes - The backbone of the innings, a role that's perfect for him in the shortest form.

Verdict
Batting as aggressively as we did won't work every time, but it did work this time!

[q felt]

India vs Australia - 2nd T20

Henriques replaces Faulkner for his first game of the tour, in the ultimate game. We were presented with a turning pitch and a cloudy day, and decided to have a bowl on winning the toss.



Indian Innings
We picked up fairly consistent wickets, which held the Indian run rate at around 6/over for the first 10. Needing to post a total, they started to accelerate and managed to reach 5/106 at the end of the 15th. Pattinson and Starc came back on for the death overs but failed to stem the flow of runs, Jadeja and Uthappa guiding India to 5/158 from their full allotment.

Australian Innings
Warner and Doolan fell relatively early to leave us 2/25 after 3. Constant wickets continued to stifle the run rate, and with 5 overs left we required 69 runs with Maxwell and Starc at the crease. The challenge was always going to be to great and when Maxwell eventually fell for 44(37) we had been bowled out for just 120 in 18.5 overs.



AB Medal
3 Maxwell - The only batsman to show any resistance
2 Pattinson - economic, despite the lack of wickets, with 0/24 off 4
1 Henriques - 1/29 off four, a useful spell after a restful tour.

Verdict
I have a habit of drawing these two game T20 series, so this was to be expected. Anyway - Ashes are up next, back to real cricket!

[q felt]

The Ashes in Australia - 1st Test

This is the stuff where legends are made or something. 1 vs 2, Australia vs England in Australia. England have dominated the two previous series with comprehensive victories. The tour of India has given me very little information on which to select a team, so there are multiple changes. First, Khawaja is out injured for 3 weeks with a fracture. Big blow - he was a standout in India. Doolan and Watson will open in his absence. Nevill has been bought in to keep wickets and we've gone with a lot of bowling depth as taking 20 English wickets will be a challenge. A fair number of our players are battling for form, so this could be a challenge.

We have been presented with a good pitch for batting and 5 days of sunshine in the forecast. The English team is barely recognizable, with only Root, Pietersen, Bairstow and Finn surviving from the current crop - a stark contrast to the Australian team. We lost the toss and will bowl first.



Day 1
The first day of the Ashes belongs to Peter Siddle, and today was no different as he bowled both Hurst and English in his first over, leaving England 2/1. England continued to cautiously, but wickets to Pattinson and Faulkner saw them 4/70 at lunch, with Root 40*. Root eventually fell for 77, leaving the tail to bat with Kevin Pietersen. Pietersen accelerated rapidly before falling on 97 from just 107 balls. England were all out for 263, leaving us 5 overs to see out before stumps, which was too much for Doolan who fell for 6, before Watson and Clarke guided us to 1/32.

Day 2
A frenetic first session saw 132 runs scored for the loss of 4 wickets. Watson guided Australia and was undefeated on 76 at lunch, partnered by Nevill on 10. The steady fall of wickets continued after lunch, and by tea we were 4 runs behind England with 7 wickets down, Watson on 113*. He was dismissed for 119 soon after the resumption and the tail followed, all out 294, a 31 run lead. England started strongly and quickly erased the deficit, however Faulkner snared Root in the second last over before stumps to give us some hope.

Day 3
England batted aggressively in the first session before two wickets for Pattinson and one for Agar blunted that attack. Still, by lunch they had compiled 223 for the loss of four wickets by lunch. A good, tight spell from Agar and Faulkner sore up wrestle our way back on top with four quick wickets and we eventually dismissed England for 319 after a good last wicket stand between Finn and Pietersen. So our target would be 288 and if we could get through the last hour we would be strong favorites. The wickets and Clarke and Watson in the first 4 overs however, had the opposite effect and we closed at 2/31.

Day 4
258 runs to win. Hughes got us away to an aggressive start before he was lbw to Finn for 52. Burns and Nevill showed little resistance but an counter attacking innings from Faulkner and steady scoring from Doolan took us to 5/180 at lunch, leaving 109 to win. They continued after lunch until Faulkner was lbw to Cox for 60, with 72 left to win. Agar contributed 12 to a 39 run partnership with Doolan before being dismissed and leaving us 33 to win. Doolan also bought up a fine fighting century during this partnership. He and Pattinson proceeded to see us home, an epic 3 wicket victory - Doolan undefeated on 129.



AB Medal
3 Doolan - won us the game
2 Faulkner - Fantastic spell on day 3 for match figures of 6/100 along with a match saving 50 in the second dig.
1 Watson - Carried our first innings.

Verdict
An epic win, not quite as good as real life, but a much more favorable result for my tastes. More of the same for the rest of the Ashes series please!

Side note: on checking I found out that 32 year old Alistair Cook did not make the Ashes squad despite over 11,000 test runs at 48. He has been replaced by 26 yr old Lancastrian Adam Hurst, who despite a FC average of 55 has only 8 centuries in 128 innings and a Test average of 35 after 18 matches, with one 100. I certainly can't complain… Jimmy Anderson and Broad at least made the tour if not the team.