SYDNEY: Former Australian batsman Dean Jones has a different take on India's poor show in the ongoing Test series against Australia. He feels that India are struggling, and will continue to struggle in Test cricket as long as they don't have at least three genuinely good pacers who can bowl consistently at over 140kmph.
"Make no mistake, limited overs cricket is tailormade for batsmen, but to win Test matches you need bowlers who can take 20 wickets," Jones said, adding, "India have just one genuinely quick bowler in Ishant Sharma, while Umesh Yadav is a promising lad. It will be tough for them to win Test matches abroad with such an attack." Talking about Ishant, Jones said he found it absurd to see Ishant operating against the wind at the SCG. "I pity him. He was given the wrong end to bowl from by his skipper. He is the fastest of the lot and he should have been bowling with the wind, not into it," Jones observed.
The big-built Australian felt it is time for the Indian selectors to split the Test and limited-overs captaincy. "As a captain, Dhoni is like a python. He waits patiently for the opposition to make mistakes and slowly but surely chokes them. This works well in ODIs, but in Test matches a captain has to be proactive and at times make things happen," he said. "It would be a good idea to for India to have two captains," he added.
Jones feels sooner than later, teams would also have separate coaches for different formats of the game. "Different formats of the game need to be approached differently. It's too much to expect one person to deliver on all fronts. For example, Duncan Fletcher should have been planning for the Australia series after the debacle in England, but he had to focus on the ODIs against England and WI in-between. It might also work to have a chief coach and three other coaches working under him."
Pointing to history, Jones said all top Test sides that have dominated world cricket for a period of 4-5 years, or more, have had great fast bowlers. "It is a common denominator. Look at the West Indies and Australian sides of the Seventies and Eighties and the recent South Africa and England teams. You would back them to bowl out any opposition," Jones said.
Jones then gave the Sri Lanka example to underscore his point. "If Sri Lanka haven't won too many Test matches abroad despite having a top spinner like Murali in their ranks over a decade-and-a-half, it is because they haven't had genuine quicks," Jones added.
He explained his need for speed by saying, "The quicker a bowler comes on to the bat, the lesser the reaction time for batsmen. Lesser reaction time means a batsman is more prone to make mistakes, which in turn increases the bowler's chance of claiming a wicket."
Jones was quite upbeat about the pace talent at Australia's disposal. "We have quite a few young kids like Pattinson, Starc and Cummins lining up to bowl. Australia's pace attack is in good hands."
"Make no mistake, limited overs cricket is tailormade for batsmen, but to win Test matches you need bowlers who can take 20 wickets," Jones said, adding, "India have just one genuinely quick bowler in Ishant Sharma, while Umesh Yadav is a promising lad. It will be tough for them to win Test matches abroad with such an attack." Talking about Ishant, Jones said he found it absurd to see Ishant operating against the wind at the SCG. "I pity him. He was given the wrong end to bowl from by his skipper. He is the fastest of the lot and he should have been bowling with the wind, not into it," Jones observed.
The big-built Australian felt it is time for the Indian selectors to split the Test and limited-overs captaincy. "As a captain, Dhoni is like a python. He waits patiently for the opposition to make mistakes and slowly but surely chokes them. This works well in ODIs, but in Test matches a captain has to be proactive and at times make things happen," he said. "It would be a good idea to for India to have two captains," he added.
Jones feels sooner than later, teams would also have separate coaches for different formats of the game. "Different formats of the game need to be approached differently. It's too much to expect one person to deliver on all fronts. For example, Duncan Fletcher should have been planning for the Australia series after the debacle in England, but he had to focus on the ODIs against England and WI in-between. It might also work to have a chief coach and three other coaches working under him."
Pointing to history, Jones said all top Test sides that have dominated world cricket for a period of 4-5 years, or more, have had great fast bowlers. "It is a common denominator. Look at the West Indies and Australian sides of the Seventies and Eighties and the recent South Africa and England teams. You would back them to bowl out any opposition," Jones said.
Jones then gave the Sri Lanka example to underscore his point. "If Sri Lanka haven't won too many Test matches abroad despite having a top spinner like Murali in their ranks over a decade-and-a-half, it is because they haven't had genuine quicks," Jones added.
He explained his need for speed by saying, "The quicker a bowler comes on to the bat, the lesser the reaction time for batsmen. Lesser reaction time means a batsman is more prone to make mistakes, which in turn increases the bowler's chance of claiming a wicket."
Jones was quite upbeat about the pace talent at Australia's disposal. "We have quite a few young kids like Pattinson, Starc and Cummins lining up to bowl. Australia's pace attack is in good hands."