|
|
|
| December 12, 2003 | Friday | Shawwal 17, 1424 |
Williams in line for Test recall against India
ADELAIDE, Dec 11: Australia are considering promoting express bowler Brad Williams to their starting team for the second Test with India starting at Adelaide Oval on Friday.
A final decision on the team will not be made until Friday morning but Williams is in line to replace Andy Bichel as part of an Australian ploy to unsettle the Indian batsmen with short-pitched bowling.
Australia captain Steve Waugh said Williams’ extra speed would be vital in helping his team rattle the Indian batsmen.
“It’s always crucial in test matches to take early wickets and put pressure on the middle order batsman,” Waugh told a news conference on Thursday.
“India’s strength is obviously in the middle order so we want to get them in against the new early so taking early wickets is crucial to the outcome of the match.”
India surprised Australia by their bold performance in the drawn first Test but Waugh said his team knew what to expect this time.
“We’ve got to lift our intensity, you’ll see a much improved performance from us in this Test match,” Waugh said.
“I thought we were below our best. We recognise that and we’ve talked about and I think you’ll see a much more intense and committed side in this Test match.”
India captain Saurav Ganguly said his players were expecting a tougher match but were brimming with confidence after their performance in Brisbane.
“I know they will come hard but that’s what Test cricket is all about and we’ll have to be up for it,” said Ganguly, whose 144 in the opening Test won him the Man-of-the-Mmatch award.
“We’re prepared for this Test. It’s a good wicket and we all want to do well.
“For us, going through the first test overseas and not being one down is important. The first Test is always the key because you get used to the conditions so from that point of view we’re pretty much prepared.”
While the Australians look likely to beef up their pace attack, India may drop one of their quicks for a second spinner.
Harbhajan Singh played as the lone spinner in Brisbane but Ganguly said the tourists were thinking about adding Anil Kumble to their team.
“We’re still deciding whether to go with two spinners or one spinner but we’ll have to look at the wicket tomorrow morning,” Ganguly said.
“When we landed in this country we obviously decided we’ll have to something different than what we’ve done in the past and to win a Test match we’ll have to play very well for five days against a very good side.”
Waugh said the second Test was already looming as the most important match of the series.
“This is a big Test match. If you win this one you’re in pretty good shape, there’s only two to gave after this one so this is shaping up as the crucial match of the series,” he said.
“The pitch looks excellent. I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of runs in the first few days so the bowlers will have to work very hard.
“There’s going to be runs in the first innings for both sides. It’ll be a good batting wicket for the first three days. The second Test match is always a bit easier to get into.
“The first Test match there’s always a lot of things going on around the match, a lot of hype, a lot of commitments but the second Test is always a more relaxed.”
Teams (from):
Australia: Steve Waugh (captain), Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn, Simon Katich, Adam Gilchrist, Jason Gillespie, Stuart MacGill, Nathan Bracken, Brad Williams, Andy Bichel.
India: Saurav Ganguly (captain), Akash Chopra, Virender Sehwag, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Vangipurappu Laxman, Parthiv Patel, Ajit Agarkar, Harbhajan Singh, Ashish Nehra, Zaheer Khan, Anil Kumble, Sadagoppan Ramesh.—Reuters
|
|
|
|
