India have developed into a good, fighting outfit over the last few years. They have been playing tough, entertaining cricket.
India have developed into a good, fighting outfit over the last few years. They have been playing tough, entertaining cricket. They have some great batsmen in their ranks. When we lost to them in Adelaide (2003-04 ), I think we realised we made them score runs too quickly. We over-attacked them too much. We would start the series keeping this stat in mind. We are well prepared this time. We know where to bowl and have set plan for every batsmen.
Bowling variety...
I think we have the bowlers to take 20 wickets in a match. Brett (Lee) has been really impressive in all forms of the game. Mitchel Johnson is improving with every match. (Stuart) Clarke is one of the most accurate bowlers going around. Shaun (Tait) in two overs can pick up a few wickets which could change an entire game. Same with (Brad) Hogg.
I am really excited about the variety and quality in our attack. But it’s important that one doesn’t get carried away. Even if bounce is an important weapon, it’s important how to use them, when to use them. One must know what to follow it up with, when to relax and that sort of stuff.
Well prepared...
There’s a terrific feel around the group. It’s Boxing Day, we’re going to have a big crowd. It’s a great place to play Test cricket and India are great opponents. So put all that together and you can pretty much assure that Australia are going to be on song when we take the field.
Looking back at last year’s Ashes series against England, that was as well prepared as I’ve ever seen any cricket team for any series that I’ve been a part of and, right at the moment, we’ve got a really similar sort of feel around the group.
Warne, McGrath...
Lee is a wicket-taking bowler, (but) for different reasons (than) Shane (Warne) was. That’s what Tait is as well. If Tait happens to play in this game he’s exactly like that, he’s a guy who can break a game open in a couple of overs. So the wicket-taking options we lost with McGrath and Warne, we’ve just gained other guys in different roles to do that for us.
Age factor...
The same has been said about our stars too and I don’t think that’s true at all. Even if some of their (India’s) best players are past their prime, they still have the ability to stand up, series after series. Age can’t tone you down.
Toss crucial...
It (wicket) must be damp (having been under covers for so long) and toss would be a critical factor. I hope it falls in our favour.
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