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Waugh's men keen on settling scores

By Vijay Lokapally

ONE FOR THE ALBUM: It is a merry Christmas for Steve Waugh and his children — daughters Rosie and Lilli, and son Austin . — Photo: V.V. Krishnan

MELBOURNE DEC. 25. While still steeped in tradition, cricket at the Melbourne Cricket Ground has moved on. The new look MCG, with renovation work still on, is a testimony to the changing times as India and Australia prepare for a Test that could rekindle memories of some glorious encounters at this grand venue. The third Test of the series is likely to produce some of the most intense cricket seen for a long time.

The Australia skipper Steve Waugh summed up the occasion nicely in his newspaper column on Thursday morning, "Since 1985 many things have changed; the dressing rooms have moved, the boundaries shortened, pitches dropped in, grandstands replaced, practice facilities moved. But the one constant is the passionate sports loving crowd and the buzz, unique to the MCG, moments before the first ball on day one."

Waugh has read the stage well, and has prepared better this time than at Adelaide when India, riding on the confidence of its incisive attack and a batting line up that looks awesome in the middle, shook the host with a remarkable victory. The result at Adelaide has made the arrogant Aussies sit up and take notice of a team that promises to dominate world cricket in the next few years.

Waugh made a very pertinent observation when he remarked, "It may be that we'll be one of the two best batting sides ever to meet each other in the history of Test cricket, statistically." He rated India and Australia as `great' batting line-ups.

Obviously, it is going to be one big test for bowlers on either side. The Indians are pleased that Ajit Agarkar has finally lived up to his abilities and is bowling with greater confidence than at any point in his career. Zaheer Khan's return is another good sign for the team's bowling strength to attain its potential.

The Indians are not unduly worried about Brett Lee, who returns after missing the first two Tests. "He wants that responsibility. I think the time is right for Brett to take the challenge and assume the mantle of the strike bowler. He doesn't get a better opportunity,'' said Waugh.

India believes the answer to Lee is Virender Sehwag's aggressive batting. The opener has been assigned the duty to dent the fast bowler's confidence and if Sehwag produces an explosive innings, the Indians can claim to have won half the battle. The bounce in the pitch is what the Indian batsmen will have to contend with more than the pace and here Sehwag certainly has a role to play.

"We're aware of the bounce and we know we have to give our best. This is not the first time we're playing at the MCG," said Rahul Dravid.

The Indians promise to play positive and stay aggressive. The Aussies too do not speak of any change in their attitude. "I think we'll play the same we did in the last Test. Just because we messed up once with our batting, we're not going to change the way we play. We know we could have batted better but such things do happen occasionally," asserted Waugh.

Even as Waugh spoke of two strong batting line-ups, he did not discard the idea of playing five bowlers to meet the challenge. "It sounds good on paper but it's a lot harder out in the middle to give everyone a decent go. I think bowlers like to have a decent bowl. When you have five it's hard to juggle them so I think the ideal combination is four frontline bowlers plus one or two part-time bowlers to complement that. I think it'll be talked about. We did it in the West Indies and it worked pretty well so it may be an option."

Ganguly supported the idea but given the limitations he is hardly going to disturb the combination that allows him to play three seamers and one spinner. With Agarkar showing signs of developing his wicket-taking skills, the choice could be limited to Zaheer and Nehra, the latter having to prove his fitness. The threat of more breakdowns on the field looks real as Zaheer and Nehra fight niggling injuries. The choice of the third seamer lies between Nehra and Irfan Pathan. The team management has not ruled out Murali Kartik, given the tendency of the pitch to encourage spin on the last two days.

Agarkar will be monitored closely by the Aussies following his six-wicket haul at Adelaide and the Mumbai seamer has a task on hand. The pitch should suit his style, especially his whippy action and much will depend on how high Agarkar raises his game.

According to Waugh, the MCG pitch has, "quite a bit of bounce, springy sort of bounce. If the quick bowlers put the ball in the right areas and hit the wicket hard they'll create opportunities."

No doubt the Indians felt at `home' at Adelaide but the pitch here will be quite a test. The Australians feel the pressure will be on India now because it leads the series.

Ganguly admitted it was a different experience to lead in a series overseas. "It speaks for our preparation. I've always maintained that this team is mentally very strong. We're a different side from the ones that travelled to Australia in the past. We want to win this series and that's the only goal for all of us, whether playing on the field or sitting out,'' said Ganguly, who aims to be the first captain to steer India to a series win in Australia.

Sachin Tendulkar, Dravid and V.V.S. Laxman will be the marked men as far as Australia is concerned. Dravid and Laxman have captured the imagination of the Aussie public but it is Tendulkar they want to succeed. The Aussies identify Indian cricket with Tendulkar's batsmanship and the master, as Ganguly said the other day, is due to explode.

Conceded Waugh, "I wouldn't say we are on top of him. I won't be that silly." Tendulkar, as always, will be under scrutiny. His long batting stint in the `nets' was seen as a desperate measure to strike form and sort out a few minor things.

The weather forecast is encouraging and as Waugh wrote in his column, "The cauldron still fires me up." The Indians share his feelings too!

The teams: India (from): Sourav Ganguly (captain), Virender Sehwag, Akash Chopra, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, V.V.S. Laxman, Parthiv Patel, Ajit Agarkar, Anil Kumble, Zaheer Khan, Ashish Nehra, Murali Kartik, S. Ramesh, Irfan Pathan, L. Balaji, Harbhajan Singh and Deep Dasgupta.

Australia: Steve Waugh (captain), Justin Langer, Mathew Hayden, Ricky Ponting, Damien Martyn, Adam Gilchrist, Simon Katich, Stuart MacGill, Brett Lee, Brad Williams, Nathan Bracken and Andy Bichel.

Umpires: Messrs David Shepherd and Billy Bowden; Third umpire: Bob Parry; Match Referee: Mr. Mike Procter.

Hours of play (IST): 5.30 a.m. to 7.30 a.m.; 8.10 a.m. to 10.10 a.m.; 10.30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m.

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