Express News Service
NEW DELHI: Bruised and battered by the Indian spin duo of Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja in the first Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Australia is mulling over a plan to field three specialist spinners for the first time on Indian soil for the second match of the series.
But for it to happen, Cameron Green’s fitness remains critical. Indications are that the batting all-rounder can be the second pace option along with skipper Pat Cummins in the Delhi Test, which begins on Friday at the Arun Jaitley Stadium, even if he is not 100 per cent fit. His inclusion in the playing XI will give the tourists a luxury of playing three spinners in the five-man bowling attack.
“Having a right-hander helps and him (Green) providing our fifth bowling option also helps,” Australian skipper Pat Cummins said on the eve of the match suggesting there is a plan in place if Green is passed fit.
Much to the delight of the Australian camp, Green and pacer Mitchell Starc spent considerable time in the nets on Wednesday. He batted for a little more than an hour receiving throwdowns at full pace from Australia’s batting coach apart from facing spinners during the session. The 23-year-old from Western Australia, who had a surgery after he broke his index finger during the Boxing Day Test against South Africa last year, also did some catching drills with a hard ball giving hope to the Australian side.
Not worried with his bowling, it’s Green’s batting and fielding that seems to have prevented the visitors from taking a final call on the team composition as there seems to be a feeling that he hasn’t faced the pacers a lot since he had the surgery. “He’s a big player. It certainly helps the team function well from batting and bowling. You have got to be able to perform as well. He’s still coming back from that injury. He’s only had [one] session where he’s catching with a hard ball. He had a really good session yesterday (Wednesday). We will see how he pulls up,” Cummins added.
Meanwhile, Green’s availability could also mean a debut for rookie Matthew Kuhnemann, who was flown in from Melbourne earlier this week to replace Mitchell Swepson. Kuhnemann appears to be ahead of Aston Agar to feature in the contest.
Kuhnemann has played only 12 first-class games so far but he has the experience of playing in the sub-continent. Just like Todd Murphy, he was also a part of Australia A side that toured Sri Lanka last June. Later that year, he also spent some time at Chennai’s MRF Academy with Murphy and other Australian players.
With the strip in the national capital expected to aid spinners, Australia may not hesitate to include a third tweaker even at the expense of pacer Starc despite him passing the fitness test. The skipper also confirmed the same. “I think there’s a conversation (on playing three spinners),” Cummins said. “We’ll work that out by the end of today, I hope.
It was against Bangladesh in Chittagong in 2017 that the Aussies last picked three spinners. Nathan Lyon, Ashton Agar and Steve O’Keefe featured in the playing XI. All-rounder Glenn Maxwell was also in the team. They had won the match with the trio claiming 17 wickets (Lyon claiming 7 and 6 wickets in the first and second innings respectively while Agar and O’Keefe bagging two apiece in an innings).
Besides, the move could also create a big difference with India’s line-up heavy with right-handed batters. Of late, the bowlers who turn the ball away from them have troubled Indian batters.
However, if Green remains unavailable then Starc is expected to replace Scott Boland. “I think there’s a conversation (with Starc). We’ll work that out by the end of today, I hope. He’s one of the world’s premier bowlers in these types of conditions. We’ll see. As I said, the wicket looks like it might turn a little bit. I thought last week with two pacers that attack functioned quite well, but I think whether it’s ‘Starcy’, another spinner, Scotty (Boland), variety in the attack does help.”
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