The Ashes might be lost but Australian bowlers have
certainly managed to stem the flow of runs and gained a physiological edge over
the top three English batsmen for the return series at home.
While the batsmen progression has been sluggish the bowlers
have executed plans perfectly. The
output of Cook, Trott and Pietersen has been limited largely due to the accuracy,
tactics and the physiological impact of the Australian fast bowlers.
COOK’S CUTTING
All the pre-ashes hype was surrounded by the greatness of
Cook. Ex-cricketers had even stated Cook
was unflawed and the English captain would eventually eclipse Tendulkar’s
batting record. Well if Cook constantly
faces bowling of the quality of Harris, Siddle, Starc, Pattinson, the left
hander may need to play well into his 40’s to overcome Tendulkar feats.
It is clear since Cook’s run fest down under two year ago
Australians have done plenty of homework. Firstly, they have stopped feeding
him short balls outside the off stump which has meant Cook has not been able to
play two of his favourite runs scoring shots, the pull and the cut. So accurate
have the Australian bowlers been, out of the 17 boundaries Cook has hit in the
series he has only played two cut shot’s to the fence while he is yet to hit a pull
or hook shot to the boundary. To put in
perspective in the first ashes test in Brisbane two years back Cook hit 32
boundaries out of which 15 were either pulled or cut to the fence.
Since the Australians have stopped Cook scoring in his
favourite area’s Cook has had to look for alternative scoring options, mostly
of the front foot. Since Cook is pre-dominantly
a back foot player, playing on the front foot makes him vulnerable. The Australian bowlers have seized up this opportunity;
five of Cook’s six dismissals have been when he has playing on the front foot.
Even Cook’s strangle down the leg side in 3rd
test was a result of him playing around the front pad and getting his head
outside the line of the ball. This was result of the persistent bowling of
keeping it full outside the off stump and making the Cook comes at them. So far Australia has won the battle despite
couple of gritty half centuries by the English Captain.
DOUBLE BLUFFED TROTT
The minute Trott has
walked to the crease in the series Clarke has strengthened the leg side field
to prevent Trott’s flow of runs through the onside. The field setting has
suggested the Australian bowlers are going to bowl full and straight at the
stumps. However, the Australian bowlers have double bluffed; they have bowled
wide and full outside the off stump. They
have used the straight full ball sparingly, either right at the start of Trott’s
innings or as a surprise weapon only after Trott has started to shuffle across
his stumps.
Bowlers have kept Trott guessing on when they the full and
straight ball will be delivered. Only twice
in the series has Trott been able to get into double figures. On both instances
the runs he has scored on the onside outweigh the runs on the offside. In the first Test it was 20 runs offside and
28 onside. Second Test it was 20 runs offside and 38 onside. Majority of the
onside runs are boundaries, due to the fact Clarke has been content to concede a
boundary for a bad ball but reluctant to concede a single to keep Trott on
strike. It is deliberate tactic to bowl consecutive
balls at Trott. The guessing game has definitely
played on Trott’s mind.
Furthermore, when Trott has scored the runs on the offside
he has been looked extremely vulnerable.
Either the wide drives have skewed off the edge past gully or end up
past the diving slip cordon. The wide
balls have had Trott shuffling across more than usual to reach balls he would
normally leave making him even more susceptible to the straight ball.
The constant wide swinging balls outside off stump have been
followed by a sharp inswinger to trap Trott across the stumps. Starc and Harris have managed to execute it
perfectly. Since the first innings of
the first test the Australian bowlers have dealt a blow in his mind. It will be
interesting to see Trott’s response in the next couple of tests.
KP IS SIDDLE’s BUNNY?
Despite Kevin Pietersen hundred in the 3rd test, he
is yet to dominate the Australian bowling. Each time Pietersen has looked on
verge on something special Clarke has gone to Peitersen nemesis, Peter Siddle.
Siddle and Pietersen have played against each other in 10 Ashes
Tests. On the 16 occasions Pietersen has
batted in those test matches, Siddle has dismissed him on 7 occasions. Out of the other 9 occasions, Pietersen faced
up to Siddle only on 6 of the occasions. So overall, Siddle’s success rate
against Pietersen is 7/13 times, that is over 50%.
Not only has Siddle managed to dismiss the English number 4
batsmen but he has also succeeded in keep him in check. Out of the 228 balls Siddle has bowled to
him, Pietersen has scored only 114 runs at a strike rate of around 50%.
Considering Pietersen naturally aggression and his dominance over some of world’s
elite bowlers, Siddle figures are outstanding.
What is strange is the fact Siddle has dismissed Pietersen
mostly when he has been set. Out of the 7 dismissals, 4 have come with
Pietersen over the score of 30 plus. It is only in the ongoing Ashes series
Siddle has managed to dismiss him in single digits.
With still seven ashes test to come, Pietersen could well be
Siddle bunny, if he isn’t already.
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