Observations from the 2015 Sydney Test

David Warner kisses the spot where Phil Hughes was hit by the bouncer that resulted in his death

Source: www.examiner.com.au 

As I predicted prior to the start of the series,  the Border-Gavaskar trophy was won by the Australians two matches to nil. I may have got the individual test results wrong, but the overall score line is what matters. So it is time to celebrate !!

The Sydney test itself ended up in a draw, Australia batted first and made 572 before India replied with 475 in their innings. Australia made a quick fire 251 before declaring and setting the Indians 349 to win which seemed unlikely from the start. The Indians held on in the last ten overs to force the draw.

What were the takeaways from the Sydney Test:

• An emerging talent – when Joe Burns was selected it was unexpected, but Joe showed some justification in the decision with fifties in each innings. The second innings was a well-made 66 off only 39 balls with three sixes and eight fours. Burns started his innings slowly with 11 off 12 balls before launching into 55 off the next 27 delivers. It was entertaining, but more importantly it allowed Australia to set a decent target with plenty of overs available to bowl the opposition out. Could Burns be Australia’s next permanent number three?
• Both captains show the way – Smith and Kohli continued their rich vein of form by scoring hundreds in the first innings, although Kohli may feel that he missed out with only 46 in the second innings. These two batsmen scored 1,461 runs in total for the series with Smith scoring 769 and Kohli contributing 692 for their respective sides. If they maintain their form it will make the ODI series and the World Cup really interesting.

What have we learned from the series?

• India is now a side in transition – India’s bowling attack is relatively young and spearheaded by Ishant Sharma. There is some promise with Umesh Yadav, whereas Varun Aaron needs to become more consistent and reminds me of a younger Mitchell Johnson. There has been a change in leadership from MS Dhoni to the more combative and aggressive Kohli, which will prove to be a good strategic move in time. The Top 6 can build itself around Kohli and Murali Vijay which should mean that most opposition sides could be chasing some rather large totals.
• Australia is starting to build consistency – Although its best batsman and regular captain Clarke was missing for most of the series, Australia was still able to post large totals. Smith had a blinder of a series with the bat and seemed to thrive even more with the captaincy role. The Top 6 may need a reshuffle perhaps by moving Burns to three and Australia will most likely need to find another opener within the next 12 months as Rogers is expected to retire soon. At the moment the Top 6 would probably be Warner, Rogers opening with Burns, Smith and Clarke at three, four and five. Number six is difficult but I would put Mitchell Marsh ahead of Watson once he regains fitness. The pace bowling stocks are plentiful for Australia and considering that Siddle only played one test and Cummins, Bird and Faulkner did not play at all, there would appear to be sufficient depth for Australia.

Overall the series started with a tragedy and finished with the tradition of test cricket remaining firmly intact. The cricket was very entertaining with 5,870 runs scored across the four tests. Naturally, the bowlers would think that the wickets were too docile, however there was the possibility of non-draw results in every test.

Observations from the 2014 Boxing Day Test

The Australian and Indian teams shake hands after the Boxing Day Test

Source: www.smh.com.au

The Boxing Day Test was a tightly fought contest in the first few days and resulted in a draw. There has been some debate about whether Steve Smith missed an opportunity to go for the win by declaring earlier on the fifth day. This would have provided more opportunity for his bowlers, however by declaring when he did he ensured that Australia would win the series. In the end India were set 383 to win off 71 overs and at 2 for 5 spent the rest of Day 5 in survival mode.

What were some of the takeaways from this test:

• Runs galore - the glut of runs scored in the series continued with the Melbourne test providing 1,487 runs over the five days and compares to 1,556 runs in Adelaide and 1,267 runs in Brisbane. The cricket has been entertaining over the three tests and it would appear that this will continue in Sydney.
• Fielding woes - perhaps it has been the result of playing three tests in quick succession but the standard of fielding in the Melbourne test was well below par. On the first day the Indians leaked almost 30 runs in the field through poor fielding and the Australians were uncharacteristically sloppy. 
• MS Dhoni retires - like England's Graeme Swann last year MS Dhoni has retired mid-series effective immediately with the Sydney test remaining. While I wish Dhoni all the best I do find it a little soft to retire mid-series and especially in a series where the quality of cricket played has been very good. MS Dhoni scored 4,876 runs at 38.06 per innings with six hundreds and 33 fifties. As wicketkeeper he took 256 catches and made 38 stumpings during his career.
• Kohli's red-hot form - Virat Kohli scored another hundred for India, this time it was a very classy 169 in India's first innings. In doing so, he became the first Indian player since Sunil Gavaskar in 1977-78 to score three centuries during a series in Australia. Kohli's partnership of 262 with Rahane in just under 58 overs was very entertaining and showed a glimpse of what might be on the horizon for Indian cricket.
• Watson's missed opportunities - In the first innings Shane Watson had the opportunity to make a stand and put all those who have doubted him in their place by scoring a hundred. But Shane played true to form and threw his wicket away after scoring 52 that was scratchy at best. Finally my prayers might be answered as one selector has now hinted that he needs to score runs to retain his spot.
• Did Australia declare too late? - Australia played safe and won the series which will be great for Smith's confidence as captain, but there was a lesson to be learned about decision making for declaring an innings and setting a target that encourages the opposition to chase it and provide enough time to bowl the opposition out. Admittedly, there was some bad weather in Melbourne on Day 5 and play did stop on a couple of occasions, which may have impacted the decision.

So Australia head to Sydney with the Border-Gavaskar trophy already in the cabinet and India begin life without MS Dhoni. Virat Kohli steps in as captain and going by his performance as captain in Adelaide we should expect that India will continue to play aggressive and entertaining cricket.

On a special note - Congratulations to Brendon McCullum who scored 1,164 runs in 2014 to become the first New Zealander to score more than 1,000 runs in a calendar year.