‘Starc, Hazlewood will need a lot of wickets’

MUMBAI: Australia have not been able to win a single Test in India since 2004 and skipper Steve Smith has already stated that if they can win the upcoming Test series then it will be a huge achievement. And according to former Australia captain Michael Clarke it is the pace attack comprising of Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood and back-up Jackson Bird who will play a crucial role if Australia are going to win the series.

Hence, they need to take a lot of wickets if there are looking to change the record so far. “Australia is predicting that spin is going to play a huge role. But I still think the quicks have a big role to play as well,” Clarke said on a live chat and was quoted by cricket.com.au.

“Starc and Hazlewood will need to take a lot of wickets to help Australia win this series. Natural swing with the brand new ball, and especially reserve swing, is going to be really important to the Australian team. Australia is going to need everybody to really perform if they want to beat India in their own backyard,” he said.

However, Starc and fellow fast bowlers will face a different challenge in India where they’ll be bowling with an SG ball that doesn’t tend to swing as much as the Kookaburra used in Australia.

“India on the other hand will want to dominate, they will want to continue to show how good they are in their own backyard,” said Clarke. “Australia has beaten India at home, now India will want to make sure their dominance in their own backyard stays there.”

Patience will be the key to success as per Clarke. In the sub-continent there is not enough bounce, seam or carry. So the bowlers will have to stem the flow of runs Clarke stated and added that not giving away easy runs and working on the ball to make it abrasive for reverse swing is one way to attack.

“I think this Australia team is talented (but) we need to give these players some time to play around the world in different countries, learn, adapt, improve, get better, to see how talented they are. As selectors, all they can really do is pick who they feel are the best players and then give them the opportunity, and I think that’s what they’ve done,” he said.

“This series is going to be a really good eye opener for the players that have never played Test cricket in India, but also for their understanding of how you do face different conditions all around the world,” he said.