The Ashes 2013-14, 2nd Test: Work cut out for Australian bowlers

Johnson pace could become insignificant. Instead he should drive the batsmen to get wickets.

In England, the movement off the pitch will play an important role. For that, you need a bowler who can swing the ball with good pace. But in Australia, pace and bounce will play an important role. For that, you need to have a bowler like Johnson who can bounce the ball with good pace and trouble the visiting team.

That’s exactly what happened in the first Test at Gabba, where Johnson’s pace and bounce unsettled the England batsman. Ian Bell and Jonathan Trott, who has been the consistent performer for England, also found it tricky to play at Gabba. The hosts pace attack was formidable with the likes of Johnson, Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris, who troubled the English batsmen with pace and bounce. Ryan Harris tried to hit the length, and the wicket did the rest. On the other hand, Johnson was concentrating on the extra bit of bounce, which he got from a good length area and it took the batsmen by surprise.

However Australia bowlers will have their work cut out in Adelaide as the surface in the ground tends to be on the slower side. Pace becomes insignificant in those conditions, and instead, pace variations could prove handy. Therefore, Australia will consider including James Faulkner for the second Test as he has a lot of varieties to his bowling.

If England bats first, it is important for Australia to get them out within a day. England have quality batsmen who can build an innings. Alastair Cook and Ian Bell have the ability to build an innings and can play for a long period of time. Both are fine players of spin bowling. So, they can offer resistance to the Australia attack and bat for the whole day. Apart from Bell and Cook, England have dangerous batsman at No.4 in the form of Kevin Pietersen, and also Joe Root, who improved his performance in the second innings at Gabba. Joe Root would relish batting on those type of wickets, and he could play a sheet anchor’s role for England. He has got great patience, and also has a wide range of shots. He is also a fine player of spin bowling. So, the top five batsmen would relish batting at Adelaide.

Australia will consider James Faulkner for second Test.

Therefore Australia have significant task on hand. James Faulkner’s inclusion could be handy as he can unsettle the batsmen, who is fine nick, with his variations in pace. He also has another variety – swinging yorker, which could create problem for the English batsmen particularly at Adelaide. So, it will be interesting to see how Clarke uses him if he is selected.

On the other hand Mitchell Johnson and Ryan Harris will have their work cut out. It will be interesting to see what kind of line & lengths they’ll bowl in the second Test. It wouldn’t be a bad idea to make the batsmen drive, and then look for wickets. Johnson and Harris can swing the new-ball both ways, and therefore, they should try to pitch the ball full and make the batsmen drive. It gives you a chance of getting a faint knick to slip position. Alastair Cook is a good player of the back foot, but when it comes to a drive, he has not been a good driver of the new-ball. So, three slips for Cook would do the trick.

England can bat till No.8, but there is a shred of doubt whether Stuart Broad would be able to perform with the bat especially in Australia. Therefore it is important for Australia to get rid of England middle order quickly with the help of spinners. It wouldn’t be a bad idea for Clarke to bring himself and bowl a tight 12 overs. Clarke can spin the ball, and so he could prove handy to right-handed batsmen. He can turn the ball squarer, which could deceive the right-handed batsmen. So Clarke can use his part-time spinners, who can turn the ball, to run through England’s middle order.

Australia, on the other hand, have quality batsmen in their line-up. David Warner has scored a superb century in the first Test, and he would surely enjoy batting at Adelaide. It would be ideal platform for Chris Rogers and Shane Watson to get some runs, who have been out of sorts at Gabba. The top order have been in good nick, and if they can reproduce the same kind of performance at Adelaide, England’s hopes of retaining the urn could disappear.

It all depends on how the teams fare well on first day.