The Surfer

India v Australia is main course, not entrée

Andy Bull, in his Spin blog for the Guardian , terms it a sin to look at the India-Australia series as a pre-cursor to the Ashes

Nitin Sundar
Nitin Sundar
25-Feb-2013
Andy Bull, in his Spin blog for the Guardian, terms it a sin to look at the India-Australia series as a pre-cursor to the Ashes. He also notes that Australia's young seam attack is an indication of changing selectorial norms, from the days when the players broke into the national team closer to the age of 30.
If only the series lasted longer than two Tests, then we may have had a chance to unravel some of these threads. As it is we will still get to enjoy some of the other captivating clashes that the series will throw up. Fitness allowing, Harbhajan Singh will resume his old duel with Ponting. Nobody has dismissed Ponting more times in Test cricket than Harbhajan. Will Ponting be able to keep pace with Sachin Tendulkar? Or will the series confirm the impression formed over the last two years that Sachin has pulled head-and-shoulders clear of the Australian captain as the outstanding batsman of this generation? Will Johnson and Bollinger be able to follow up on their public promises to tame Virender Sehwag by bombarding him with short deliveries? Will either Steve Smith or Nathan Hauritz be able to break through and nail down a place as Australia's first-choice spinner?

Nitin Sundar is a sub-editor at ESPNcricinfo