The opening gambit, and Australia versus left-arm spin

Almost every overseas trip by an Indian team exposes the old weakness in their opening pair, and their current tour to South Africa seems to be no different. Wasim Jaffer and Virender Sehwag have been struggling to get among the runs so far, and the stats below won't encourage them much. The Wanderers in Johannesburg, the venue for the first Test, is one of the worst for opening batsmen. In 63 innings here since 1990, openers have only managed two century partnerships, and the average stand is less than 29.

The table below lists the lowest opening stands among venues in which openers have batted together at least 20 times in the last 16 years, and the ground which is on top on the rankings will surprise many. The pitch that has bothered openers the most isn't the bouncy WACA or the seaming Durban and Brisbane, but the traditionally low-bouncing track at the Feroz Shah Kotla in Delhi. In 23 stands there, openers have averaged a meagre 20.39 per partnership. The 101 that Saeed Anwar and Shahid Afridi put together in 1999 is the only century stand during this period, and there are only two other fifty stands - 88 between VVS Laxman and Sadagoppan Ramesh in the same match, and 54 between Marvan Atapattu and Avishka Gunawardene in December last year. Amazingly, almost half the total opening stands - 11 out of 23 - have been nipped for less than 5, with four of those not yielding a single run.

The other venue which you wouldn't expect to rank among the top few is Georgetown, Guyana. Usually a flat batting deck, this one hasn't suited the openers either, with a highest stand of 77 since 1990 and nine single-digit partnerships.

Johannesburg is a little better, with openers putting together hundred or more runs twice, but the old firm of Gary Kirsten and Andrew Hudson struggled to come to grips with the surface here, averaging just 21.20 in ten partnerships. The average is remarkably similar to what Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden have managed at the venue where Australia are seeking to seal their Ashes triumph: in nine innings at Perth, Langer and Hayden average just 21.77, and their 47-run stand on the first day of the ongoing Ashes Test was their highest here.

At the other end of the spectrum are the grounds in the next table - these are venues where the openers would be queuing up to have a bat. Another Indian ground - Kolkata - leads the way, while the surprise entry is Brisbane, a pitch which has usually supported fast bowlers. Hayden and Langer average a phenomenal 70.37 at this ground, while for all openers, the average partnership is a healthy 46.

Australia versus left-arm spin
The Australians are generally pretty adept at handling all kinds of bowling, but after the Monty Panesar-induced collapse in the first innings at Perth, there might be suggestions doubting their ability against left-arm spin. Leave aside Ashley Giles, and most of the left-arm spinners have had a few moments to cherish against Australia. Daniel Vettori has had his share of successes against them - six of his 12 five-fors have come against Australia; Phil Tufnell spun England to an exciting win at The Oval in 1997, while Mohammad Rafique, Nicky Boje and Murali Kartik have had their moments too.

Unfortunately for the theorists who might believe they've found an Achilles heel of the Australian batsmen, the numbers suggest otherwise: the successes of the left-arm spinners seem to be stray instances, which have been neutralised by some fairly barren patches as well. The table below shows the performances of left-arm spinners against Australia, and Rafique is the only one whose numbers against Australia are significantly better than his career stats.

The table below shows the performances of left-arm spinners against each opposition, and India is the only team which has done much better than the Australians. The stats also indicate why there might be an impression of left-arm slow bowlers having the Australians' number - they've managed 11 five-wicket hauls in an innings and two ten-fors in a Test. So while they've been clobbered around a fair bit - Giles will surely testify to that - the left-armers have bagged some sizeable hauls as well.