Who will win at the WACA?
What does it take to win at the WACA
Liam Brickhill
25-Feb-2013
What does it take to win at the WACA? The BBC's Tom Fordyce grilled Justin Langer and Simon Hughes for the answer and Langer, in particular, had some very good advice for batsmen.
"The rule of thumb is to play the ball as late as possible. Playing with soft hands is a big thing. If you're watching the ball onto your bat and playing late, you'll have those soft hands naturally because you're not as far through the shot. People talk about hard hands, but you mainly play with hard hands when you're hitting the ball away from your body."
Also looking forward to the Perth Test, Jamie Pandaram writes in the Sydney Morning Herald that the only thing salvaging Australia's poor record at the WACA over the past five years is that England's performance record there isn't exactly stellar either.
The most recent draw produced by the WACA pitch was in 2005 when South African Jacques Rudolph batted 431 minutes for a dreary 102 not out in the second innings to save the match, with the Proteas finishing at 5-287 in the second innings.
Since then, Australia has defeated England in 2006 thanks to centuries from Michael Hussey, Michael Clarke and Adam Gilchrist and four wickets to Shane Warne, and last year when the Windies scored an incredible 323 in their second innings to fall just short on day five.
Between those two wins have been defeats, to India by 72 runs in 2008, and South Africa by six wickets the following summer.
Daniel Brettig, writing for the Western Australian reckons Phil Hughes - "Australia's version of power opener Virender Sehwag" - could be the man to turn things around for the struggling hosts.
India's Sehwag, regarded as the most destructive batsman in the world, frequently sets the course for a fast and furious start to his side's innings despite a less than flawless technique. And Hughes, who also has a far from regulation style, is happy to emulate him.
Liam Brickhill is a freelance journalist based in Cape Town