Crash: Australian cricket hopes of a win rest on a pace-friendly Perth deck

Losing in Adelaide is one thing but Australia’s cricket team being outpointed on a green, bouncy deck in Perth would be like Rafael Nadal losing on clay. This is our last hope, Robert Craddock writes.

Can Marcus Harris and Mitchell Starc help lead the Aussies to victory in Perth?

THE moment has arrived to find out whether Australia is still Australia.

After the Adelaide Test defeat we said the last bastion of Australian supremacy had fallen with a rare loss on home soil.

Everything that could be lost seemed gone. But that was not quite right. The absolute last bastion is a loss on a springboard pitch like Perth.

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Many cricket pundits say Mitchell Starc is bowling from the career — fortunately it will be on the pace-friendly Perth deck. Picture: Getty Images

Losing in Adelaide is one thing but Australia being outpointed on a green, bouncy deck in Perth would be like Rafael Nadal losing on clay.

Australia has not been invincible in Perth but even in desperate times it has generally been able to huff and puff in Perth and blow down the houses of touring sides not used to its steepling pace and bounce.

That, of course, was the WACA, and this is the shiny, new and most impressive Optus Stadium, but the word is they will play much the same.

The deck looks green and hard and should crack.

For all of the agony of the Adelaide loss, Australia has the arsenal to win this match.

Justin Langer owes Shane Warne and Mark Waugh a beer for firing up Mitchell Starc and saying he is bowling for his future.

Travis Head will look to cement his place in the Australian team. Picture: Getty Images

Expect Starc to be rough and raw and a bit reckless but there should be enough venom in this pitch for him to bowl enough wicket balls to create major damage.

That does not mean he is going to slay them on flatter decks in Melbourne and Sydney.

But Perth is a unique challenge.

The first thing Starc is likely to change is his body language.

Intent is the big word. Australia is as new to Optus Stadium as the Indians are, but they need to look as if they own the place.

All the talk of the quicks should only point to the fact that the man of the match in this game could well be a batsman — the man who swims upstream against the tide as Cheteshwar Pujara did in Adelaide to post a gritty 90 amid the stream of 25s.

It won’t be easy.

Marcus Harris brings a freedom to a batting line-up that is playing under pressure. Picture: AP

There are some worthy stories brewing in the Australian camp.

Travis Head is working studiously to plane the extravagant edges off his game in the name of becoming a Test match force.

Everyone is impressed by his character. If Australia can keep selecting him, you just sense the rewards will be substantial.

Marcus Harris is less vaunted but his cheeky, no-nonsense personality is a plus for a team anchored by the forces of insecurity.

He may be playing his second Test but he does not seem insecure at all.

He just plays and looks and sounds like a young man excited, rather than intimidated by challenges and pressure.

That’s good because, right now, there is pressure coming from everywhere.

Originally published as Crash: Australian cricket hopes of a win rest on a pace-friendly Perth deck