Indian behemoth arises from slumber to crush Aussie adversary

We shouldn’t be surprised that Indian cricket is strong. We should be surprised that it has taken so long, writes Catherine McGregor.

Readers are entitled to this warning. My credentials as a cricket selector are modest. When he was Prime Minister, Tony Abbott graciously invited me to select his Prime Minister’s XI. I joined one of my childhood idols Greg Chappell and John Inverarity in this endeavour. Both fixtures during Tony’s term were against visiting English sides.

On each occasion we lost. In 2013, the batting order whose composition I influenced accumulated 92.

Catherine McGregor says we shouldn’t be surprised that India is beating Australia. Picture: Christian Gillies

It was the biggest defeat in the history of the fixture. Given that Tony and I had first met after a very boozy afternoon at a University rugby match what could possibly go wrong with our cricket collaboration?

As it turned out, I was denied the opportunity to select the team in 2015 as Tony’s innings had been ended by a Mankad runout. No. That is not actually fair to Vinoo Mankad.

At least we when he whipped off Bill Brown’s bails instead of delivering the ball he was on the opposing side. Tony’s dismissal more resembled being left marooned mid-pitch by his own batting partner, deliberately sacrificing him, and rejoicing with the opposition as he departed for the pavilion.

India’s paceman Jasprit Bumrah celebrates the wicket of Australia's Marnus Labuschagne.

But wait. There’s more. As a cricket commentator I have been dropped more times than the Marsh brothers combined. Not a single news organisation considers me worthy of space. When you tick every diversity box and the ABC will not even let you carry the drinks, you know you are a busted flush. To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln, “What McGregor knows of cricket could be written the back of a postage stamp using a carpenter’s pencil and leave room for the Lord’s Prayer”.

So full credit to Ben English and the team. I can’t wait to see whether the cartoon accompanies my copy.

But with those caveats firmly in mind dear readers, here are a few thoughts as to what I believe needs to happen.

Firstly, we need to acknowledge that this is very strong Indian touring team. They are but the tip of an iceberg of a very professional and driven cricket system that set out to dominate the global game.

India is a military, economic and geo-strategic behemoth, that is finally arousing from its slumber. We should not be surprised that Indian cricket is strong. We should be surprised that it has taken so long.

India is a military, economic and geo-strategic behemoth, that is finally arousing from its slumber.

My first memories of an Indian touring team when Tiger Pataudi’s team toured Australia in 1967-68. It would be misleading to refer to their pace attack. The new ball was shared by medium pacers whose primary role was to eliminate the shine from the ball for their gifted spinners.

While tough opponents at home on their own pitches they were notoriously weak on the road. To see the intimidatory pace of the current lineup, especially Jasprit Bumrah is a delight.

They humiliated Australia without selecting Mohammed Shami, who is, likewise, genuinely quick with a tenacious temperament. They bat deep.

Just as India are the product of a sophisticated ecosystem that is geared to high performance, Australian cricket is in relative decline. I wrote a book about the Indian tour of Australia in 2012 in which I speculated whether we were tasting the last of the summer wine. Would traditional red ball cricket survive and provide the rhythm of the Australian summer?

As bleak as my prediction proved to be the abject capitulation in Perth exceeded my low expectations.

The pernicious effects of the steady erosion of the importance of the Sheffield Shield and its shuffling to accommodate white ball entertainment were amply demonstrated.

India lost all three Test matches against New Zealand. But they turned up with focus and intensity.

Australia’s Alex Carey avoids a bouncer from the Indians.

The Australians looked underprepared and well out of their depth. If heads need to roll they should be at the executive level rather than purges of the players. Perth highlighted systemic failure years in the making.

Years in the making also was the bloc obsolescence of the Australian batting order. Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja have been superb. Beautiful to watch and prolific. But their time has come and gone.

The top order could not have achieved such simultaneous obsolescence without the input of a Submarine manufacturing firm with embedded advice from one of the Big Four consulting firms.

While such a comprehensive defeat would warrant wholesale changes credible replacements are not readily available. Some argue that it is unfair to drop Nathan McSweeney after one Test. Well, he batted a little better than Ross Eastwood on debut.

And that was his only Test. I would replace him with Matt Renshaw, whose recent ton must have enhanced his prospects.

But I gather he is not especially collegial in the shed. But I remember him displaying true grit and placing a high price on his wicket under the lights in Adelaide against South Africa in 2016.

He reminded me a little of Bill Lawry, another left- handed opener who forsook flamboyance to take the pressure of the remainder of the top order. Renshaw is a legitimate Test cricketer. Josh Inglis and several others whose names are circulating after the debacle in Perth are not.

The bowling is not the problem, but Scott Boland is an honest toiler. Perhaps he warrants a call up.

If not in Adelaide, then later in what promises to be a long hot summer. Years of systemic failure in administration have come home to roost.

Hopefully, the Australians can play themselves into some form as they adapt to long format cricket again. But there are no obvious red ball batters with decent credentials knocking at the door.

Originally published as Indian behemoth arises from slumber to crush Aussie adversary