NEWS
Follow UsOne of Australia’s best captains, Allan Border was mighty impressed with how Jasprit Bumrah led India in the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Perth. The Men in Blue won the game by 295 runs, with the ace paceman claiming eight wickets.
Rohit Sharma made his return and has captained India in the last two Tests in Adelaide and Brisbane respectively. India lost the second Test by 10 wickets and were saved by the rain in the third Test at the Gabba. The series is currently tied at 1-1 with two games to go.
India haven’t been at their best in these last two fixtures but Bumrah has been unstoppable. The right-arm pacer is currently the leading wicket-taker's tally in the series, having taken 21 wickets in three matches at an insane average of 10.90.
“He (Bumrah) will do a very good job. In Perth, he used himself properly. Captaincy-wise, the way he set the fields, you couldn't fault him,” Border told the Times of India.
“Bumrah, these days, is on that pedestal. His wrists, his release points are different to other bowlers. Because of that hyperextension, he's releasing the ball a foot further down than other bowlers. He's got a unique shuffling run-up, and then the snap of these wrists, he's amazing. Being different, plus having that skill, it's a whole different level of difficulty for the batsman.”
Most of the Australian batters have struggled in the ongoing series, but not Travis Head. The left-hander has slammed 409 runs across five innings at an average of 81.80 and a strike rate of 94.24. Border said he has an immense amount of respect for batters who take an aggressive approach on difficult surfaces.
“Even in this series, we've seen how Travis Head walks in and the game changes. All of a sudden, you've got a deep point, deep backward square. He's attacking the bowling, attacking even Jasprit Bumrah. I'm watching and thinking, 'It's amazing.'
“Head looks like he's batting on a different pitch because he's being aggressive. He's backing his ability to play the right shot to the right ball. He might still block a ball or let it go, but his mindset is to attack. Rishabh (Pant) is the same. All the players who seem to be having some success on these difficult pitches have this aggressive mindset. I'm not in awe, but I really respect that mindset. I know myself. I was probably the other way. I would go more defensive.”
Talking about the impact of T20 cricket on the longest format of the game, Border said: “The contest between bat and ball is better in Tests. In T20s, they're trying to take the ball out of the game. They want to see aggressive batting. The bowler is secondary.
“In Tests, the bowling has a big say. I'm a real fan of Tests for that reason. It's a better contest between bat and ball, a truer contest rather than a game set up purely for batting and power hitting. Just look at Bumrah. His presence has lit up this series. I like T20 for what it brings, but it's a different crowd. I don't think it has hurt Test cricket.”
Australia have dropped Nathan McSweeney for the final two Tests and brought in Sam Konstas. The latter is set to make his debut in the fourth Test in Melbourne, starting on December 26, but apart from him, all the members of the Australian XI will be over 30. Border said it’s important to give young players a decent rope, and the transition needs to be done gradually.
“All Australia's players are 30-plus. They have a rebuild that will have to happen over the next few years. What you don't want to do is push it. You want to try and do it gradually,” said Border.
“When I think back to 1985, 1986, that period, and two years before that, with Greg Chappell, Dennis Lilee, Rod Marsh, they all went together in one Test (SCG, 1984). The next day we're playing, they're not there. Then we had guys going to South Africa, so they're not playing for Australia. It was a real difficult period in that you changed the whole side. It takes a while to build up.
“What we did wrong initially in that period was chop and change the side. Every time someone missed out once or twice, it was 'move on, move on'. Next, next, next. That's a totally wrong thing. You've got to try and identify players. Even if it's just potential, if you identify that, you can stick with that for a bit.
“You can't give someone a year, two years. You can give them a series. You can tell pretty quickly if someone is cut out for it over three Test matches. Two Tests are not enough, three probably is. And then you wait and watch and see their development. It took Steve Waugh a couple of years to find his mark. He ended up getting dropped and then coming back a very, very good player. Nearly everyone who has an international career has been dropped at some stage. Even Bradman. If it's happened to Bradman, you shouldn't worry about yourself.”
