Australia can learn Ashes lessons in India

Australia can learn Ashes lessons in India

by Russell Jackson
Cricket news, scores and fixtures | Sport

Some have criticised a tour of the subcontinent so close to the rematch with England, but it will give players a chance to stake their claim

On the eve of their limited overs tour of India, Australia are looking to make it three series wins in a row in the one-day international arena. With a squad containing seven players short of international experience in India, the bulk of the squad are nevertheless familiar with the conditions they will face due to a mixture of IPL and Champions League experience. Should they win the series handsomely, the trip also represents an opportunity to take a grip of the world No1 ranking, rarified heights in recent times for the Aussies.

The very existence of this tour so close to the Ashes summer has proved a bone of contention with former Australia captain Ian Chappell. He points Australia's unsuccessful Ashes campaign of 2010-11, which came hot on the heels of an ill-fated Indian tour. Chappell's argument seems valid at first, but when Australia claimed the 2006 Champions Trophy, they enjoyed only a two week post-tournament break before carrying out a crushing 5-0 series sweep in the home Ashes series that followed.

It's far from ideal that some tourists will miss the opening fixtures of the Sheffield Shield and the ability to stake their Test claims, but to suggest that this series might derail an Ashes campaign sounds a bit like a preemptive excuse.

The Indian campaign got off to an inauspicious start before players had even set foot in Mumbai on Sunday with captain Michael Clarke again feeling the strain of a degenerative back condition and withdrawing from the tour. "Where I sit now is I don't know when I'll be back playing cricket," admitted an unusually glum Clarke. So often upbeat about his chances of stemming the pain before a crucial encounter, there's now a worrying question mark over his participation in the Ashes. Likewise, the Australia coach, Darren Lehmann, has handed the reins to his lieutenant Steve Rixon and chosen to stay home honing his preparations for the series against England.

Clarke's batting replacement, the South Australian Callum Ferguson, presents an intriguing proposition. With an ODI average in excess of 40 before injury interrupted his momentum, his elevation to replace the squad came after a 200 day gap in high-level matches. In the meantime he's busied himself in the SACA Premier competition and with the Redbacks pre-season activities. It's even possible that Ferguson's release from his IPL contract with the Pune Warriors will have been advantageous to the hope of reigniting his stalled international career. At 28, time is still on his side and Test berths have been forged on smaller windows of opportunity.

If Lehmann and national selector John Inverarity are to be taken on their word, Ferguson will not be the only player hoping to press his claim for higher honours. The tourists have been assured that impressive performances across the eight-game tour could yet have a bearing on Ashes selection. The only real contenders to force their way into the Test batting line-up are George Bailey and the ever-maligned Phillip Hughes. Bailey will lead the side in Clarke's absence and knows he's only a string of solid scores away from serious consideration for an Ashes spot, patchy first-class form notwithstanding.

Twenty-one year-old New South Welshman Nic Maddinson will get his first taste of international action at the top of the order in the opening T20 game and hopes remain high that some resourcefulness and maturity might be added to his fluid strokeplay. Strong performances on the recent A Tour of the British Isles have his name well and truly in the frame. Maddinson is almost certain to open with Aaron Finch, himself buoyed by recent successes at international level. The non-selection of David Warner should be both instructive and encouraging to the pair.

Of the bowlers, Clinton McKay's ODI heroics of the past two years should have him in the frame but he's too far short of first-class action to be at the front of the queue and Australia should probably just be thankful they have such a dependable limited overs warhorse to depend upon. The tour could actually end up being a month-long bowl-off between Mitchell Johnson and James Faulkner. Though both are well established in Australia's limited overs squad, Johnson has seen a host of challengers for a Test berth succumb to injury over the past months and Faulkner will be looking to retain his spot from The Oval Test. You wouldn't have banked on either scenario two months ago when Ryan Harris, Mitchell Starc and James Pattinson were all still fit and steaming in, but such is the lot of an Australian fast bowler.

The left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty gets another chance at limited overs level having taken Fawad Ahmed's spot from the away series against England, while Brad Haddin replaces Matthew Wade with the gloves and won't be keen on relinquishing them anytime soon. Wade now finds himself competing with a host of other understudies to be next in line should Haddin falter. Tim Paine, Tim Ludeman and Chris Hartley will all pressing their claims this domestic summer.

At the very least, Bailey's side should be motivated by the chance to stand at the top of the ICC rankings table, but what bearing that could have on the months ahead remains to be seen.

Australia cricket team
India cricket team
Australia sport
Cricket
The Ashes
Ashes 2013-14
Russell Jackson