England's record in Perth is dismal and they need to quickly come to terms with the unique conditions for the third Test
Perth is not a great port of call when England are trailing in the series and tottering like a boxer on the ropes. Their record at the Waca is dire. They have lost their past six Test matches in Western Australia by massive margins; they have only won once in 12 attempts and that was against the Packered Australians of 1978-79.
The Waca, situated on the edge of the central business district and 400 yards from the beguiling Swan river, has often provided unique cricketing conditions, which must be at the heart of the reason why England have been so unsuccessful there. The pitch is generally true but for most of the past 40 years it has been the fastest and bounciest in the world. Given his current mood and form it is not the ideal place to encounter Mitchell Johnson.
The simple explanation for England's lack of success there is that their batsmen and bowlers have been incapable of adjusting to such alien conditions. Australians from the eastern states have also had to come to terms with new challenges but their early days of Sheffield Shield cricket in the west have allowed them some experience of the peculiarities of Perth. Hence they have adapted better.
For batsmen, the art of leaving the ball is essential. At most venues batsmen leave the ball on line; on a traditional Perth wicket it is possible to leave the ball on length. Any delivery fractionally short of a good length from a pace bowler should go over the top of the stumps. No one demonstrated this better than Mark Taylor in his pomp. Opening the batting he would frequently allow the new ball to pass over the top of his off stump, which is an unnatural procedure. In Perth the unperturbed leave becomes as satisfying as the crispest of cover drives to the boundary – and there are massive square boundaries at the Waca.
What about scoring runs? Rod Marsh, who should know having been nurtured in Western Australia, once advised me: "You have to be able to play the cross bat shots in Perth." Once established, the cut and pull shot can be productive against the bouncing ball; in fact they can be essential to avoid being dried up by opposition bowlers. The extra bounce can be hard to gauge at the start of an innings, but once set, runs can come at a slick rate as the margin for error for the bowler decreases.
For the bowlers, especially the fast ones, there are obvious temptations. Every paceman loves to see the ball thumping into the gloves of the keeper at head height and rising. This can be easily achieved at Perth and initially it makes them feel good until they realise that the batsman is still there.
While the well-directed bouncer, which does not have to be pitched so short, can still be effective at the Waca the danger is that bowlers, seduced by the bounce, bowl too short. The ball tends to swing in Perth often aided by the arrival of the sea breeze, known as the Fremantle Doctor.
Bring the batsman reluctantly forward, find the edge and you can be certain that the edges carry to a slip cordon standing much deeper than normal. Since the cordon is so deep those nicks are easier to catch since the fielder has more time to see the ball coming. Often slip catches appear to happen in slow motion at the Waca.
That sea breeze, which usually arrives in the afternoon, plays a critical role. It requires skill and experience to bowl into it. Usually it blows from long leg to extra cover when bowling towards the Swan river. Hence it can aid away swingers like Damien Fleming, who was prepared to put his head down, run into the breeze and swing the ball.
It can also assist off-spinners, who wish to drift the ball from leg to off in the air before spinning it back into the right-hander. That at least is the theory but it is rare that the strip at the Waca allows the ball to turn much – even Shane Warne struggled here, averaging 36 with the ball. The pitch may crack but the soil around those cracks seldom disintegrates.
As ever the spinner must be handled delicately. In 2006 Andrew Flintoff asked Monty Panesar to bowl at Adam Gilchrist with the breeze scudding towards midwicket. Gilchrist, familiar with the conditions, knew the odds were vastly in his favour and kept clubbing the ball with the wind and over the boundary: brilliant batting, crass captaincy.
Both sides will need bowlers capable of bowling into that wind and making a virtue of the prevailing conditions. For England Jimmy Anderson, a somewhat chastened Graeme Swann (assuming he retains his place in the side) and Tim Bresnan may share that load; for Australia Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon will come into the breeze. But who will score the runs on a pitch that has always been far more testing for batsmen than Adelaide? The only English batsman to score a century there in their past four visits? Alastair Cook in 2006. Reported by guardian.co.uk 9 hours ago.
Perth is not a great port of call when England are trailing in the series and tottering like a boxer on the ropes. Their record at the Waca is dire. They have lost their past six Test matches in Western Australia by massive margins; they have only won once in 12 attempts and that was against the Packered Australians of 1978-79.
The Waca, situated on the edge of the central business district and 400 yards from the beguiling Swan river, has often provided unique cricketing conditions, which must be at the heart of the reason why England have been so unsuccessful there. The pitch is generally true but for most of the past 40 years it has been the fastest and bounciest in the world. Given his current mood and form it is not the ideal place to encounter Mitchell Johnson.
The simple explanation for England's lack of success there is that their batsmen and bowlers have been incapable of adjusting to such alien conditions. Australians from the eastern states have also had to come to terms with new challenges but their early days of Sheffield Shield cricket in the west have allowed them some experience of the peculiarities of Perth. Hence they have adapted better.
For batsmen, the art of leaving the ball is essential. At most venues batsmen leave the ball on line; on a traditional Perth wicket it is possible to leave the ball on length. Any delivery fractionally short of a good length from a pace bowler should go over the top of the stumps. No one demonstrated this better than Mark Taylor in his pomp. Opening the batting he would frequently allow the new ball to pass over the top of his off stump, which is an unnatural procedure. In Perth the unperturbed leave becomes as satisfying as the crispest of cover drives to the boundary – and there are massive square boundaries at the Waca.
What about scoring runs? Rod Marsh, who should know having been nurtured in Western Australia, once advised me: "You have to be able to play the cross bat shots in Perth." Once established, the cut and pull shot can be productive against the bouncing ball; in fact they can be essential to avoid being dried up by opposition bowlers. The extra bounce can be hard to gauge at the start of an innings, but once set, runs can come at a slick rate as the margin for error for the bowler decreases.
For the bowlers, especially the fast ones, there are obvious temptations. Every paceman loves to see the ball thumping into the gloves of the keeper at head height and rising. This can be easily achieved at Perth and initially it makes them feel good until they realise that the batsman is still there.
While the well-directed bouncer, which does not have to be pitched so short, can still be effective at the Waca the danger is that bowlers, seduced by the bounce, bowl too short. The ball tends to swing in Perth often aided by the arrival of the sea breeze, known as the Fremantle Doctor.
Bring the batsman reluctantly forward, find the edge and you can be certain that the edges carry to a slip cordon standing much deeper than normal. Since the cordon is so deep those nicks are easier to catch since the fielder has more time to see the ball coming. Often slip catches appear to happen in slow motion at the Waca.
That sea breeze, which usually arrives in the afternoon, plays a critical role. It requires skill and experience to bowl into it. Usually it blows from long leg to extra cover when bowling towards the Swan river. Hence it can aid away swingers like Damien Fleming, who was prepared to put his head down, run into the breeze and swing the ball.
It can also assist off-spinners, who wish to drift the ball from leg to off in the air before spinning it back into the right-hander. That at least is the theory but it is rare that the strip at the Waca allows the ball to turn much – even Shane Warne struggled here, averaging 36 with the ball. The pitch may crack but the soil around those cracks seldom disintegrates.
As ever the spinner must be handled delicately. In 2006 Andrew Flintoff asked Monty Panesar to bowl at Adam Gilchrist with the breeze scudding towards midwicket. Gilchrist, familiar with the conditions, knew the odds were vastly in his favour and kept clubbing the ball with the wind and over the boundary: brilliant batting, crass captaincy.
Both sides will need bowlers capable of bowling into that wind and making a virtue of the prevailing conditions. For England Jimmy Anderson, a somewhat chastened Graeme Swann (assuming he retains his place in the side) and Tim Bresnan may share that load; for Australia Peter Siddle and Nathan Lyon will come into the breeze. But who will score the runs on a pitch that has always been far more testing for batsmen than Adelaide? The only English batsman to score a century there in their past four visits? Alastair Cook in 2006. Reported by guardian.co.uk 9 hours ago.