Aussie top order must set the scene

WHERE is Australian cricket at right now? What does Australian cricket stand for?

This Test series will show us the character of the team and answer these questions.

At the moment, no team fears Australia; India believes it can win.

Today starts the long journey back for Australia to regain its presence in the world game, to reassert itself at the top of the tree, to again become one of the best teams in the world.

How do they do that?

Australia has to compete hard against India, the No. 1 Test team in the world, and especially Virat Kohli, the No. 1 batsman in the world.

In the past any touring team that came to Australia knew it was the hardest place to tour.

But not now. Australia also used to target the captain. They must target Kohli.

Australia must go after him with aggressive body language, and let him know when he walks to the crease that the Australian team, all 11 of them, not just the bowlers, want a big piece of him.

As a bowling tactic, I would go after him with the short ball, and pepper him, again and again. Unsettle him. Then set him up, follow up the short stuff with deliveries that are wide, for him to drive.

He loves to score, and will try to jump on wide balls, which brings slips into play. If Australia nails the captain, the rest will fall. But make no mistake, this Indian team is full of class in every department.

There hasn’t been a spinner in recent memory from a touring team that has done well in Australia. Will Ravi Ashwin prove different?

Look at his record home and away, there is a huge difference. He has 336 Test wickets, but 234 have come in India. That’s 70 per cent. In Asia, that number goes up to 277, or 82 per cent. He only has 59 wickets outside Asia at an average 40. The best spinners in the world perform home and away, not just in their own conditions. This is a big tour for Ashwin.

And it is a real test of character for the Australian team. It’s probably the first time in living memory Australia goes into a first Test for the home summer not really knowing its best batting side.

Our two batting guns are Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh. Khawaja is ranked 10th in the world. Our next best is Peter Handscomb at 42, then Shaun Marsh at 45.

There are a lot of questions marks over the Australian batting. That top three or four is so crucial, and they have to set the tone in the first Test. That first session is so important.

Whoever wins the toss will bat, because we know the Adelaide conditions are so good for batting. The Australian top order will never get a better chance this series to get some confidence up.