Jones surprised at Rahane absence
INTERVIEW Exaussie batsman feels tight schedule makes it tough for teams to acclimatise, so they don’t travel well
NEW DELHI: India’s loss at Centurion on Wednesday brought Virat Kohli his first Test series defeat as skipper and criticism over the playing XI. Former Australia batsman Dean Jones blamed cramped schedule for teams struggling away from home, England having lost 0-4 in the recent Ashes series.
Jones’ career highlight is his 210 in sapping humidity of Chennai in the 2nd tied Test in history, in 1986. The Allan Border-led team capped its revival by winning the World Cup the next year.
The Melbourne-born Jones was in the Capital to promote the ‘Visit Victoria’ tourism and education campaign, as well as the 2018 Boxing Day Test at the MCG.
“Our batsmen like your batsmen struggle when the ball swings a bit,” he said in an interview, referring to Australia’s 2-3 away Ashes loss in 2015. Jones said teams these days get little time to acclimatise. “Now, the Ashes series in seven weeks, done and dusted — that is wrong.” India scrapped t heir only warm-up game and lost the Cape Town Test in three days (Day 3 was washed out) on a lively pitch.
Jones was surprised Ajinkya Rahane wasn’t selected despite his superb overseas record. Rahane failed in the home series against Sri Lanka, but experts feel his technique could have prevented the batting collpases.
“I don’t understand that. Because of the two hundreds and the double by Rohit Sharma (208 in ODI vs Sri Lanka in Mohali), they indulged him a bit, I think.
“Maybe they were captivated by it. We all know the guy (Rohit) is an outstanding cricketer. He just hasn’t been able to consistently get the knocks they think he can play. But you need a series like this to find out how good you are and how bad you are.”
Though India could suffer a series rout, they are expected to retain the world No 1 ranking.
Jones said it had meaning only if a team played all others, pointing to India not playing Pakistan. “We need a Test world championship, no doubt. We need to have more Test series that are World Cup qualifiers. That allows these Test series to have some context.”
The ICC will set the Test championship rolling in 2019, but India can do without facing Pakistan as they will need to play only six teams.
KOHLI, SMITH DUEL
While Virat Kohli hit 153 at Centurion, no other Indian top 5 bats- man has got a fifty in this series. Jones compared him with Steve Smith.
“Their common denominator? They read length better than any other batsman in the world, and their defensive skills are better than any other.
“They get it (length) right 95 out of 100 times… And on top of that, their defensive skills are better than everyone else. In Test cricket, 70 per cent of your game is defence.”
Smith, the world No 1 Test batsman, is ahead after a great Ashes series. “He is different, plays back a bit further. He has different hands, hits the balls in different spots. He is a backfoot player with split grip. All the best batsmen have split grips at the moment (holding the bat with hands apart). “But they still read length better.”
Can this Indian batting line-up withstand the tough Test tours of 2018-19? Jones was tongue-incheek: “They will want to come to Australia because the pitches are flat. They will wish to have played England there.”
India were caving in at SuperSport Park. “At the moment, they are looking for the next Test, and get through today. With due respect to Indian fans, they will be more reactive than proactive.”
We all know Rohit Sharma is an outstanding cricketer. He just hasn’t been able to consistently get the knocks they think he can play.