Punted ... Pakistan players celebrate as Mohammad Sami, fourth from left, sets up a potential hat-trick with Australian captain Ricky Ponting's wicket at the SCG yesterday. Photo: Getty Images
By no means was yesterday's track at the SCG a brute. Batting was not impossible. After all, the bounce was even. Pitch preparation is not an exact science. Given a day's sunshine it might have favoured the batsmen - arguably the most protected species in sport. Instead, it remained dank and the ball continued to dart about. It is on tracks of this sort that famous innings are played. Grafters like Bill Lawry, Ken Barrington, Hanif Mohammad and others prided themselves on their ability to dig in until conditions improved. They displayed enough grit to tar a road. Amongst the Australians yesterday, only Shane Watson seemed capable of remaining intact until peace was restored. Modern batsmen are trained to attack but not repel. Most of the wounds were self-inflicted. Watson's judgment of deliveries to be ignored, willingness to move decisively and to wait until the ball was under his chin set him apart. He looked every inch an opening batsman and it took a fine delivery from Mohammad Sami to find his edge and remove him. Watching Sami, it was hard to work out why his average is so high (51.37 runs per Test wicket). Informed sources suggest that he kicked a cat whilst walking under a ladder. Yesterday, however, he generated sharp pace and added some testing movement in several unflagging stints. None of the other top-order batsmen showed the required tenacity. Phillip Hughes was as sketchy as Rolf Harris. His brief innings contained numerous flaws, including uncontrolled cuts and drives executed without any discernible movement of the pegs. It was the innings of a young player caught between yesterday and tomorrow. Fortunately, Test cricket gives batsmen a second chance. Ricky Ponting's batting was sadly lacking in its customary clarity. Injuries can cloud the mind. All sorts of things can affect a cricketer's thinking. Batting captains are loath to elect to bowl because it makes them appear reluctant to walk into the den. Nursing a wound, Ponting was torn between tempers and the skipper paid the penalty. Nor did Australia's middle order rally. Michael Clarke was upended by a corker. Throughout, the Pakistan bowlers kept a full length. Barely once were the batsmen allowed to step back and let the ball do its worst. Michael Hussey resisted diligently until his judgment deserted him. Marcus North was unable to carry out his assigned task of changing the mood of the match. Brad Haddin drove without due care and attention. Durability has a part to play in any game worth tuppence. Flat tracks and tame attacks have inflated batting records. In the 1990s Test wickets cost an average of 31.65 runs apiece. In the past decade, that figure rose to 33.79. Global warming cannot compare with that. In the 1990s, only four batsmen averaged over 50, a mark widely regarded as a reliable definition of greatness. In the decade completed last week, the figure rose by leaps and bounds to 21. It is an astonishing change that long ago ought to have alarmed those responsible for retaining the vital balance between bat and ball. They cannot all be great, or else the word has been stripped of meaning. All the more reason to relish yesterday's tussle. It was a rigorous and even-handed battle for supremacy.LINK
