Less oomph in the Aussie attack a worry

It may seem silly to still point this out, but gone are the (pretty recent) days when Australia could rely on a Glenn McGrath, Brett Lee or Shane Warne to put them in a commanding position against any opposition in any country.

With Lee keeping himself only available for ODI and T20I cricket, the bowling options open to the Australian selectors are varied, but somewhat unproven. In the first Test against India, the hosts have gone in with James Pattinson, Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus and the one spinner, Nathan Lyon.

At the end of the second day of the first Test, the three pacers have each taken a wicket, with Hilfenhaus removing Gautam Gambhir early, before Pattinson and Siddle bowled Virender Sehwag and Sachin Tendulkar, respectively. But India have still managed to score 214 runs for the loss of these three wickets and appear to have the upper hand.

* Does not include the ongoing Boxing Day Test.

A string of spinners have been tried out since Warne’s retirement, with few being given a long run. That seems to have changed with Lyon and that does say something about his talent. He has already taken a five-wicket haul, which came against Sri Lanka in his debut match (that in itself is not all that surprising, given the level of success debutant bowlers have experienced this year).

But the most experienced bowler has played just 27 matches in his career. A lot falls on Siddle, who is known as a tireless bowler, but one who can go without a break quite often. He took two six-wicket hauls in the last Ashes series - including one hat-trick - but also sometimes struggled to get his name among the wicket-takers.

Fellow paceman, Hilfenhaus, has had to fight for his place in the side. Never thought of a first-pick, he has played 17 Tests in three years since making his debut. He needs to make this current opportunity count for something, because if Ryan Harris is fit enough for the second or third game, Hilfenhaus may have to sit on the bench.

Harris has had his injury woes and is being made to play some T20 cricket to prove his fitness. Australia were also struck with the loss of Mitchell Johnson and Patrick Cummins, both of whom picked up injuries in South Africa. Johnson is known to be a little wayward, but when he gets it right he can be devastating to any batting line-up. That attacking bowling was taken up by Cummins, who bowled good lines and lengths in his lone Test match to date, where he claimed 6/79 against South Africa in Johannesburg.

There is another fast bowler in the squad, Mitchell Starc, who played in both Tests versus New Zealand, but only managed a total of four wickets. Depending on the availability of the other players, he may find it hard to get into the playing XI in this series.
Apart from their regular bowlers, the Aussies could always depend on a few good overs from Shane Watson. The all-rounder had a mightily impressive 2011, but is not fully fit to play. A replacement all-rounder, Daniel Christian, is waiting in the wings, eager to make his Test debut.

This series against India has echoes of the Ashes one year ago - a vulnerable-looking Australia, not by any means guaranteed of having a successful summer Down Under. They have had a change in captain and a review of how Cricket Australia goes about its business, but problems remain. Just to remind ourselves a little of the recent past, have a look at the figures of the retired trio mentioned earlier.

Between them, they have taken 1,581 Test wickets and they make up three of the top four Australian bowlers by number of wickets. That is something that each of the new guys could seek to emulate as they make their way under their baggy greens.