Collateral Damage

There are no surprises at Brisbane as far as the Gabba wicket is concerned. There is a fair bit of grass on it, and by the looks of it, there will be plenty of bounce and pace on the first day. Gabba is fast bowling territory, and it is unfortunate that Brett and Glenn are not in the side to inflict maximum damage on the visiting team. Having said that, both Bracken and Williams have not put a step wrong since we landed in India, and I don't think we are short of firepower, because Jason Gillespie has been a great contributor to the side over the last couple of years, and he is back in the squad fully fit.

Most spectators at an India-Australia game look forward to the battle between our bowlers and the Indian batsmen. At the start of the Test, it looks like some of the Indians like Virender Sehwag and Saurav Ganguly have not yet hit top form. Warm-up games are not much to go by as far as results are concerned, but every player likes to have one good outing under his belt before he gets ready for the big games.

It must also be said that of late battles between Indian bowlers and Australian batsmen have also gained some popularity. While the Turbanator and Co had us in a spin a couple of years ago, we have exorcised those ghosts completely, particularly in the one-day games the two sides have played in the last year, to beat India pretty consistently. As a batsman, I would like to ensure that the success I have enjoyed against the Indians in the shorter version of the game is now replicated in Tests as well. Others like Steve Waugh, Matthew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist also have tremendous batting records against the Indians, so you can bet that this half of the battle will also be pretty absorbing.

Other preparations were also under way before the first Test, this time through the media. Blokes like Justin Langer and Shane Warne have already started mentioning some chinks in the Indian armour. Langer has gone public with his hope that Zaheer Khan opens the series with a repeat of his nightmarish first over at the Wanderers World Cup finals, while Shane Warne has recommended some "chin music" from the fast bowlers for Saurav Ganguly whenever the Indian captain comes in to bat. It's the start of the home series and some of the guys do go over the top, but there are germs of truth in their statements. Zaheer has been struggling against Australia over the last six-seven months, albeit in one-day internationals. Test cricket is a different challenge and how Zaheer copes with the problems he has been having against us will give us an insight into his mental strength.

As far as Ganguly is concerned, his dislike for "chin music"—Australian for the short-pitched stuff—is common knowledge. In a way, he himself acknowledged his discomfort on bouncy pitches by flying down to Australia and taking a crash course on playing Down Under from Australian batting great Greg Chappell. That trip could be viewed either as a player's dedication to the pursuit of ironing out deficiencies in his game or as a player's admission to certain shortcomings in his technique. As the opposition, we will obviously take the latter option. We will definitely test the Indian captain with some short-pitched stuff, but then, I'm sure he has come to expect that from us by now.

Ganguly has been sensible in that he has kept his interaction with the press to a minimum. Some negative press as well as the fact that he has not really done well in the warm-ups must put pressure on him, and he has enough on his plate right now to avoid unnecessary run-ins with the fourth estate.

Indian bowlers other than Anil Kumble have not had a good time in Australia so far. However, I would still think Harbhajan Singh is a greater threat than Kumble in Australian conditions, particularly on a wicket like the Gabba.Harbhajan has the flight and drift that will be enhanced on a bouncy pitch like the one in Brisbane. Kumble, on the other hand, relies on movement off the wicket and there is not much of that on most Australian grounds. I know Harbhajan is a little off-colour of late, but I also know that he can be dangerous once he gets his rhythm. I don't see India playing two spinners or five bowlers in the initial Tests of the series, at least not before Melbourne.

Looking across at our camp, we have had some extensive practice sessions, and most of the guys are fresh from some domestic cricket as well. Jason and Andy have had good four-day games over the last week, while I had some time in the middle during a one-dayer between New South Wales and Tasmania. The outdoor practice has been hampered by frequent downpours, and conditions are, quite predictably for this time of the year, a little overcast. Hopefully, the rains won't play spoilsport, but I expect the cloudy conditions to help the bowlers.

Last week's announcement by Steve Waugh of his decision to retire after the current series has been followed by Cricket Australia announcing me as his successor for captaincy. I would be lying if I said this is a surprise, but I'm glad we have got it out of the way before the Test series began. Otherwise unnecessary media speculation would have distracted us and also taken the focus off what should be Steve's moment at the end of the Sydney Test. We can all now look forward to the Tests with a clear idea of what lies beyond, and I thank Cricket Australia for making the announcement when they did.

Coming back to the first Test, there is also plenty of talk about whether the Test will last five days. Tests at the Gabba are made special because of the pace at which the game proceeds. This is because the wicket transforms into a beautiful batting surface by the end of the first day, and after that runs can come at a fair clip. So, if the team survives a tough opening session, they can go on to post a big score. However, what happens more often is that the side batting first gets out cheaply, and the opposition then makes full use of improved conditions. Either way, there's plenty of action in the first couple of days itself, which means that most games finish off in the fourth day.

The first session of a Test series is always pretty crucial, and we know that the Indians get off the blocks a little late when they travel abroad. The Indians are desperate to redeem their record abroad, and they will come hard at us. We are not taking this Test lightly because it might be the most important game of this summer.