India v Australia Cricket: Why Steve Waugh called touring India the "final frontier"

Australia Cricket / Ed Hawkins / 30 September 2008 / Leave a Comment

They may be the number one Test team in the world but Australia have their work cut out in India: spinning wickets, Harbhajan, Tendulkar, Ponting's poor record out there and inexperienced bowlers. Final frontier indeed, says Ed Hawkins.

Australian idol Steve Waugh called India the "final frontier" before his countrymen conquered it in 2004 with a 2-1 Test series victory. When the sides meet again in the country, for the first of four Tests on Thursday week, it will be the first frontier.

For when Australia laid their Indian bogey four years ago - they had not won there on their previous five visits - they confirmed their place as one of the greatest sides of all time with Adam Gilchrist, who led the team for three of the four matches, managing a victory which had eluded Waugh, the sorcerer responsible for their aura.

However, if Ricky Ponting can lead his team to a repeat victory, then they will not be solidifying their position as the world's supreme outfit, merely justifying their claim to do so in the future. That much is not in doubt just by looking at the prices on the Betfair series market- India are favourites at [2.56], Australia at [2.76] and the draw at [4.30].

It is the first time since probably 1995, when Australia usurped West Indies in the Caribbean and began their era of dominance, that the market has been against them. It is a new beginning in every respect.

Of course there is no Shane Warne or Glenn McGrath, and there hasn't been for almost two years now but it is a fact that enthusiasts still have to remind themselves about this Australia team. Just as the selectors are trying to find out if the Baggy Green cap fits for their replacements, we too need to get our head around how they will cope.

Jason Krezja and Bryce McGain, the offbreak bowler and legspinner respectively, will get much of the attention. The bad news for them is that there is no tougher place than India for a spinner to start to craft a Test career, not to mention an Australian cricketer of either discipline, batting or bowling.

Historically Australia have struggled in India because they find the pitches so alien to what they are used to back home. It is something of a cliché in the world game that so-and-so will flounder on wicket A because they are used to wicket B, but it is a form guide which rarely breaks. Australia pitches are quick and bouncy, Indian ones are slow and low. It is a difference which was highlighted in their first tour match when bowled out for just 218.

Of the last six series in India, Australia have won only the once (2004), four times suffering a defeat and in three of them by a solitary Test, which suggests they live up to their reputation as a team which battles to the end.

Other than the initial inconvenience with adjusting to the conditions, there has been a greater problem which they have sweated to solve for many years: playing spin bowling. It has been their undoing.

In the 2001 epic series - which was labelled the greatest of all time before the 2005 Ashes -
Harbhajan Singh claimed 32 wickets. He virtually beat Australia on his own with the next highest wicket-takers being Sachin Tendulkar and Zaheer Khan with three apiece. Even in 2004, spin threatened them as Anil Kumble bamboozled to the tune of 27 wickets, Harbhajan took 21 and Murali Kartik was next best with 12.

Harbhajan and Kumble, now India captain, will expect similar hauls this time around.
Perhaps the most astonishing statistic is the one which exposes Ricky Ponting's weakness against spin. Ponting, with an incredible average of 58 in Tests, has an average of just 12.28 in India in 14 innings.

More than any other Australia batsman he suffers on slower wickets because he is fond of the cut and pull shots. Also, he can be guilty of playing with hard hands against spinners and is not comfortable sweeping, a key stroke in India.

It may not be his team's final frontier, but it certainly is for him.