PERTH: Australia’s summer season of cricket begins in earnest on Wednesday because the top-ranked Test facet start a two-match sequence in opposition to West Indies, albeit amid little fanfare after three months of continuous white-ball matches throughout the nation.
An eighth-ranked opposition and midweek begin are unlikely to assist draw crowds to the 60,000-seat Perth Stadium, staging its first Test since 2019. But for the hosts it represents a possibility to place behind them a failed residence Twenty20 World Cup marketing campaign wherein they crashed out earlier than the semi-finals.
A slew of uneventful and unattended bilateral sequence bookended the favored T20 showpiece, which England received earlier this month, creating an uncommon state of affairs whereby the head of the Australian cricket season got here and went earlier than the summer season had actually began.
“There’s a lot of cricket, it’s hard to follow as a spectator. It’s very hard to keep up with it,” former Australia captain Steve Waugh informed SEN radio.
“I think the public has almost overdosed on cricket… It’s hard to follow the Australian side because every time they play they’ve got a different team on the field.”
Batsman Steve Smith, 33, averages 166 from 5 Tests in opposition to West Indies and has each probability of filling his boots once more, displaying indicators of his finest kind in a latest one-day sequence whitewash in opposition to England.
Pace spearhead Pat Cummins has but to play the islanders in a Test, however the skipper will likely be hoping for a medical first outing to shift focus away from ex-coach Justin Langer, who final week stated unnamed “cowards” within the staff had criticised his teaching model through the media however later denied a rift between the pair.
The Caribbean outfit return to Australia after their very own World Cup prospects resulted in a humiliating first-round exit. Although Kraigg Brathwaite’s Test squad comprises solely a handful of gamers scarred from the T20s, his facet’s prospects stay dim.
One potential brilliant spot is uncapped 26-year-old Tagenarine Chanderpaul, son of former world number-one batsman Shivnarine, who put ahead his case for Test choice with knocks of 119 and 56 in opposition to a Prime Minister’s XI throughout a tour match which resulted in a draw on Saturday.
Another is fiery fast Alzarri Joseph, who will wish to push Australia’s batting unit — and the velocity gun — to its restrict on Perth’s pace-friendly deck.
“He’s probably going to be the guy we ask to be the enforcer and be a little bit more aggressive,” warned all-rounder Jason Holder.
Australia haven’t misplaced at residence to the West Indies since 1997.
An eighth-ranked opposition and midweek begin are unlikely to assist draw crowds to the 60,000-seat Perth Stadium, staging its first Test since 2019. But for the hosts it represents a possibility to place behind them a failed residence Twenty20 World Cup marketing campaign wherein they crashed out earlier than the semi-finals.
A slew of uneventful and unattended bilateral sequence bookended the favored T20 showpiece, which England received earlier this month, creating an uncommon state of affairs whereby the head of the Australian cricket season got here and went earlier than the summer season had actually began.
“There’s a lot of cricket, it’s hard to follow as a spectator. It’s very hard to keep up with it,” former Australia captain Steve Waugh informed SEN radio.
“I think the public has almost overdosed on cricket… It’s hard to follow the Australian side because every time they play they’ve got a different team on the field.”
Batsman Steve Smith, 33, averages 166 from 5 Tests in opposition to West Indies and has each probability of filling his boots once more, displaying indicators of his finest kind in a latest one-day sequence whitewash in opposition to England.
Pace spearhead Pat Cummins has but to play the islanders in a Test, however the skipper will likely be hoping for a medical first outing to shift focus away from ex-coach Justin Langer, who final week stated unnamed “cowards” within the staff had criticised his teaching model through the media however later denied a rift between the pair.
The Caribbean outfit return to Australia after their very own World Cup prospects resulted in a humiliating first-round exit. Although Kraigg Brathwaite’s Test squad comprises solely a handful of gamers scarred from the T20s, his facet’s prospects stay dim.
One potential brilliant spot is uncapped 26-year-old Tagenarine Chanderpaul, son of former world number-one batsman Shivnarine, who put ahead his case for Test choice with knocks of 119 and 56 in opposition to a Prime Minister’s XI throughout a tour match which resulted in a draw on Saturday.
Another is fiery fast Alzarri Joseph, who will wish to push Australia’s batting unit — and the velocity gun — to its restrict on Perth’s pace-friendly deck.
“He’s probably going to be the guy we ask to be the enforcer and be a little bit more aggressive,” warned all-rounder Jason Holder.
Australia haven’t misplaced at residence to the West Indies since 1997.