Watch out for the whole Hogg
The touring Indian cricket team would have cheered had Stuart MacGill found some way to stave off an injury-related operation. The legspinner, long considered the "best understudy" in cricket (a completely overrated claim, IMO), not only bowled his customary one four-ball per over versus the Lankans in his most recent Test series, he sometimes bowled two per over. A score of 400 in a day is easily attainable with MacGill tossing down 30 overs in a day.In contrast, his replacement, Brad Hogg is harder to deal with. I agree with Ponting when he says Hogg is not so easy to pick. Kumble has said that the Indians think the Aussies have a weak link in the spin department, which is true (some what), especially given the very large shoes of a certain blond cricketer before. But this Indian batting side has had its share of trouble with left-arm spinners, from Ashley Giles to Paul Harris. Of the two left-handers, Yuvraj Singh is not the best against spin, which leaves the in-form Ganguly and the ever-aggressive Laxman to perhaps attack Hogg. Tendulkar in particular needs to watch out for Hogg.
1 comment:
Unless it is a 2003 like situation where SRT gets out cheaply in three Tests to really go for a double in the last Test just to prove a point, I don't think he will be as troubled by Hogg as he is by other lefties. Why? SRT suffers from the lefties when he gets into that defensive mind-set. Ponting will never get defensive unless his team has leaked 250 runs in two-and-a-half sessions. By the time SRT faces Hogg, India would either be on top and if not, Johnson would have accounted for him. facing Hogg when he is in the 90's - that might be a different ball game altogether but then Ponting can even bring himself on and get SRT when he is in the 90s...
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