Well Crickinfo seems to think otherwise. So did the grandstand commentators for that matter.



Yeah, they went after him because he worries them. Tendulkar whacked him around in a manner that the grandstand boys described at times as "crude" The fact that they are playing the man, and not the ball, seems to indicate he has got into their heads.

The guy is trying to fight his way into the test team under huge pressure, is playing in the biggest game in the Australian cricket calender year, in front of huge audiences, against the best players of spin in the world who are going after him.

Under the circumstances, he did an excellent job. Certainly better than Warne did against the Indians in his first test against them.

Once he gets a bag of wickets under his belt, there will be no stopping him

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Deafening silence from R. Benaud ?

I don't listen to Channel 9, so i don't know what there take was on it. But i am watching the highlights package now, so i will soon find out and get back to you..................

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I'm envious

I just wish the 36yo Brad Hogg was the 24 yo Brad Hogg

I am realy starting to think Cameron White on a long preperation, will be our spinner in the 2009 Ashes tour of England.

There just does not seem to be anything or one out there that seems to be a better option.

And he may put the biggest pressure on selection, on a batsmen (Clarke, Hussey or Symonds) and we may see 4 quicks and a spinner in the side.

We have had batting keepers for a while now, Cameron may introduce us to the world of batting spinners ?

Tony Grieg "Wicked change of pace.......was'nt an orthodox delivery that's for sure.......was it the flipper?..........o yes - the flipper.........Ganguly totally bamboozled"

Ian Chappell" Yes it did him in the pace......the expected the ball to spin away"

Mar Nichollas" OHHHHHH WHAT A DELIVERY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

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Numbers in itself should not decide the issue. Hogg is a young 36 and is fitter and likely less prone to injury than a lot of 30 year olds running around. He could go on for another 5 years easy

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Is 2-82 from 21 overs good when the opposition scores 196 all out at 2.7 runs per over? Looks like the weak link to me.

There is still the second innings to go, you have to remember. This wicket will die over the next day or so, and cracks are already beginning to appear..........

It is no good to have 4 pace bowlers if the wicket they bowl on does not suit them. Thus you select the best spinner available and a couple of part-timers to back him up.

Hogg is our best option and despite the figures, he bowled well, beat the bat on many occasions, and took down their most in-form batsman thus opening the breach into the tail.

Hogg will get wickets in the next innings i have no doubt.

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Dravid is responsible for undoing all the good work done by the bowlers on the first day. Does anyone have any statistics as to his performance in the last 18-24 months or so? How many centuries has he scored in this period? He may have been the "Wall" for the Indians in the past, but clearly he is the one batsman out of form and should be dropped if he fails in the second innings. In any case, he is not an opener by any means. There is a difference between opening on the sub-continental pitches and opening on Australian pitches and that too against genuine, quality pace bowling.

If Sehwag was not be included in the test matches, what is the point in taking him to Australia?

As for playing two spinners, I have always believed that Harbhajan is highly over-rated and apart from one terrific series against Australia 6 years back, he has not done much, and is unlikely to do so in this series.

The last innings Dravid played at the MCG was exemplary... but Dravid effectively opened the batting (Chopra fell on 1.3 overs) notched up just one boundary off his first 50 balls (and that might have been a thick edge or misfield for all I know). He went on to post significant partnerships with Tendulkar, Laxman and Ganguly and saw his team through to 253 before falling (probably to the second new ball). He played exactly the innings the side needed... briefly accelerating to a run a ball after passing 60.

He'd only have emerged a true hero if he'd seen off the second new ball and gone on to save the match... but he was doing the right thing - as he did this time.

Check out the details...Cricinfo - Commentary - 3rd Test: Australia v India at Melbourne, Dec 26-30, 2003

ps. For the record... Dravid posted a 109 ball 14 at the MCG four years before that:The side didn't manage to save the Test... but had Dravid carried on an done so then his innings would have become as legendary as Atherton's epic in SA.

Oh... and Dravid's wall impression was before his 180 against the Aussies in Kolkata, before he posted 600+ runs at an average of more than 100 in a tour of England... and let's not overlook the fact that he posted 619 runs at 123.8 during the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (Aus/Ind) in Australia 2003/04 Series.

Dravid's first proper knock of the tour is a very poor basis for judging the guy harshly and he should get plenty of opportunities to go on before the series is out!