Australia pull a fast one

At the outset,the express fast bowler had admitted that bowling in India was going to be serious hard-work,but bowling against the Canadians,who were threatening to do an upstartish encore on the Aussies after the merry Kenyans,racing to the tournaments fastest 50 in 4.4 overs,Tait plodded on to hunt for his victims.

The bowler,who only plays the shorter forms of the game now,was almost operating in Test-like environs,unleashing good old-fashioned tactics of intimidation. And his captain maintained at the end that the bowler was allowed a free rein to find some confidence in this game.

Full throttle

So it all started with the first ball and the looseners came at 143 kph with Tait immediately firing down a full-length ball at 146 to the Canadian openers and opening his bag of tricks sending down bouncers,just when the batsman had begun to expect a ripping yorker.

However,one of his fastest deliveries of the day was smacked towards the extra-cover boundary by the braveheart Hiral Patel who went on to make 45-ball 54 compelling Tait into first signs of evasion. Typically,a wide down leg side followed.

His second spell again saw the alternating lengths without ever compromising on his speeds always upwards of 145,keeping the sword of doubt perennially hanging above his opponents heads though the wickets had still not come.

Captain Ashish Bagai greeted Tait in his third spell hitting the ball straight back,and even Zubin Surkari timed one sweetly,though without much power to find an easy gap for a couple of runs. A maiden followed,and it was in his 7th over that Tait had had enough of the teasing games with the Canadians and let rip the sort of intimidation that spreads dread beyond the crease,and right into the dressing room.

Zubin Surkari,up against Tait in the innings 31st over,faced a raucous lbw appeal off his first ball,though an inside edge bailed him out of the review. The next ball,Tait had sent down a yorker that literally forced Surkari to get not just his toes but both his feet out of the way the bat brought down desperately to fend it off as he lost balance and fell in front.

Piling on the pain

Tait,not content on unsettling him this much,then sent down a 146 kph full-toss that hit Surkari on the thigh and bounced off his shoulder the impact bringing him down in one almighty squirming heap. Even the sternest will find it difficult to recover from those blows,and Surkari,having gotten back to his feet,took his stance ominously.

A shade faster,the next ball at 147.1 kph was an old trick a fuller delivery outside off-stump but a shaken Surkari stood no chance after his non-committal bat prodded out tamely to drive and the inside edge took the stumps.

Bagais dismissal was a bigger example of Taits persistence and unshakable faith in his plans of craft and intimidation. The same wide balls that had maligned him earned him the Canadian captains wicket as Bagai,who was subjected to a mix of yorkers and short-pitched stuff,tried to chase one.

The Australians,who are yet to see their batting tested by a seriously good all-round bowling unit,have faced a few tricky opponents for their bowlers,though. And while Brett Lee who was picked by the top-scoring Patel for a pair of boundaries and sixes and Mitchell Johnson have seen their plans go awry at times,the tearaway Tait has used his raw speed to scare rival batsmen and then mixed up all the weapons of his arsenal for some hard-earned wickets,showing a serious commitment to hard-work even as his job promises to get tougher.