Steve Waugh should shed conservative coat, don positive outfit

He appears to be a bowler running up worrying about the white ball and what crazy things it might do, rather than charging in thinking solely about taking wickets. Australia need to get McGrath back to his best for the vital match against the West Indies and Steve Waugh should suggest he bowls flat out and forgetsabout wides and no-balls.

The experiment with Brendon Julian couldn’t be classed as a success. Julian is a talented cricketer, able to bowl wicket-taking deliveries, hit a long ball and field brilliantly, but consistency is not one of his trademarks.

That showed up in his bowling, which was at times lively with steep bounce, but there were too many wayward deliveries which were appropriately punished. After a good start by Damien Fleming and McGrath, the Australian bowling, apart from Tom Moody and Shane Warne was disappointing.

The failure to dominate the Bangladesh batsmen was disappointing and Steve Waugh probably contributed to the situation by placing straightforward fields for much of the latter part of the innings. That combination provided Bangladesh with some bonus runs and they recovered to post a respectable score after losing their first six wickets for less than one hundred.

Bangladesh gained a lot of credit for their approach to the innings, as they opted for more than just survival andwere constantly on the look out for runs. Mehrab Hossain the right-hand opener was impressive, getting into line and showing a liking for the cut shot. The other batsman to successfully combat the Australian attack was Minhazul Abedin.

The best news for Australia was the form of Warne who curved the ball into the right-hander’s pads and spun it quite sharply. Moody bowled well, but I’m not convinced he’s the answer against the top sides, however, his all-round success has ensured that he will play in the crucial match against the West Indies.

With that match now looming as a pivotal contest, Adam Gilchrist’s return to form was a God send for Australia. He glanced over half-a-dozen deliveries to get his eye in and then raced to a blistering half-century in a hail of boundaries to all parts of the ground.

This whirlwind start caused Steve Waugh to lower his rather conservative estimate of thirty overs to reach the target and with the assistance of some big hitting from Moody the Australians cruised homein the 20th over. This meant Australia didn’t lose any ground to the Windies in the vital net run stakes and they made up ground to pass Kiwis, leaving themselves with the chance of gaining the third spot in Group B, if they can defeat Brian Lara’s men.

It is unlike Australia to play conservatively, but at the moment that is the approach and Steve Waugh will have to shed that dark coat and don a brighter, more positive outfit if he wants to be the centre of attention come the middle of June.