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DateLine Sunday, 28 October 2007

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Aussies will fire threatening pace at the Lankans

Murali targeting Warne's record

Cricket Adelaide, Australia Oct 27: The Australians are lining up their pace missiles in the form of Brett Lee, Stuart Clarke, Michelle Johnson, Nathan Bracken and Shaun Tait to fire at the Lankans when the Two Test series begins.

Who of the five pace aces the Aussies will let fly is not known. But it is certain that it will be unceasing waves of pace that the Lankan batsmen will be asked to cope with.

Although no home team would want to admit, it is an unwritten law that they doctor wicket to suit their bowlers. And it won't be different in Brisbane and Hobart.

One remembers how the West Indies had batsmen ducking and weaving against their pace merchants that included Michael Holding, Joel Garner, Colin Croft, Andy Roberts and Malcolm Marshall to name a few who flung life threatening deliveries at the opponents and ruled the cricket world as kings in the seventies and eighties.

The Lankans will be given a similar dose, with deliveries aimed at the head or the ribs and there is no doubt that the batsmen would be jumping like kangaroos at the wicket. It will bring back memories of Lillie and Thomsan era.

Most of our batsmen are not that tall and they would be hard pressed to counter these rising deliveries coming at express speed at them. But coach Trevor Bayliss who is an Australian would be having an idea of how the Aussies would go, and would by now have told and shown the local batsmen how to counter those deliveries. The Lankan batsmen are impulsive hookers and unless they guard against this, they can easily fall prey to the blistering short pitched bowling from the Aussie pace brigade.

The only man that the Lankans have who could return that compliment is the tall and lively Dilhara Fernando. Lasith Malinga too could measure up to the required pace.

But he is a bowler who relies on the slower ball to pick up wickets. Chaminda Vaas will be military medium and will rely on seam and swing to baffle the home team batsmen.

Fernando has been a revelation in recent times having improved his bowling beyond recognition. He had the fondness as it were to no ball more often than not. But has now shed that bad habit and is now bowling at great speed.

The Aussies are beginning a new life sans the devastating pace of Glen McGrath and the dangerous and cunning leg spin of champion Shane Warne.

With the Aussies, not having especially the match winning spin of Warne, no doubt will rely on pace to bring them victories. The only spinner that the home team has is the left arm drops of Brad Hogg. But he will not be a threat as Warne would have been. Yet, if he plays could be a worry at times.

But the Lankans are fortunate to have with them Muttiah Muralitheran who can spin on, be it a pace or spin wicket. It hoped that he has fully recovered from his biscep injury to his bowling arm and that he would spin at peak.

Muralitheran is hard at work, determined to go past Shane Warne's bowling record in Australia.

True he will have the record because he has many more years in the game. But it will be sweet revenge if he can achieve it in Australia, because it is there that most of his detractors come from. The Aussies crowds no doubt would target him.

But as long as they keep it clean and not indulge in the dirty racism act, well and good.

Racist remarks would not only go to spoil the Tests, but could do irreparable damage to the excellent relations that exist between the two countries.

We will be there in Brisbane and Hobart, firing our own bouncers if things get out of hand.

Keep a date with the 'Daily News' and the 'Sunday Observer'.

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