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Afghanistan board signs MoU with Noida stadium
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) will be able to utilise the facilities of the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex.
Afghanistan cricket team has shifted its home base from Sharjah to the UPCA stadium in NOIDA where they will play their matches and practice after a MoU was signed on Thursday in this regard.
According to the Memorandum of Understanding with BCCI and Greater Noida Industrial Development Authority, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) will be able to utilise the facilities of the Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex, which has successfully hosted a Ranji Trophy game between Uttar Pradesh and Baroda.
First of all I would like to thank BCCI and Greater Noida Authority. We compliment the support of BCCI towards Afghanistan cricket development and the commitment they have shown so far is immense. We were trying a lot from the last few years to get some sort of support from BCCI as Afghanistan, you all know, is an emerging nation, which is knocking the door of Test cricket, Shafiq Stanikzai, CEO ACB, told media here.
BCCI Secretary Anurag Thakur, who also signed the MoU papers in presence of UPCA Secretary Rajeev Shukla, not only gave the new ground big thumbs up but also complimented the Afghanistan team for its recent success.
Afghanistan has done well in the last two years and to qualify in the World Cup, it showcases their hard-work. And they will play in India and like India played a big hand in Bangladesh becoming a full member, India will also play a big part in Afghanistan becoming a full member as well, Thakur said.
Thakur also insisted that rubbing shoulders with the greats of Indian cricket will certainly open a new world for the young Afghan players.
Not only they will play their matches here but will also get added support like a chance to get help from top coaches and a chance to rub shoulders with Indias best cricketers.
Greats like Sachin Tendulkar, Anil Kumble and Rahul Dravid might not travel to Kabul but can certainly give these players a tip or two when they are in India. So BCCI will certainly help them in every manner, he said.
Shukla said, I, on behalf of UPCA, welcome this arrangement done by BCCI, Afghanistan Cricket Board as well as Greater Noida Authority. So far they were witnessing Ranji Games, we also plan to have Deodhar Trophy there and now Afghanistan will have their home base there instead of Sharjah.
So I think it is a good opportunity for all of us. People will also be able to watch international games in the future. We are delighted that everyday five to 10 thousand people watched the Ranji game, Shukla said.
On being asked about the time frame for international matches to be hosted on this ground, Thakur said, Look ICC has this procedure that whichever stadium has to have international matches, a match referee has to inspect the venue and if it fits the bill for an ICC venue then it gets permission for it.
The ICC did a recce of this ground and it was found fit to host affiliate and associate matches and also for Under-19 and A level cricket. To host an international match the venue still needs to be equipped with a few more facilities, he said.
And the way the authorities of the Greater Noida Development Authority have told us they are working on the shortcomings of the ground to host international matches in the future. And Afghanistan board will also be able to play their international matches in the future, he added.
Rama Raman, Chairman, Noida, Greater Noida, Yamuna Expressway Authority said, Mr. Akhilesh Yadav, Honourable Chief Minister, Uttar Pradesh was very keen to offer this ground to Afghanistan Cricket Board and because of his support, we were able to work out this proposal in very short period of time. On behalf of Chief Minister and Government of Uttar Pradesh, I offer our full support to Afghanistan Cricket Board, and I am thankful to BCCI for facilitating this opportunity.
Meanwhile Thakur also talked about the strengthening of Indo-Afghan ties through this MoU.
Indo-Afghan ties will be strengthened on the political front, people-to-people contact and on the sporting front especially on the cricket field. And as Afghanistan wanted to have a permanent home ground in India, they liked the Greater Noida venue and so it happened.
Even the officials of the Greater Noida Industrial Authority did their best to even come on holidays and show us the facilities. So they have played a big part in strengthening the ties between two nations, popularise cricket and make Greater Noida known to the world. he said.
Afghanistan Cricket Board generally plays its matches outside its country. And the way Indo-Afghan ties are good politically, they are also good on the cricket field. And Afghanistan board has always wanted that it should have a home venue in India, where they can give its cricket a boost.
And in Indias state like Uttar Pradesh, they got a home venue due to the efforts of the Greater Noida officials and also due to the efforts of UPCA Secretary Rajeev Shukla, he added.
Thakur was more than happy to throw light on the efforts of Asian powerhouses, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, to uplift associate cricket in the region.
In the recently concluded Asian Cricket Council meeting, I personally stressed on the fact that associate nations should be helped. We also agreed that the four full members (India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh) should take out two per cent of their overall earnings and two percent combined from the associate nations and generated a kitty.
That 10 per cent money will help host the Associate Asia Cup in which countries like Afghanistan and Oman will play with their full teams while India, Pak, SL and Bangladesh will send their A teams with some top players in them. Big players, who might not be a part of the senior team will also accompany the big guns to raise the level of cricket, he said.
BCCI Lends Support to Afghanistan With Home Ground in IndiaNEW DELHI: The Board of Control for Cricket in India on Thursday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Afghanistan Cricket Board in order to help the latter with a home ground in India.
The newly-constructed Shaheed Vijay Singh Pathik Sports Complex in Greater Noida is widely seen as a potential venue for Afghanistan cricketers to play their international matches.
The ICC has inspected the ground and found it eligible to host matches of the associate-affiliate teams, Under-19, and A sides. However, it needs to meet a few more requirements for hosting an ICC-event match, said BCCI honorary secretary Anurag Thakur.
Greater Noida authorities have ensured us that they will deliver in quick-time so that Afghanistan cricket board can host their future international matches at this ground in Noida, he added.
Thakur asserted that the agreement would not only strengthen the cricketing ties between the two nations but also improve their political relations.
A force called Ashwin
This year has been staggeringly successful for Ashwin, whose Test stats in Asia compare favourably with the very best
No bowler has taken as many wickets in his first 23 Tests in Asia as R Ashwin has © ESPNcricinfo Ltd R Ashwin is in the form of his life. In the last six months he has taken 57 wickets in eight Tests, at an average of 14.38, with seven five-fors. During this period, he has taken 41% of all wickets by Indian bowlers (57 out of 13
, and 70% of all five-fors (seven out of ten). He has won one Man-of-the-Match and two Man-of-the-Series awards. Things couldn't be any better for him.
Ashwin's success comes after a period of struggle, when he lacked penetration and looked toothless: in his previous six Tests, between December 2013 and January 2015, he managed only 15 wickets at 52.86, and bowled, on average, 100 deliveries per wicket. It is true that all of those six Tests were outside Asia, and all of his recent successes have been in the subcontinent, but it would be unfair to attribute all his results to only the favourable conditions: he was superb during the 2015 World Cup too in Australia and New Zealand - taking 13 wickets at 25.38 - and has since been on a roll, running circles around opposition batsmen.
His numbers in Asia are truly mind-boggling: in 23 Tests in the continent he has taken a staggering 152 wickets - that's an average of 6.6 per Test - at an average of 20.47. His wickets tally is easily the best for any bowler after his first 23 Tests in the continent. The next-best, in terms of wickets in Asia after 23 Tests, is 130, by Waqar Younis; Harbhajan Singh had 114 after his first 23 Tests in Asia, while Anil Kumble had 112. Ashwin's stats outside Asia are less flattering, but the sample size there is small too - only nine Tests: six in Australia, two in England and one in South Africa.
Among all bowlers who have taken at least 100 wickets in Asia - there are 25 bowlers in this list - only Imran Khan has a better average than Ashwin's 20.47. Waqar comes in next at 20.64, followed by Muttiah Muralitharan (21.69) and Wasim Akram (22.53). Clearly, Ashwin is special in Asian conditions.
Region Tests Wickets Average SR 5WI in Asia 23 152 20.47 44.2 16 outside Asia 9 24 56.58 104.2 0
His average in Asia is outstanding, but how good is his average relative to the overall bowling average in these matches? Has he benefited from pitches being very bowler-friendly, and overall scores being very low in these matches? The last two columns of the table below offer some answers. In the 23 Tests that Ashwin has played in Asia, the overall bowling average is 30.32, which means his average of 20.47 is 1.48 times better than the overall average. Only two other bowlers have a better ratio (among those with 100 Test wickets in Asia) - Imran and Murali - while Shoaib Akhtar's average was 1.48 times better as well.
Kumble averaged 27 in Asia, but the matches he played here were generally more high-scoring - they produced an average of 35.64 runs per wicket - which means he was 1.32 times better than the overall average. Javagal Srinath had a marginally better average, but his ratio is poorer as he played in Tests in which fewer runs were scored. Kapil and Pragyan Ojha have poorer averages but ratios that are as good as Srinath's, as they played in games that produced more runs.
* Overall bowling average in the Tests that he played in Asia The strike force
Player Tests Wickets Average SR 5WI Overall ave* Ratio Imran Khan 51 205 20.28 48.8 12 32.29 1.59 Muttiah Muralitharan 97 612 21.69 53.2 52 33.51 1.54 R Ashwin 23 152 20.47 44.2 16 30.32 1.48 Shoaib Akhtar 31 125 24.24 44.5 7 35.89 1.48 Waqar Younis 47 215 20.64 38.2 14 28.57 1.38 Wasim Akram 59 216 22.53 52.4 11 30.00 1.33 Anil Kumble 82 419 27.00 61.3 27 35.64 1.32 Pragyan Ojha 24 113 30.26 67.5 7 37.61 1.24 Javagal Srinath 36 119 26.31 55.3 6 32.58 1.24 Kapil Dev 86 279 29.01 59.8 14 35.87 1.24
In 2015, Ashwin has taken a wicket every 36.4 balls, which is fourth-best among the 783 instances when a bowler has bowled at least 250 overs in any calendar year, and the best among spinners. The only bowlers with better strike rates in a calendar year are Waqar (29.5 in 1993), Dale Steyn (35.8 in 200
Scourge of left-handers
Player Year Tests Wkts Ave SR 5 Waqar Younis 1993 7 55 15.23 29.5 6 Dale Steyn 2008 13 74 20.01 35.8 5 Sydney Barnes 1912 9 61 14.14 36.0 8 R Ashwin 2015 9 62 17.20 36.4 7 Makhaya Ntini 2006 10 58 21.60 37.1 5 Dennis Lillee 1977 5 41 18.29 37.8 5 Imran Khan 1982 9 62 13.29 38.0 5 Waqar Younis 1990 9 49 17.04 38.7 5 Dale Steyn 2010 11 60 21.41 39.0 4 Wasim Akram 1994 7 47 17.14 39.0 4
In his last two series - against Sri Lanka and South Africa - Ashwin has dismissed 32 left-handers at an average of 9.96 per wicket; against right-handers, he has averaged 20.30 (20 wickets). His exceptional control, his ability to deceive batsmen with flight and guile, and his ability to turn the offspinner makes him a handful for right-handers as well, but it's clear that left-handers find him an even bigger force. In these last two Test series, he dismissed Stiaan van Zyl five times while conceding 13 runs (average 2.60), Dean Elgar four times (average 13.75), Kumar Sangakkara four times (5.75) and Lahiru Thirimanne four times (12.75). Admittedly, not all those names are exceptional players of spin, but these numbers indicate the stranglehold he has against left-handers.
In the period since Ashwin made his Test debut, no bowler has dismissed left-handers as many times as Ashwin has. In fact, no bowler has even come close. Ashwin has 100 left-handers' wickets, at an average of 18.44, which is also the best among bowlers who have taken at least ten left-hander wickets during this period. The next-best in terms of wickets in Trent Boult with 62, while Mitchell Johnson's average of 20.30 is the closest to Ashwin's 18.44.
Batting Hand Wickets Average SR Left-hand batsmen 100 18.44 41.93 Right-hand batsmen 76 34.55 66.2 New-ball specialist
Bowler Wickets Average SR R Ashwin 100 18.44 41.93 Mitchell Johnson 49 20.30 34.39 Graeme Swann 42 20.40 50.60 Ryan Harris 30 20.53 46.20 Vernon Philander 38 22.76 45.50 Yasir Shah 34 24.05 43.82 James Anderson 59 24.11 53.44 Trent Boult 62 24.98 48.44 Dale Steyn 47 25.21 46.87 Kemar Roach 31 25.83 53.23
With India often playing home Tests on turning tracks, there have been situations requiring a spinner to take the new ball: Ashwin has answered that call every time. He has opened the bowling 19 times - 13 of them at home - and has taken 70 wickets in those innings at an average of 17.37. Only three spinners have taken more wickets in innings when they have opened the bowling - Hugh Trimble, Bobby Peel and Colin Blythe - and they all played more than 100 years ago. Ashwin has nine five-fors in these 19 innings, which is the highest for spinners in innings when they have opened the bowling.
These overall stats, though, don't necessarily mean a spinner took wickets with the new ball; the wickets tally includes the entire innings when the spinner opened the bowling, which means he could have bowled a couple of overs with the new ball, and then returned later to his wickets with an older ball. With Ashwin, though, that isn't the case: in the first 20 overs of an innings he has taken 41 wickets, at 17.95. Since the beginning of 2002, that's the most wickets by any spinner in the first 20 overs of Tests, two more than Murali, and five more than Rangana Herath and Graeme Swann. In the first ten overs of an innings, he has 20 wickets at 15.40, again the best among spinners - Herath is next with 15 wickets, at 22.26.
The series winner
Bowler Wickets Ave SR R Ashwin 41 17.95 42.27 Muttiah Muralitharan 39 27.94 58.64 Rangana Herath 36 27.22 63.39 Graeme Swann 36 24.8 48.42 Harbhajan Singh 35 37.48 83.69 Shane Warne 25 25.08 52.88
In just 11 Test series that he has played (excluding one-off Tests), Ashwin has won five Man-of-the-Series awards, which is the most by any Indian player. Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag won five such awards too, but over much longer careers. In the history of Test cricket, only ten players have won more Man-of-the-Series awards.
With so much going his way in 2015, you'd expect Ashwin to continue that form in 2016 as well. If he is among the wickets in Tests next year, it will be the first time Ashwin would have had two successive great years in Tests. So far, he has been outstanding in the odd-numbered years, but quite ordinary in the even-numbered ones. That's in large parts due to the schedule, though Ashwin did have a poor home series against England in 2012, averaging 52.64 in four Tests.
Player Mat Match Awards Series awards R Ashwin 32 4 5 Virender Sehwag 103 8 5 Sachin Tendulkar 200 14 5 Rahul Dravid 163 11 4 Harbhajan Singh 103 6 4 Kapil Dev 131 8 4 Anil Kumble 132 10 4
In 2016, though, India have a Test in Zimbabwe and four in the West Indies lined up, before hosting New Zealand (three Tests), England (five Tests) and Australia (four Tests) over a busy 2016-17 home season. That looks like an itinerary which will give Ashwin every chance to put an end to his even-year jinx.
Years Tests Wickets Average SR 5WI 2011, 2013 and 2015 20 129 20.43 44.32 13 2012 and 2014 12 47 39.04 74.59 3
23 Il 15um vaari kuzhikalA force called Ashwin
This year has been staggeringly successful for Ashwin, whose Test stats in Asia compare favourably with the very best
Ashwin's success comes after a period of struggle, when he lacked penetration and looked toothless: in his previous six Tests, between December 2013 and January 2015, he managed only 15 wickets at 52.86, and bowled, on average, 100 deliveries per wicket. It is true that all of those six Tests were outside Asia, and all of his recent successes have been in the subcontinent, but it would be unfair to attribute all his results to only the favourable conditions: he was superb during the 2015 World Cup too in Australia and New Zealand - taking 13 wickets at 25.38 - and has since been on a roll, running circles around opposition batsmen.
His numbers in Asia are truly mind-boggling: in 23 Tests in the continent he has taken a staggering 152 wickets - that's an average of 6.6 per Test - at an average of 20.47. His wickets tally is easily the best for any bowler after his first 23 Tests in the continent. The next-best, in terms of wickets in Asia after 23 Tests, is 130, by Waqar Younis; Harbhajan Singh had 114 after his first 23 Tests in Asia, while Anil Kumble had 112. Ashwin's stats outside Asia are less flattering, but the sample size there is small too - only nine Tests: six in Australia, two in England and one in South Africa.
Among all bowlers who have taken at least 100 wickets in Asia - there are 25 bowlers in this list - only Imran Khan has a better average than Ashwin's 20.47. Waqar comes in next at 20.64, followed by Muttiah Muralitharan (21.69) and Wasim Akram (22.53). Clearly, Ashwin is special in Asian conditions.
Region Tests Wickets Average SR 5WI in Asia 23 152 20.47 44.2 16 outside Asia 9 24 56.58 104.2 0
His average in Asia is outstanding, but how good is his average relative to the overall bowling average in these matches? Has he benefited from pitches being very bowler-friendly, and overall scores being very low in these matches? The last two columns of the table below offer some answers. In the 23 Tests that Ashwin has played in Asia, the overall bowling average is 30.32, which means his average of 20.47 is 1.48 times better than the overall average. Only two other bowlers have a better ratio (among those with 100 Test wickets in Asia) - Imran and Murali - while Shoaib Akhtar's average was 1.48 times better as well.
Kumble averaged 27 in Asia, but the matches he played here were generally more high-scoring - they produced an average of 35.64 runs per wicket - which means he was 1.32 times better than the overall average. Javagal Srinath had a marginally better average, but his ratio is poorer as he played in Tests in which fewer runs were scored. Kapil and Pragyan Ojha have poorer averages but ratios that are as good as Srinath's, as they played in games that produced more runs.
* Overall bowling average in the Tests that he played in Asia The strike force
Player Tests Wickets Average SR 5WI Overall ave* Ratio Imran Khan 51 205 20.28 48.8 12 32.29 1.59 Muttiah Muralitharan 97 612 21.69 53.2 52 33.51 1.54 R Ashwin 23 152 20.47 44.2 16 30.32 1.48 Shoaib Akhtar 31 125 24.24 44.5 7 35.89 1.48 Waqar Younis 47 215 20.64 38.2 14 28.57 1.38 Wasim Akram 59 216 22.53 52.4 11 30.00 1.33 Anil Kumble 82 419 27.00 61.3 27 35.64 1.32 Pragyan Ojha 24 113 30.26 67.5 7 37.61 1.24 Javagal Srinath 36 119 26.31 55.3 6 32.58 1.24 Kapil Dev 86 279 29.01 59.8 14 35.87 1.24
In 2015, Ashwin has taken a wicket every 36.4 balls, which is fourth-best among the 783 instances when a bowler has bowled at least 250 overs in any calendar year, and the best among spinners. The only bowlers with better strike rates in a calendar year are Waqar (29.5 in 1993), Dale Steyn (35.8 in 200
Scourge of left-handers
Player Year Tests Wkts Ave SR 5 Waqar Younis 1993 7 55 15.23 29.5 6 Dale Steyn 2008 13 74 20.01 35.8 5 Sydney Barnes 1912 9 61 14.14 36.0 8 R Ashwin 2015 9 62 17.20 36.4 7 Makhaya Ntini 2006 10 58 21.60 37.1 5 Dennis Lillee 1977 5 41 18.29 37.8 5 Imran Khan 1982 9 62 13.29 38.0 5 Waqar Younis 1990 9 49 17.04 38.7 5 Dale Steyn 2010 11 60 21.41 39.0 4 Wasim Akram 1994 7 47 17.14 39.0 4
In his last two series - against Sri Lanka and South Africa - Ashwin has dismissed 32 left-handers at an average of 9.96 per wicket; against right-handers, he has averaged 20.30 (20 wickets). His exceptional control, his ability to deceive batsmen with flight and guile, and his ability to turn the offspinner makes him a handful for right-handers as well, but it's clear that left-handers find him an even bigger force. In these last two Test series, he dismissed Stiaan van Zyl five times while conceding 13 runs (average 2.60), Dean Elgar four times (average 13.75), Kumar Sangakkara four times (5.75) and Lahiru Thirimanne four times (12.75). Admittedly, not all those names are exceptional players of spin, but these numbers indicate the stranglehold he has against left-handers.
In the period since Ashwin made his Test debut, no bowler has dismissed left-handers as many times as Ashwin has. In fact, no bowler has even come close. Ashwin has 100 left-handers' wickets, at an average of 18.44, which is also the best among bowlers who have taken at least ten left-hander wickets during this period. The next-best in terms of wickets in Trent Boult with 62, while Mitchell Johnson's average of 20.30 is the closest to Ashwin's 18.44.
Batting Hand Wickets Average SR Left-hand batsmen 100 18.44 41.93 Right-hand batsmen 76 34.55 66.2 New-ball specialist
Bowler Wickets Average SR R Ashwin 100 18.44 41.93 Mitchell Johnson 49 20.30 34.39 Graeme Swann 42 20.40 50.60 Ryan Harris 30 20.53 46.20 Vernon Philander 38 22.76 45.50 Yasir Shah 34 24.05 43.82 James Anderson 59 24.11 53.44 Trent Boult 62 24.98 48.44 Dale Steyn 47 25.21 46.87 Kemar Roach 31 25.83 53.23
With India often playing home Tests on turning tracks, there have been situations requiring a spinner to take the new ball: Ashwin has answered that call every time. He has opened the bowling 19 times - 13 of them at home - and has taken 70 wickets in those innings at an average of 17.37. Only three spinners have taken more wickets in innings when they have opened the bowling - Hugh Trimble, Bobby Peel and Colin Blythe - and they all played more than 100 years ago. Ashwin has nine five-fors in these 19 innings, which is the highest for spinners in innings when they have opened the bowling.
These overall stats, though, don't necessarily mean a spinner took wickets with the new ball; the wickets tally includes the entire innings when the spinner opened the bowling, which means he could have bowled a couple of overs with the new ball, and then returned later to his wickets with an older ball. With Ashwin, though, that isn't the case: in the first 20 overs of an innings he has taken 41 wickets, at 17.95. Since the beginning of 2002, that's the most wickets by any spinner in the first 20 overs of Tests, two more than Murali, and five more than Rangana Herath and Graeme Swann. In the first ten overs of an innings, he has 20 wickets at 15.40, again the best among spinners - Herath is next with 15 wickets, at 22.26.
The series winner
Bowler Wickets Ave SR R Ashwin 41 17.95 42.27 Muttiah Muralitharan 39 27.94 58.64 Rangana Herath 36 27.22 63.39 Graeme Swann 36 24.8 48.42 Harbhajan Singh 35 37.48 83.69 Shane Warne 25 25.08 52.88
In just 11 Test series that he has played (excluding one-off Tests), Ashwin has won five Man-of-the-Series awards, which is the most by any Indian player. Sachin Tendulkar and Virender Sehwag won five such awards too, but over much longer careers. In the history of Test cricket, only ten players have won more Man-of-the-Series awards.
With so much going his way in 2015, you'd expect Ashwin to continue that form in 2016 as well. If he is among the wickets in Tests next year, it will be the first time Ashwin would have had two successive great years in Tests. So far, he has been outstanding in the odd-numbered years, but quite ordinary in the even-numbered ones. That's in large parts due to the schedule, though Ashwin did have a poor home series against England in 2012, averaging 52.64 in four Tests.
Player Mat Match Awards Series awards R Ashwin 32 4 5 Virender Sehwag 103 8 5 Sachin Tendulkar 200 14 5 Rahul Dravid 163 11 4 Harbhajan Singh 103 6 4 Kapil Dev 131 8 4 Anil Kumble 132 10 4
In 2016, though, India have a Test in Zimbabwe and four in the West Indies lined up, before hosting New Zealand (three Tests), England (five Tests) and Australia (four Tests) over a busy 2016-17 home season. That looks like an itinerary which will give Ashwin every chance to put an end to his even-year jinx.
Years Tests Wickets Average SR 5WI 2011, 2013 and 2015 20 129 20.43 44.32 13 2012 and 2014 12 47 39.04 74.59 3 
Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.
Decock poyi ithu tight aakumena thonune
Never argue with stupid people, they will drag you down to their level and then beat you with experience.
Where to next for West Indies as a Test team?
If the trend of heavy defeats continues, and if the board refuses to take responsibility, their status in the longest format could be in jeopardy 4
With three defeats since he took over as captain, the pressure is beginning to tell on young Jason Holder Of all the harrowing days West Indies have endured on the Test grounds of the world over the past couple of decades - and heaven knows, they have been plentiful and persistent - none was as horrific as the two and a half it took to capitulate to Australia in the first Test in arctic Hobart.
The Australians were sensible enough to not expect a competitive challenge. Recent results alerted them to the situation. The tourists' loss by ten wickets to a Cricket Australia XI in their solitary lead-up match immediately justified the media's earlier proposal, impractical as it was, to switch the showpiece Tests in Melbourne and Sydney - assigned to West Indies - with those scheduled earlier for palpably stronger New Zealand.
Yet they couldn't possibly have foreseen just how limp West Indies would be at the start of a contest that offered them the chance to at least restore a little of their pride.
As Jason Holder slowly and ruefully trudged back to the pavilion after his second-innings dismissal on Saturday, to a leg-side tickle to the keeper, it was the first sign that the pressure after his third defeat as captain - two by an innings - was impacting on the young, inexperienced leader.
Ian Chappell, a former Australia captain, speaking with the obvious admiration he holds for West Indies cricket, termed it "ridiculous" to hand such a youthful cricketer the most difficult job in the game and "then burden him with a poor team".
The Caribbean and Tasmania are as far apart as the disenchanted players are from the WICB. The results in the boardroom in Castries and on the field in Hobart are closely related He referred to the glaring lack of support for Holder from senior players, those "who need a kick up the backside". There were no prizes for deducing that those he had in mind were Marlon Samuels, a talented, underperforming batsman in his 15 years of international cricket, and Jerome Taylor and Kemar Roach, the new-ball pair who have 79 Tests and 250 wickets between them.
Samuels loitered around the outfield in Hobart, showing little interest in the proceedings. His fingers on both hands were taped, resembling a version of some Egyptian mummy. Occasionally he donned his designer sunglasses, occasionally he broke into a casual trot in pursuit of the ball.
Taylor, the same bowler who started his previous Test against the same opponents on his home ground of Sabina Park in Kingston in June with five consecutive maidens and two wickets, and Roach, well down on pace from his previous Test tour to Australia six years earlier, each got the series underway with a no-ball. David Warner and Joe Burns picked off their listless offerings, knocking 58 runs off the first eight overs, including 12 boundaries. The die had been cast.
The only sparks for West Indies after Adam Voges and Shaun Marsh had amassed their record partnership and seen Australia to 583 for 4 before Steven Smith mercifully declared were Darren Bravo's delightful first-innings 108 and Kraigg Brathwaite's uncharacteristically belligerent second-innings 94 out of a total of 148.
A raft of post-mortems has inevitably followed, yet it remains difficult to foresee where West Indies cricket goes next.
The most feasible, if disturbing, answers point to a split into the separate territories that have banded together for over 100 years, or else inevitable demise in Tests, with concentration solely on the shorter formats.
Will the next generation of fans still be supporting West Indies or the individual countries that make up that union? © Caribbean Premier League Tom Moody, a former Australian player, is now the director of the T20 Caribbean Premier League (CPL). He believes its popularity over its first two seasons can be the catalyst for reviving diminishing public interest in the game overall. Whether those who fill the stands wherever the CPL is played are there for the cricket or for the off-field entertainment under lights is a moot point.
Even before a ball was bowled in Hobart, Baldath Mahabir, a director who quit the "unprofessional, tardy, lax" West Indies Cricket Board last month, spoke of his concerns that there may be no such thing as West Indies cricket within ten years.
Mahabir maintained that the present generation in their 20s would have no recollection of the heady times when West Indies ruled the world. All they know is an entity that languishes near the bottom of the ICC rankings for a couple of decades. His concern is that young fans increasingly favour supporting their individual territories, rather than enduring the embarrassment of West Indies' constant defeats.
Six years ago Daren Ganga, then Trinidad and Tobago captain, who played 48 Tests for West Indies between 1998 and 2008, made a similar point. "If you speak to any West Indies player, you will hear them talking about this special affiliation to their country," he said. "When you play for the country that you were born in and brought up in and you sing your national anthem, it brings a different individual spirit to you."
There is no such political entity as the West Indies. Its shareholders - Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, Leeward Islands, Trinidad and Tobago and the Windward Islands - are all fully independent mini-nations with their own governments, currencies, flags and anthems. It is a wonder they have held together for over 100 years, since a 1900 tour of England. That unity has become increasingly fragile.
More than one player, now unavailable due to their commitments to global T20 franchises, has told me they feel the West Indies they would officially represent is really the WICB. It is an interesting perspective, given the mutual lack of trust between the two.
Shortly after Ganga's comments, the Trinidad and Tobago Cricket Board (TTCB) boycotted the annual general meeting of the WICB. Then president Deryck Murray, the former West Indies wicketkeeper and vice-captain during the glory days of the late 1970s, acknowledged that it was a difficult decision.
"We want to send a signal to the WICB that this is not a time for business as usual," he said. "I want to be clear. This is not a threat to the unity of West Indies cricket. In this time of crisis, we cannot afford to sit back and keep doing the same things over and over again. That is not doing anything for our cricket." His message was that "the people of Trinidad and Tobago expect and demand that things be done differently from here on in."
Six years later, nothing has changed, in spite of three commissioned reports that have recommended extensive adjustments to the structure of the WICB. Murray was a member of the latest, mandated by the Caribbean governments, that is being discussed by the WICB's quarterly meeting this weekend in St Lucia.
It calls for the board to be immediately dissolved, and all its members to resign in favour of a new board with wider, more varied representation. Predictably the WICB is strongly resisting the recommendation.
The Caribbean and Tasmania are as far apart as the disenchanted players are from the WICB. The results in the boardroom in Castries and on the field in Hobart are closely related.
In the meantime, Holder and his players have a two-day match against Victoria XI as preparation prior to the daunting Boxing Day Test at the MCG, followed by the final match in Sydney early in the new year. They need to stir themselves into a stronger showing than their obliteration in Hobart; if they don't, West Indies might well be wiped off future ICC Test itineraries.
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Yuvraj Back in the T2o Team
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Roger Binny panel-il ninnu poyathode Stuart Binny out.
Expecting Pandya to make an impression and enter ODI and Test teams as an allrounder.
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