Former Australian cricketer & SEN Cricket commentator Brad Hadden is excited about Australia’s bowling lineup and the MCG pitch that awaits them on Boxing Day.
“It’s been an interesting wicket over the past couple of years,” Hadden told 1170 SEN Breakfast.
“I think they’ll leave a bit of grass on it. I think it’ll be a bit bowler friendly for the first few days and then it’ll be placid over the back end of the game.
“You just want a contest between bat and ball. We’ve seen those games where it doesn’t look like you’re going to get a wicket, but they’ve done a lot of work to it, so I think you’ll see enough in it to get a result.”
As for bowlers themselves, Haddin believes Australia’s current attack is as well balanced as any in world cricket.
“What I like about this bowling attack is that they complement each other,” Haddin said
“Mitchell Starc at the top of the order who you know on his day is as good as anyone with the new ball. You’ve got the constant pressure of (Pat) Cummins and (Josh) Hazlewood.
"If you go back to the first innings of the Test match, they found the edge a lot and the ball kept dropping short of the slips because of how slow the wicket was.
“Those three are as good as any in the world right now. Then you’ve got the goat Nathan Lyon who wasn’t even needed in the second innings, and now you’ve got (Cameron) Green come in.
“I think they’re a really good partnership and they’re only going to get better with the addition of Green.”
The MCG will host the second Test between Australia and India on Boxing Day and potentially the third Test as well with onging COVID concerns in Sydney threatening the SCG Test.