An Interesting Wrinkle For India At The Oval

It occurred to one of my friends recently that the Oval’s reputation for being relatively spin friendly among English Test grounds may have to do with the fact that Tests played there tend to be played late in the English summer, in August and September. The record suggests that my friend might have a point.

The first ever Test match in England was played at the Kennington Oval in London in September 1880. Of the 104 Tests played there overall, 8 have been played in July, 8 in September and 88 in August. There has never been an Oval Test in June, let alone in the first half of June.

The conventional wisdom has been that with Ashwin and Jadeja available, IND will field two spinners against AUS in the World Test Championship final. But, should they do so in June?

IND have to pick five out of Mohammed Shami, Mohammed Siraj, Umesh Yadav, Shardul Thakur, Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Axar Patel and Jaydev Unadkat.

If two spinners played, this was relatively simple. Pick Shami, Siraj, Jadeja, Ashwin and one out of Thakur, Yadav and Unadkat. But, if the IND management judges that the Oval in June is not a spinners pitch the way it tends to be in August, then selecting the five bowlers becomes a task.

Three bowlers pick themselves - Shami, Siraj and Jadeja. Picking the other two spots from Umesh, Thakur and Unadkat is not obvious. Unadkat offers the left-arm angle. But he also creates a rough for the off-spinner, and AUS have a great off-spinner in their ranks. Mitchell Starc will create a rough for Nathan Lyon. If Unadkat adds to Starc’s contribution when IND bowl, this may make things easier for Lyon.

I think IND are most likely to play the following XI:

Rohit Sharma (c)
Shubman Gill
Cheteshwar Pujara
Virat Kohli
Ajinkya Rahane
Ravindra Jadeja
Srikar Bharat (wk)
Shardul Thakur
Umesh Yadav
Mohammed Shami
Mohammed Siraj

If the wicket looks like drier than they expect, and they decide to play two spinners, then, depending on how well Shardul Thakur is bowling (when Thakur is bowling well, he gets close to the stumps and swings the ball from the 4th stump and not from the 6th stump), Thakur or, more likely, Umesh Yadav. Whoever they pick, it will hopefully be a decision based on which of the two (or three) fast bowlers is most likely to provide wickets, rather then runs.

Reading conditions is an art, and history plays a role in this. An Oval Test in June remains an unknown quantity in the history of Test cricket. There have been only seven first class matches played at The Oval in the last ten seasons. Only two in the last five. It is perhaps emblematic of the misshapen “tournament” whose final this one-off Test starting on Wednesday is, that it should occur in this cricketing no mans land.

IND have beaten AUS home and away in four consecutive series since in 2017. It is strange that the best team in the world, the best team of its era, and one of the greatest Test teams in history, should have to compete with AUS for the title of World Test Champion in a one-off Test in which AUS will field a well-rested Pat Cummins, while IND will play without Jasprit Bumrah.

Thems the breaks.

I’m just glad we’ll get to watch Pat Cummins again on Wednesday or Thursday.