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Home > Cricket > PTI > Report


Indian batsmen a scared lot: Former Aussie players

September 22, 2007 17:48 IST

Indian batsmen are a 'scared species', making them an easy prey for the Australian pace battery in the upcoming ODI series, feel former Aussie bowlers Ray Bright and Rodney Hogg.

Former pacer Hogg and Bright, a left-arm spinner of the 70's, felt the Indians would not get much of a home advantage in the seven-match series starting September 29.

"Well I say, Good Luck. Which they (India) would need," Hogg was quoted as saying by 'Neo Sports'.

"Unfortunately India tends to play Bangladesh a lot, so they tend to stretch up cricket," said Bright as he took pot shot at the Indian line-up.

Hogg described the Indian batsmen as 'arrogant' and said they were scared of facing pacers.

"Couple of Indian batsmen are scared species, might be slightly arrogant and certainly there is no way to hide when people like Clark are going to go to India. With their pace there's nowhere to hide," he said.

Former Australian batsman Gary Cosier echoed a similar view and said Indians would buckle under pressure when faced with an accurate attack.

"Australia's bowlers and fieldsmen have impacts and they tend to put so much pressure on these very, very good players that the result is not very good at the end of the game," Cosier said.

Hogg criticised the decision to bring back Sourav Ganguly [Images] into the team and said the ex-captain has been brought back only because of 'political' clout.

"He just probably had political numbers that's why he's back in their squad. That's why Greg felt like he was playing too much just for himself," he said.

Bright also felt that both Ganguly and Sachin Tendulkar [Images] were past there prime.

"The Tendulkars and Gangulys are not perhaps the players they were five years ago."

Bright and Cosier said for Indians to have any chance in the series, they will have to improve their fielding drastically.

"Well I think they've got to really back themselves and I'm not sure if they are as positive as they have been and they still need to work on their fielding that's been to me a very poor example of how one day cricket should be played," said Bright.

"They need to field exceptionally well and they need players who are on the border of not playing too much longer," Cosier added.

© Copyright 2007 PTI. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of PTI content, including by framing or similar means, is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent.



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