As a member of the latest Australian Test squad to win in India, Brad Hodge is discovering it tough to separate the present crop from that well-known 2004 group.
But the 48-year-old warns that successful in India will likely be “as tough as it gets” for a facet closing in on cementing its legacy.
The closing members of Australia’s Test squad fly out to India on Wednesday, the place 4 Tests in tough circumstances await.
The International Cricket Council ranks Australia as the very best Test nation on the planet and Pat Cummins’ facet has not often been challenged on house soil over the last two summers.
Australia gained their sequence in Pakistan final 12 months earlier than drawing in Sri Lanka however triumphing in India would hoist the present group into the pantheon of nice Australian groups.
Since the Seventies, just one different Australian facet has claimed a sequence victory in India.
Hodge was a member of that 2004 squad, which additionally featured Ricky Ponting, Shane Warne, Adam Gilchrist, Glenn McGrath and Test debutant Michael Clarke.
“That was a pretty special team, one of the best that’s ever taken the field for Australia,” Hodge, who didn’t make his Test debut till the summer time after that sequence, instructed AAP.
Asked to find out the distinction between the present group and the 2004 facet, he had a easy reply.
“Not a lot,” he stated. “They can do it, this current group, they just have to believe and have a little bit of luck.
“But it will be a problem, little doubt about it.
“Whenever you travel offshore, any Test you play is tough. But this is as tough as it gets.”
With his BBL broadcasting duties almost over for an additional season, Hodge is spending the remainder of the summer time campaigning for the Cancer Council to encourage Australians to be solar good.
He stated the one factor separating Australia and India, ranked second by the ICC, was confidence of their spinners.
Ravichandran Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja are established spinners with nearly 150 Tests between them, although the latter continues to be racing the clock to recuperate from a again harm for the primary Test.
While Nathan Lyon is a lock for choice, there is no such thing as a clear favorite to companion him if the vacationers wish to take two spinners in.
The remaining frontline tweakers Mitch Swepson, Ashton Agar and uncapped Todd Murphy have performed a mixed whole of 9 Tests.
“They’ve got complete confidence in their spin department,” Hodge stated.
“Australia is probably not as confident as where the Indian group are at. Other than that, the teams stack up fairly evenly.
“Our bowling is nearly as good as anybody and our batting has been on hearth all summer time.
“We’ve got some very good players of spin and we’ll be ultra-competitive. It’s just whether we can last a full tour.”
Source: www.perthnow.com.au
