Four pacers for Sydney game would be ‘brave move’: Waugh

Melbourne: Former opener Mark Waugh has said that the fit-again Ryan Harris deserves to be back in the Australian squad, but is unsure whether an all-out pace attack is the ideal approach for the Sydney Test.

Australia recalled Harris for second Test against India, indicating that the Aussies are considering a four-man pace attack for the Sydney game. “I think it’s a pretty smart move, Ryan Harris is a very, very good bowler. He hasn’t played a lot of cricket ... but I think he’s in there just in case he’s fit. The selectors are very keen to get Harris involved if he’s fit. The fast bowlers in Melbourne did a great job,” Waugh said in an interview. “You’d be hard pressed to drop one of them. There’s been talk that they might play four fast bowlers in Sydney, but that would be a pretty brave move. Sydney is renowned as a wicket that does turn so I’d be very surprised if they play the four fast bowlers,” he said. “But that’s a good sign, that we have three or four quality fast bowlers in line to be picked in the Test team,” Waugh said. The new-look surface will come as a surprise to India’s famous batting line-up, which has found the normally spin-friendly surface to their liking on previous occasions. VVS Laxman has three centuries in as many Tests in Sydney, while Sachin Tendulkar has registered two unbeaten centuries and one unbeaten double-hundred for an incredible average of 221.33. Waugh has warned the Indians, who were rock and rolled by pace and bounce in Melbourne, that they might not be quite at home in Sydney as they have been in the past. “There`s been a bit of pace and bounce around and if you get humid conditions with a bit of rain around, it really does suit the quicker bowlers. It’s not the old SCG,” he said. ANI