'Oz top order will decide outcome of Test-series'

Australia's former coach John Buchanan believes the fate of Ricky Ponting-led team in the ongoing four-Test cricket series against India will hinge on the form of its top order batsmen.

Australia's former coach John Buchanan believes the fate of Ricky Ponting-led team in the ongoing four-Test cricket series against India will hinge on the form of its top order batsmen.

HT Image

"I believe that it will be the performance of the top-order that will decide the outcome of the series," Buchanan said.

"(Matthew) Hayden, (Ricky) Ponting and (Michael) Hussey are the key players if Australia wants to post big scores. (Simon) Katich, (Michael) Clarke and (Brad) Haddin can bat around them and help the side score mammoth totals.

"Hussey has been a prolific run-scorer for the Aussies. He adds the stability in the middle order and has been an outstanding performer over the past few years. It is almost a given that he will score heavily in the middle-order and win matches for his team," he was quoted as saying by the cricketnirvana.Com.

Buchanan, however, defended "a little bit of defensive" tactics of the Australian team in Bangalore as part of strategy but said Ponting and Co had only themselves to blame for the draw in the first Test.