With Bradman on their minds, Aussies gear up for battle

"When someone like Sir Don speaks about batting, you listen very carefully. That was a very special moment for me," said Sachin Tendulkar with a heavy heart on the eve of the first Test between Australia and India to be played at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai starting on Tuesday. The start of arguably the most important series India has taken part in, in recent times, will have a sombre air as the two teams observe a moment of silence before play and then take the field wearing black arm bands as a mark of mourning.

Understandably, Steve Waugh too is shaken. "He united the country after the second world war and inspired so many people," Waugh said. "I don't think there will be someone else like him. We can take inspiration from the way he played the game," Waugh went on.

Everyone has to pause a moment. The occasion certainly demands it. Perhaps more so than any other in the cricket world.

But at nine thirty in the morning tomorrow life will have to go on at the Wankhede Stadium. The Australian Cricket Board has ruled out asking for a postponement of the start of the first Test. The rival captains too must be itching to get going after all the hype and the hoopla in the media. All eyes are on the 22 yards that separate the stumps. Long before the series started, talk about the kind of pitches to be used surfaced. Waugh reacted sharply when he heard reports that Ganguly had requested curators to prepare turning tracks. On looking at the wicket today, his reaction was one of pleasant surprise. "I'm really surprised to see how much grass there is on this wicket. We came here expecting to see a dry, flat wicket," said the Aussie skipper. His Indian counterpart, if reports are to be believed, was livid. On the surface however, Ganguly remains as calm as ever. "I'm happy with the wicket we have been given. The pitch looks good and full of runs," he began. "We'll play on whatever wicket we are given. I'm not disappointed just because there's some grass on the wicket," he opined.

Disappointed or relieved, as the case maybe with each captain, the state of the wicket has certainly set them thinking about team composition. Keen to go into the match with three spinners and six batsmen Ganguly is now considering a strategy revamp. Perhaps Ajit Agarkar might sneak into the team to share the new ball with Javagal, playing his 50th Test. Narendra Hirwani, making a comeback at the age of 32 might find himself warming the bench while Rahul Sanghvi gets a Test cap and Harbhajan Singh is given a chance to have a go at the visitors.

Things seem so much clearer on the team front as far as the Australians are concerned. Shane Warne's bag of wickets in the second tour game makes him a sure starter, if there ever was any doubt in the matter. Glenn McGrath will have a chance to unnerve Tendulkar with more than words and to assist him he has the company of South Australian speedster Jason Gillespie. Colin Miller, who fancies his chances against the Indians with two left handers in the top five might just be edged out by Damien Fleming. The swing bowler is rated highly and might just be the ideal foil for McGrath and Gillespie on a wicket that will take a fair bit of wear and tear. Like the hosts, the Australians too are looking to go into the match with six batsmen.

What could make all the difference though, is not the pitch or the team composition. Indian coach John Wright said today, "It's hard to predict which way the match will go. But there is one thing I can tell you. Anybody watching the game will get the feeling that every man in the Indian team is out there playing for his country." If Wright can bind the Indians together as well as he claims, the Australians will battle much more than just the blazing heat at the Wankhede.

The teams; Australia (from): Steve Waugh (capt), Michael Slater, Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Mark Waugh, Ricky Ponting, Adam Gilchrist, Shane Warne, Colin Miller, Glenn McGrath, Jason Gillespie, Damien Fleming.

India (from): Sourav Ganguly (capt), Sadagopan Ramesh, Shiv Das, Rahul Dravid, Sachin Tendulkar, Venkatsai Laxman, Nayan Mongia, Javagal Srinath, Ajit Agarkar, Zaheer Khan, Narendra Hirwani, Harbhajan Singh, Rahul Sanghvi.

Umpires: David Shepherd (England) and Srinivas Venkataraghvan (India)

Match referee: Cammie Smith (West Indies)