MELBOURNE (Reuters) – Australia named an unchanged 12-man squad on Tuesday for next week’s fourth test against India in Adelaide, where they could wrap up a 4-0 series clean sweep.

The hosts ensured they would win the series in Perth on Sunday when they hammered India by an innings and 37 runs to add to equally emphatic victories in Melbourne and Sydney.

Spinner Nathan Lyon, who was 12th man as the Australians went with a four-man pace attack in Perth, is almost certain to start at the Adelaide Oval when the test gets underway next Tuesday.

“A spin bowler has always been a priority in Test matches at Adelaide Oval and it is very likely that Nathan Lyon will replace one of the other bowlers,” Australia chief selector John Inverarity said in a statement.

“The fact the Australians were able to dismiss India in only 60 and 63 overs in Perth and the extra two rest days because the test finished early has meant that there is reduced concern about excessive workloads for the fast bowlers.”

Mitchell Starc, who played his third test in Perth, has already conceded that he is the most likely of the four to be dropped to make way for Lyon in the side.

Ben Hilfenhaus and Peter Siddle are certainties if fit, while injury-prone Ryan Harris came safely through his return to the test arena at the WACA.

Number three batsman Shaun Marsh retains his place in the squad despite making just 11 runs in Perth to add to his three runs in three innings over the first two tests.

Squad – Michael Clarke (captain), David Warner, Ed Cowan, Shaun Marsh, Ricky Ponting, Mike Hussey, Brad Haddin, Peter Siddle, Ben Hilfenhaus, Ryan Harris, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon.

(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney, editing by Patrick Johnston)
Courtesy:-http://cricket.yahoo.com/news/australia-squad-unchanged-fourth-test-against-india-010929603–spt.html;_ylt=AowNmTA34e6PuYD1vR9Xcrl_H6N4;_ylu=X3oDMTN0MHNtMnRtBG1pdANIb21lIFBhZ2UgSnVtYm90cm9uBHBrZwM2ZjljNzBlMy0xYzIzLTM5OGEtYjEyMC1jOWVmMjBiZmVjOTYEcG9zAzIEc2VjA2p1bWJvdHJvbgR2ZXIDMmZmNTNjZjAtNDBhOC0xMWUxLTllN2YtNzAyZTIxZTJmN2U0;_ylg=X3oDMTFvY3JuM2o0BGludGwDaW4EbGFuZwNlbi1pbgRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25zBHRlc3QD;_ylv=3

Perth, Jan 9 (IANS) Former India captain Sourav Ganguly feels that the Indian bowling attack does not require a total overhaul but wants off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin replaced with left-arm spinner Pragyan Ojha.

Ganguly said Ashwin hasn’t bowled well in the first two Tests, as spin accounted for just four of the 24 Australian wickets to fall in the series, and backed the 25-year-old Ojha to play in Perth.

‘I think the left-arm spinner could come in and do well. He’s a good bowler and he’s ready, and Ashwin obviously hasn’t bowled well,’ said Ganguly.

Ganguly feels the 659-run hammering India’s attack took in the first innings in Sydney was an aberration.

‘I thought Umesh Yadav bowled very well in Melbourne so you can’t leave him out after one bad Test match, and he had bowled very well previous to that,’ he said.

Ganguly advised the Indian cricketers to spend time away from the nets before focussing on the third Test in Perth that starts Friday.

‘You can’t practise all the time, you need breaks. They need to get the loss out of their system,’ he said.

courtyesy:-http://cricket.yahoo.com/news/replace-ashwin-ojha-perth-test-ganguly-103125934.html;_ylt=Aufn4BsRdvo_d9flr9dFT61_H6N4;_ylu=X3oDMTN0cDNwM3RrBG1pdANIb21lIFBhZ2UgSnVtYm90cm9uBHBrZwMwMDcyYzBkYi0yZDMzLTM2NzQtYjBkYy1hNWU3OGNmYjcyMGEEcG9zAzIEc2VjA2p1bWJvdHJvbgR2ZXIDZTAwMTU2ZDAtM2I0Mi0xMWUxLWFhZmItODAxYmY3OTZkODU4;_ylg=X3oDMTFvY3JuM2o0BGludGwDaW4EbGFuZwNlbi1pbgRwc3RhaWQDBHBzdGNhdANob21lBHB0A3NlY3Rpb25zBHRlc3QD;_ylv=3

There are several aspects to India’s performance in Melbourne and Sydney. MS Dhoni’s captaincy is just one. But the defeats have brought his tactics under the scanner. The pundits are unanimous: he’s too defensive.

However, only one former captain – Steve Waugh – has acknowledged that this was Dhoni’s style to begin with. You can trace it back to his first game as India’s full-time Test captain.

In the Nagpur Test against Australia in 2008, Dhoni put eight fielders on the off-side and told his bowlers to bowl wide outside the off-stump all day. It paid off. The Australians were thrown off gear, managed just 166 runs in the day, went on to lose the game and the series — one of the very few they had lost that decade.
While that instance had a touch of Dhoni’s genius, the subsequent ones did not.

Modern-day Epidemic

Among an assortment of defensive tactics, greeting new batsmen at the crease with fielders on the boundary isn’t Dhoni’s specialty. Nearly every captain today loves this deplorable tactic – including Michael Clarke in the on-going series. But only Dhoni has let it shroud his otherwise crystal-clear thinking into surrendering advantageous positions, even whole games.

The best example of this was in Cape Town in January last year, when India were in sniffing distance of a historic series win. Jacques Kallis came to bat with a strained side, struggling to play even a forward defensive. Instead Dhoni let him pick singles with ease. Kallis made a hundred, saved the game and the series.

Field settings alone don’t reveal this defensive mindset. It showed in Dominica when India prematurely abandoned a chase for 180 runs on the final day. West Indies celebrated the draw with a lap around the ground.

It showed in Mohali in 2008 against England, when Gambhir and Yuvraj batted on (“they needed batting practice”) when India could have declared early and had a shot at dismissing England. The template repeated in Wellington where India batted longer than they should have. New Zealand were set a ridiculously tough 617 to win and rain saved them on the final day.

Huge Costs

Those instances didn’t cost India. Deterred by the comfort of the series lead and the euphoria of personal pursuits, they chose to draw those games. That wasn’t the case in Melbourne and Sydney.

In Melbourne, Dhoni let Australia’s tail-enders prosper in both innings. They were greeted with deep point and long-on, even before they had got off the mark, and before a single shot had gone in those directions. The tail-end added 220-odd runs in the game, a hundred more than the margin India lost by. This, clearly, was the differentiator in the game.

In Sydney, Dhoni persisted with part-time bowlers and spread-out fields to Clarke and Mike Hussey, who were only too happy to take the easy runs. It seemed as if Dhoni had had a brain-fade in the middle, and worse, there wasn’t a team-mate in sight who could go up to him to offer useful advice.

What Would Dhoni Do?

Any hopes of India’s revival in Australia need to begin with Dhoni. And he needs to look no further than his own approach when it came to winning the biggest prize in cricket.

Dhoni led from the front, brushed aside his poor form, played a refreshingly attacking knock to bring the World Cup home. It was an all-heart performance, one that reminded us of the essence of sports: win or lose, you have got to play like you meant to win.