Gilchrist can't say whether all-pace attack would work at WACA

[1]

Former Australian wicketkeeper Adam Gilchrist says despite WACA's intimidatingly pace-friendly nature he would always go with a spinner in a Test match here but then, in his playing days, the spinner in question was the legendary Shane Warne.

Australia are due to take on India in the third Test of an ongoing four-match series, at the WACA here from Friday.

There is widespread debate and speculation on whether Australia should go in with an all-pace attack at the greentop or opt for a spinner.

"I find it difficult to be totally balanced in this because the spin bowling option the Australian team had when I played was Shane Warne," Gilchrist told 'News Limited newspapers'.

"He was a stand up start anywhere so that's why it's hard for me to look objectively at the current situation. From what I can see, the balance of the side without Shane Watson there (as the all-rounder) creates a heavy workload for the quick guys so maybe they need one (a spinner)," he added.

Former batsman Tom Moody, on the other hand, felt pace is the best way to force the opposition into submission at the famed WACA.

"Four fast bowlers can work, there's no question about that. In Australia's case it helps that Ben Hilfenhaus in particular has a shortish run-up and he gets through his overs quickly."

"We were timing him during the last couple of Tests and he can bowl an over in two and a half to three minutes. This means the pressure of over rates is not as great. The key to the WACA has always been finding the right style of bowler to bowl from the appropriate ends," Moody said.

"From what I'm hearing the wicket is going to be as quick as it's been for some time. It's certainly been on the rise for some time with its pace and bounce over the past few years. The wicket will certainly support good pace bowling," he added.

Moody feels batsmen should play at WACA with a positive frame of mind as the margin of error for bowlers is very small because of the pacy track.

"The mindset a lot of people have is just because you've got a quick, bouncy wicket you're going to get bundled out for next to nothing," said Moody.

"Quick, bouncy wickets are also great to bat on because you can trust the bounce and you get full value for your shots because of the pace. You can look at it as a negative for a batsman and face the task of climbing Everest or you can look at it from a positive perspective.

"You can leave the ball on length. You can take full toll of anything slightly off line. The margin of error for bowlers can become pretty small on the WACA," he added.