I can't tell you how excited I am to watch another Australian leg spinner play on the big stage.

Moreso when the leggie is from Victoria!

There's something about leggies isn't there?

There's a buzz when they're bowling.

And you expect something to happen every ball they bowl.

We'll probably have to wait till the 2nd day to watch McGain with the ball, but it should be worth the wait.

A hearty congratulations to my fellow blogger, Uncle J Rod of Cricket with Balls, who has probably been waiting for this day since he started blogging. Or maybe longer.

Hope its been worth the wait Jrod!

I love leg spinners.

I may not be as passionate about them as JRod but I still love them.

They make the game exciting to watch.

Those subtle few steps to the crease, the twirl of the arm, the rip of the fingers, the flight of the ball, and that bamboozled batsman who sees the ball spin across him and past the off stump - very few sights beat this one in cricket.

Since Shane Warne retired last year, I have been waiting for a leg spinner to emerge who would make cricket as exciting to watch as Warne did.

The Aussies took Beau Casson to the Windies and I remember tuning into the test late one night just to watch a new leg spinner bowl.

Considering he was Warne's apparent long term replacement, my anticipation was high despite warnings from JRod that he wasn't all that.

Casson hardly impressed.

The IPL provided a lot of excitement as there were a lot of leggies in action.

I watched Warne all over again, along with Piyush Chawla and Amit Mishra, and the Warne understudy at the Rajasthan Royals - Dinesh Salunkhe!

But the IPL provided only 4 overs each from them. At the most. That wasn't enough for either of these bowlers to show what they were all about.

A leg spinner needs a stage to perform and that stage is Test cricket.

I was still looking for that 1 leg spinner to emerge.

Ajantha Mendis provided a lot of excitement in the India - Sri Lanka test series over the summer, but he's not a leg spinner.

Exciting yes, but in a different way. Its his mystery element that makes him exciting. There's no rip, no twirling of the arms, no oohs or aahs.

Great bowler that Mendis, but not the leg spinner I had been waiting for.

When the Australian test squad for the ongoing India - Australia test series was announced, there was one name there that I had seen do the rounds of Cricket with Balls for the last year.

That name was Bryce McGain.

He was a leg spinner. He was from the same state as Shane Warne. He had had a successful domestic season in Australia.

And he was to debut at Bangalore.

JRod had gone on about him for over a year so I was sure that he was something to look forward to.

That leg spinner whom I had been waiting for was finally here.

Almost!

A shoulder injury booked McGain a flight back to Australia.

Cameron White, the Victoria captain and also a leg spinner, was sent to India to replace him.

I had first heard of White a long time back when in one article it was mentioned that he was the next blonde leg spinner that would take Australia by storm.

That was a long long time ago as since then White had become more of a batsman and only a part time leg spinner.

Watching White bowl in the 1st test at Bangalore was fun. He brought a lot of passion into the game as was evident when he took that wicket of Sachin Tendulkar. His first.

But that excitement, that rip, that wrong one, the one that pitches on leg and goes past off, the oohs, the aahs were all missing.

It was never expected to be there to begin with.

The wait for that leggie had to continue I thought.

When news regarding Kumble's fitness did the rounds before the Mohali Test, I thought India would go in with 3 seamers and Bhajji.

Which is why on Friday morning, I was surprised to see Amit Mishra in the XI.

That led the blood cells racing again. Another leg spinner to debut.

I had first seen Mishra in the IPL and had been impressed by him.

Bak then, I had also wondered why Piyush Chawla was playing internationals and not Mishra.

When Mishra took the ball in his hand yesterday, I glued myself to the TV.

Yet another leg spinner was going to bowl his first ball in test cricket. I wondered if he was the leg spinner I had been waiting for all this time.

His first over told me he could be.

His third over, where he bowled Katich off an inside edge, got me thinking that he was definitely the one who would make test cricket as exciting as Warne did.

His 9th and the day's last over, where he trapped Clarke plumb in front with a googly, made me realise that Mishra was it.

Finally I got what I had been waiting for.

Finally test cricket had unleashed another leg spinner who will make it exciting to watch.

Finally the world will see another bowler take a few steps, twirl that arm, rip those fingers, flight that ball, pitch it on leg, and spin it across the batsmen.

Occassionally, the world will also see the wrong ones, and the flippers, and we will all ooh and aah in anticipation of a wicket.

He is playing this test due to an injury to Kumble. Mishra's future probably depends on Kumble's fitness but I hope India can find ways to keep him in the XI despite Kumble's presence.

Because to do otherwise will be gross injustice to the talent this man possesses.

I have been waiting for you Mishra.

And I don't want to wait anymore.

No ageing star should need to announce his retirement for you to make that spot in the XI your very own.

Ramadan and the Eid break are over and life has finally returned to some normalcy after 2 months of vacationing, fasting, and feasts.

Cricket is coming back to life gradually as well with the India vs Australia series about to kick off.

There has been a lot of speculation regarding the Indian seniors and their future and the lack of experience in the Australian ranks but come Thursday and everyone will be glued to watch the mother of all test series.

Whether the series will be bigger and better than the previous ones between these 2 sides, I don't know but I think it will be very closely fought.

Both, India and Australia, are weaker than they have been in the past. India's middle order is not as powerful as it once was, while Australia's bowling lacks the potency it once had.

Keeping this in mind, it should be an interesing contest.

I feel bad for Bryce McGain, who has had to go back without playing for Australia, and I feel worse for this man who has been rooting McGain's case for a year now - how close!

The fact that a Victorian replaced McGain might be some justice for the JRod but McGain missing out on a test debut in India is probably too big a let down.

Even for me it is and I have only read about him!

The spinner is going to be a big problem for Australia.

From what I saw of Krejza in the match against the Board President's XI, it doesn't look like he'll be playing much test cricket in India.

Cameron White, from what I hear, has become more of a batsman then a leg spinner, so I doubt he would pose a threat to the Indian batting line up.

But then, no Aussie spinner has ever troubled the Indians, not even the best spinner in the world, so I guess it doesn't really matter then does it?

Lee, Clarke, and Johnson / Siddle don't look like troubling the Indian batsmen either. No matter how old they're getting.

The Aussies will have to bat out of their skins I feel because the bowling doesn't look like taking 20 Indian wickets.

If Kumble and Bhajji are in their stride, the Aussies will find it tough.

India look more settled going into the 1st test.

The change of guard at the board level hasn't changed much in the team, and despite a loss to Sri Lanka over the summer, India has done very well at the test level under Kumble.

One question though to the Indian readers - why was Rohit Sharma dropped?

I have read about Badrinath in almost all of the Indian blogs doing the rounds and everyone has a good thing or two to say about him.

But wasn't Rohit in the test squad that went to Sri Lanka? He didn't get a test match there and now he finds himself dropped without getting a chance.

Why?

The way he batted for his 105 against the Aussies made me think that India's new selectors made a mistake.

Badrinath maybe a domestic champion but Rohit Sharma is India's middle order's future.

And Virat Kohli - I think we will hear this name for a long time to come.

As for Sachin, Saurav, Rahul, VVS - Good luck. Stretch those ageing legs as far as you can because if you fail India this time it will be very hard to keep the Sharmas, Yuvrajs, Kohlis, Badris, Kaifs, and Rainas on the bench.

International cricket is back and I can't wait for the action to begin.

His petition landed David Hussey a position in Australia's ODI team.

This morning his favourite Victorian, Bryce McGain, was announced in Australia's 15 man squad for India.

Uncle J Rod of Cricket with Balls has been going on about Bryce McGain for a year now, which is as long as Cricket with Balls has been up on air.

And finally a year later Cricket Australia selectors have bowed down to his demands.

I'm sure Uncle J is over the moon over McGain's selection and we at Well Pitched are happy for him and for McGain and also at the prospect of seeing yet another leg spinner from Victoria.

If McGain is even half as exciting as the last Victorian leg spinner to play test cricket, it'll make the Australia v India test series even more interesting than it already is.

Its a shame that Symonds isn't going as it would have been quite a watch to see the Indian public take a dig at him.

Nonethless it should be one entertaining test series. Can't wait for some cricket to start.

About a month and a half back Uncle J of Cricket with Balls started a petition to get David Hussey into the Australian cricket team.

The arguements were all strong since Hussey Jr. was blasting away in the domestic matches, while the Aussie's international batsmen were struggling against an overgrown Adam's apple (referring to Uncle J's reference to Ishant Sharma).

That petition attracted some 130 signatures on Uncle J's blog. The petition was also added onto a facebook group and then it was said to be doing the rounds of the streets of Australia.

I don't have the total count of how many people actually signed the petition but Cricket Australia selectors probably got hold of it and realised that they had to bow down to the demands of the Aussie public.

This morning when CA announced the squad for Australia's tour to the Windies in May, David Hussey was part of the 14 man ODI line up.

I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate Uncle J on all his efforts to get David Hussey into Office! Your work has paid off Uncle J. I know you are mighty pissed at Bryce McGain being ignored but savour this moment of glory - David Hussey is in the team because of you.

In another expected announcement, Micheal Clarke took over as the Vice Captain of the team following Adam Gilchrist's retirement and Brad Haddin replaced him as the #1 wicket keeper.

The Aussies have been going through a transformation of sorts since the heavy load of retirements during last and this season. And this is another step within the tranformation phase.

Will they hold on to their status as the #1 team in the world? Only time will tell.

Uncle J - now I suggest a petition for the inclusion of your very own Bryce McGain.