Analysing why teams struggle away from home

Come the away tours and every chink in the shining Indian armour seems so apparent. The team's utter dominance at home has been second to none, in fact, their record at home in the last two years is incredible, as incredible as the Australia of the 2000s.

But that team was no mug when it came to the away tours. For India to be compared to that side, they will have to win around the world. But is it that easy? No, of course not. In recent times, we've seen that home advantage, or the tendency for the home team to win, has grown immensely. Even the Ashes these days are basically a trophy toss up between Australia and England at their respective homes.

So, let's analyse the reasons why away series wins have become a rarity now?

Different Countries. Different Conditions. Different Problems.

Pic 1: Green pitch in England Pic 2: Dry and Dusty pitch in India

Every country poses different challenges. So, teams find it hard to adjust accordingly. India and the other teams from the sub-continent find it difficult to adjust to the pace and bounce offered in South Africa and Australia, or the swing and seam offered in England. Likewise, South Africa, England and other non-Asian teams find it difficult to adjust to the spin and turn offered in Asian countries. These differences happen because of the combination of two things: pitches and weather conditions.

Indian/Subcontinent conditions

Indian pitches have been predominantly slow-low turners

Pitch

The pitches in Asia generally assist spin. This is because of the soil present there. Lots of Indian pitches are made up of red soil, which has low bounce and little carry.

Weather

The weather conditions in India are generally very hot and humid. This ensures the pitch breaks up easily, causing cracks that help the spinners to turn the ball.

Style of Play

To be successful, the player should play the ball as late as possible. He should be a good player off the backfoot. He should be well equipped with cut and sweep shots.

English Conditions

Pitch

The pitches in England generally assist the swing bowlers as there is a lot of grass on them. The lateral movement is at its peak in the morning session. The dampness of the pitch also determines the lateral movement.

Weather

The weather conditions in England are generally overcast and the wind blows throughout the day which allows the ball to swing considerably.

Style of Play

The player should be comfortable with balls outside the off stump. Front foot play should be sorted. Lastly, he should be well equipped with the drive.

South African/Australian Conditions

Pitches

The pitches in South Africa and Australia are hard and offer pace and bounce.

Weather

The weather in Australia and South Africa is generally hot, which allows the spinners to come into play in the fourth or fifth day of a Test match.

Style of Play

The player should be comfortable with the short ball. Backfoot play is essential. He should be a good puller of the ball.

Fewer Tour Games

Teams these days don't get enough tour games to acclimatise. This is because of heavy scheduling throughout the year. With the advent of franchise T20 leagues, there's hardly any time left in the year. Cricketing boards try and accommodate as much international cricket as possible.

Earlier, the teams used to play many tour games to help them get set.

Another reason is that many Asian cricketers don't play county cricket, a source of overseas experience.

Doctored Pitches

Home teams these days do everything in their power to maximize the home advantage. Doctored pitches are the order of the day. Do you remember the 2015 India-South Africa series? Only once did a team reach 300 in the four-match Test series. The average score throughout the series was below 200.

What about the 2014 Lord's Test between England and India? The pitch was so green that one couldn't differentiate between the pitch and the outfield.

Incomplete Bowling Attacks

Bowling attacks these days are very home-oriented. Australia have the pacy trio of Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins. India have possibly the greatest spin twins ever seen in the form of Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja. But when India head overseas, they struggle to pick 20 wickets there. Other non-Asian teams too have struggled to produce spinners who can win them matches in the sub-continent.