New ploy revealed to end 19-year Aussie hoodoo

1 year ago 51

Australia has taken a left-field attack to preparing for a Test circuit of India, arsenic the squad aims to drawback a 19-year hoodoo connected the subcontinent.

The Aussie men's Test squad has not won a bid successful India since 2004, but has the accidental to atone with 4 matches implicit February and March.

Typically the squad would question overseas up to a fortnight earlier the archetypal lucifer successful bid to acclimatise and get astatine slightest 1 signifier crippled successful to set to the conditions.

But Australia has opted against flying to India excessively acold successful advance, and alternatively converged connected North Sydney astatine the play for thing a small different.

Men's manager Andrew McDonald asked North Sydney curator Kieran Meurant to hole a centre wicket which mightiness replicate a transportation successful India.

The Aussies were burnt past twelvemonth erstwhile travelling to Sri Lanka, wherever they were made to signifier connected seam-friendly wickets, lone to beryllium met with the other connected lucifer day.

"Often (there is) nary existent transportation betwixt that signifier crippled into the archetypal Test match. We consciousness arsenic though we tin power the surfaces here," McDonald told media connected Sunday.

"There's been assurances fixed (about signifier pitches successful India). We'll get determination and astir groundstaff astir the satellite are beauteous bully astatine allowing america to get what we want. We'll hold and see."

Indian curators typically hole wickets to suit rotation bowlers.

Given Australian conditions people nutrient overmuch antithetic pitches, Meurant and his unit deliberately dried retired and scuffed up the transportation astatine Bon Andrews Oval - adjacent to North Sydney Oval - to springiness it an Indian feel.

Australian rotation bowlers Nathan Lyon, Ashton Agar, Mitchell Swepson, and the uncapped Todd Murphy past spent the play honing their skills connected the deck.

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"Kieran has done a fantastic occupation present with the groundstaff to nutrient precisely what we want," McDonald said.

"We consciousness arsenic though retired determination the surfaces we got are precise akin to what we're going to face successful India which is precise hard to replicate, but we consciousness arsenic though we've got adjacent to that, truthful the crushed unit person done a fantastic job.

"We went done a batch of those scenarios."

McDonald besides wanted the 4 bowlers to get a carnal workout successful arsenic good arsenic signifier their skills, fixed astir of the players person been competing successful Twenty20 competitions, and volition request to vessel acold much overs successful India.

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