Australia head coach Andrew McDonald is assured his staff’s “no tour game” coverage on abroad excursions will serve it nicely within the four-match Test sequence in India in February-March. Australia is unlikely to play any tour matches forward of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy. It would arrive in India only a week earlier than the primary Test, starting in Nagpur on February 9.
Australia is aiming for its first sequence win in India in 19 years. “No tour game is something we’ve done in the last few series before embarking on overseas tours,” McDonald was quoted saying within the Sydney Morning Herald.
“We feel as though we don’t need that match practice as such. We’re going to India about a week out from the first game. We didn’t want to press for too much longer in terms of the preparation.”
The same method was profitable when Australia gained a three-match sequence in Pakistan with a 1-0 margin in March final yr.
“We feel as though seven days is ample time to get ready and to make sure we maintain freshness throughout the whole four Test match series,” McDonald mentioned.
“We had some success doing that, going to Pakistan. We had a shortened period on the ground there.″ This time, Australia has planned a three-day camp in Sydney for all players not involved in the Big Bash League finals before embarking on the gruelling tour.
“We can be creative in our own conditions. We’ve done it before with the Pakistan build-up in Melbourne. Dusting up wickets. Fit for purpose.
“Working with the local groundsmen who really help us in and around the country. We feel as though we can get as close to that as possible without necessarily having a practice game.” The Aussies had final gained the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India beneath Adam Gilchrist in 2004-05.
In 2017, Australia had come near successful when it started the tour with a primary Test win in Pune, solely to go down towards the Virat Kohli-led aspect 1-2.
At that point, Australia had a gruelling 10-day stint on tailored pitches on the ICC academy in Dubai earlier than spending 9 days in India forward of the Pune sport. Australia head coach additional hinted at having a big squad in India with issues over tempo spearhead Mitchell Starc and allrounder Cameron Green’s health. “Yeah, I am confident he (Green) will be fit with the time frames I’ve been given… The challenge will be making sure we can be creative in the way he trains to make sure his body is in order.”