JOIN USAdamant on sticking to pace despite the dustbowls that await them, Australia’s acting head coach Steve Rixon on Saturday said his team’s success in the upcoming Test series against India would depend a lot on how quickly it adapts to local conditions.
“Teams are going to play a lot of competitive cricket. This wicket is something that the Indian boys play very well on. We will have to learn to adapt to these very quickly. The purpose of us coming early is to get acclimatised as quickly as possible,” said Rixon.
Eight members of the Australian squad reached India on Thursday to get acclimatised to the playing conditions before the four-Test series starts on February 22.
Rixon said the visitors are prepared for the famous spinning wickets but hoped that the pitches would not be “anywhere near what they faced in Sri Lanka” last month.
“I certainly don’t see a green surface appearing. The reality is, it will be a good wicket. To start with it will have a little bit of pace but as the game goes on, it will definitely assist the spinners,” he said.
“But I’m sure it will not be anywhere near as bad as some of the wickets we had seen in Sri Lanka. You have to get the feel for the climate, there are facilities you have to deal with. Last thing is, you have to get the feel of the wickets we would be playing on... thats the biggest thing.
“It is a little bit different in India and different in Pakistan and few of the other Asian countries. So we will have to learn to how to deal with that. Coming out of South Africa, West Indies and Sri Lanka tour, it is just about how we deal with the Indian conditions. It’s going to be tough but we will give ourselves a chance as we have had a good preparation,” the coach noted.
Asked whether Australia would look to field a three-pace and two-spinner attack in the opening Test in Chennai, Rixon said: “We got to use our strength, which has to be the fast bowling department.
“I always suggest that while you have got five very good bowlers, who bowl at 140 to 145 kilometres an hour and on occasions 150, on variable bouncing wickets, they can just stand as spinners. This is probably our strength. We will probably stay with our strength and I think those guys would be our frontline.”