JOIN USIt was a step up facing India bowlers: Cameron Green
Australian all-rounder Cameron Green said that it was a "step up" to face the Indian bowlers in the first warm-up game and that he was looking forward to the tough challenge of encountering the pink ball against a full-strength visiting team in the second practice game.
The 21-year-old is primed for a Test debut after scoring an unbeaten 125 for Australia A in their first practice match against a strong India side, which ended in a draw on Tuesday.
"Obviously, when you play Shield cricket, you have an idea of what you are facing. The Australian domestic competition holds you in good stead, it's a tough competition with world-class players but the match against India was a step up," said Green in a virtual news conference.
"It was more of a challenge because I hadn't really seen those bowlers bowl before. That took a little bit of time to get used to...it was still a little bit of a step up."
Green said that veteran Indian pacer Umesh Yadav, who had claimed three wickets, was the most difficult to face at the Drummoyne Oval pitch.
"You could obviously tell the world-class skill of Umesh Yadav. He was bowling down the breeze on a wicket that did not have enough for them. Yeah, that was incredibly tough," he said.
"But I had Paine at the other end, so it was helpful to get through them. So, it was definitely tough to face."
Green and Paine had shared a 104-run sixth wicket partnership.
Green, who has featured in a single ODI against India, had a fruitful Sheffield Shield campaign where he scored 363 runs at an average of 72.60 with two centuries.
"You never really know if you're ready. All I can do is to play well in the next game. And that's kind of a tough challenge facing a full-strength India side with a pink ball in Sydney. I'll just see how it goes and just keep trying to perform and it's for the selectors to decide."
"It's an incredibly hard team to break into. It is pretty settled at the moment. Apart from a few injuries with Davey (Warner) at the top...but that really is not the position I'm vying for. All I can do is really just make myself available and get myself ready," he said.
As he gears up for the second tour game beginning Friday, the young all-rounder said that it would be his first taste of pink-ball cricket.
"I've never actually faced it before, for whatever reason, I keep dodging the day-night games in domestic cricket. I have a training session today and it will be the first time ever that I face it or bowl with it. That will be pretty interesting," he said.
"There are a lot of guys in the team who have played with the pink ball before. So, I try and bounce as many ideas off those guys as I can.
"A few guys say that if you are batting at night but already in, it seems like it's okay. But it's just when you are new to the crease that it's very tough."
The Border-Gavaskar series gets underway with a day-night Test in Adelaide from Dec. 17 at 9.30 am IST onwards on Sony Six and Sony Ten 3 channels.