Australian batters prepare on specially prepared wickets before arriving in India for test series

The wicket at Bon Andrews Oval in North Sydney is specially prepared similar to pitches in India. Image Courtesy: Andrew McGlashan Twitter

Xtra Time Web Desk: The Australian test team led by Pat Cummins are leaving no stone unturned to come fully prepared for the upcoming tour to India. The Aussies have been undergoing a short camp in Sydney where the batters are training on specially prepared dusty pitches which are similar to Indian wickets. The idea is to be better prepared ahead of facing the likes of Ravichandran Ashwin and Axar Patel on rank turners in India.

The Australian team is determined to put up a good show having lost the last three consecutive test series against India. Indian cricket team won the last two test series in Australia.

In a bid to prepare well against turning tracks in India, a handful of Australian players are practising in Bon Andrews Oval in North Sydney. The wickets were specially prepared keeping in mind the conditions available in India by local curator Kieran.

“Kieran has done a fantastic job here with the groundstaff to produce exactly what we want. We feel as though out there the surfaces we got are very similar to what we’re going to confront in India. It is very difficult to replicate but we feel as though we’ve got close to that. So the ground staff have done a fantastic job,” Australia coach Andrew McDonald told ESPNCricinfo.

The Australia test squad will be arriving in Bengaluru on February 1. They will spend five days there before flying to Nagpur for the 1st Test which starts from February 9.

Australia Test squad for India tour: Pat Cummins (capt), Ashton Agar, Scott Boland, Alex Carey, Cameron Green, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazlewood, Travis Head, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Nathan Lyon, Lance Morris, Todd Murphy, Matthew Renshaw, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Mitchell Swepson, David Warner.