The highly-octane Test series between India and Australia finally got underway in Nagpur on Thursday (February 9). The Nagpur pitch was heavily criticised by Australian media and former cricketers even before start of the match
Australia coach Andrew McDonald has downplayed the pitch controversy saying he wants his team to embrace the challenge and adapt to changes in conditions from one venue to the next . On speaking to SEN’s Whateley he said
“Our job is to solve the problems that the wicket presents and that’s the great part about Test cricket, is the conditions change from country to country and from venue to venue within the country,”
McDonald added that they excepted the Indian pitches to be turning and excited for the challenges ahead of them. He Further added:
“Clearly it’s dry and it’s what we probably expected, to be honest. Coming to Nagpur, the message was it is the biggest turning wicket in India and (with) high reverse swing. I think it all matches up and we’re excited by the challenge that confronts us. I think we’ve all seen the same pitch circulating around,”
“I Think That You Play Your Home Conditions,”- McDonald Comments On Indian Pitches
The Australian coach stated that he did not believe India was unfair to the touring team when preparing pitches and he said that home team usually plays to their advantage
“I don’t think so. I think that you play your home conditions. We’ve got extra bounce in Australia and sometimes some grass. They call it Test cricket for a reason. All your skills get tested and having different conditions in different countries is great. It would be a plain old game if the conditions were the same everywhere you went.
McDonald wants his team to play under different conditions and different countries. The Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) is expected to test skill set of the visiting team in India