Keen to succeed in their upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, four of the Australian cricketers — opener Joe Burns, wicket-keeper Peter Neville, left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe and pacer Jackson Bird — have decided to visit Chennai to get accustomed to the subcontinent conditions before flying to Sri Lanka.
From Monday, they will be training under former India all-rounder S. Sriram, who has already started to work as a spin consultant for Cricket Australia, for the past one week.
Among the past five series on the subcontinent, Australia have managed to win only one of 15 Tests. And the last time the Aussies tasted a series victory was in 2011.
Sriram revealed the Aussies are strongly focusing on batting against the turning ball, especially how to tackle Sri Lanka’s veteran left-arm spinner Rangana Herath. The preparation initially began at National Cricket Centre in Brisbane where Sriram swung into action by impersonating Herath. “The hybrid wickets at NCC are closer to the sub-continent conditions. I did a little bit of work with opener Burns. However, preparing in Chennai will give them more confidence ahead of the Lanka tour,” said Sriram.
The 40-year-old coach, who has been working as a consultant with the Australian team at different times over the past one year, also said the Aussies are working hard to take the challenge in different conditions to be the best in the world. “Though the greatest challenge for Australia is playing in England, they are always cautious about wickets in the subcontinent. They want to be No.1 in the world and doing well in the Lanka tour is important,” he added.
Out of the four visitors, Burns and O’Keefe have the experience of playing in Chennai before when they featured in two four-day matches against India A back in 2015. O’Keefe, in particular, made the most out of it by utilizing the conditions as he scalped 12 wickets in two matches including a prized scalp of Virat Kohli. “He is an experienced first-class spinner. O’Keefe has gone through highs and lows and played a bit of Test cricket. Subcontinent wicket suits his bowling, as he is accurate,” said Sriram.
Cricket Australia have already appointed Thilan Samaraweera, former Lankan cricketer with 81 Tests and 5,462 runs at an average of 46.92 and 15 wickets, as a batting consultant.
Samaraweera, who now lives in Melbourne, started his work with the next generation in the National Performance Squad and in the pathway program, with a focus on batting and Australia’s Test squad members were excited to tap up the Sri Lankan for inside knowledge while he’s at the Bupa National Cricket Centre in Brisbane.
Shaun Marsh, Adam Voges, and Jackson Bird are the latest batch of Australian players who will tour Sri Lanka, headed to the NCC facilities in order to fine-tune their preparations in the Sunshine State.