Australia coach Andrew McDonald has defended the team’s preparation for the series in India. McDonald said that they were well prepared for the Test series in India despite the results not going their way. Australia Team had huge expectations coming into the series and many experts predicted Australia to win the series in India, but surprisingly Australian team found no answers to Indian Team.
In the second test, Australia, who seemed to be comfortable with 61 for one at stumps on day 2, lost nine wickets in the second innings for just 48 runs to be all out for 113 in the morning session of Day 3. India chased down the target comfortably in 26.4 overs to retain the Border Gavaskar Trophy.
“I still wouldn’t have changed what we did leading in, there’s no doubt about that,” McDonald said on Monday.
McDonald said that preparation was good in Bangalore and that lack of preparation might not be an excuse and said that it is more of an application in the field.
“I think they had really good preparation in Bangalore, so that’s not any excuse. We sit here right now – I think at the end of day two if you said our preparation was good, you’d probably have a different slant on it, but within an hour then people start to critique what happened in the past,” he added
The third test of the Border Gavaskar Trophy will be held on March 1 in Indore. The visitors are likely to make multiple changes for the third Test in Indore, with Cameron Green and Mitchell Starc in the frame for selection.
Todd Murphy Had A Slight Niggle – Australian Coach Andrew McDonald Confirms
McDonald confirmed that Todd Murphy carried the side strain in the 2nd Test but expressed confidence that the young bowler will be ready for the 3rd Test in Indore. Murphy had an impressive game in the 1st test in Nagpur but had an average outing in 2nd test in Delhi.
“He had a slight niggle in the side. It looks as though the timeframe between now and the next Test should be enough to resolve that, So he’ll have not a test but he’ll have a good workout two days before it looks good,”
McDonald, meanwhile, confirmed that fast bowler Josh Hazlewood, who had an injury, would be heading home after having been ruled out of the remainder of the series. Captain Pat Cummins left home to attend to a family emergency but he is expected to be back ahead of the 3rd Test in Indore.