CHENNAI: Desperate to taste success in their upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, four Australian players — opener Joe Burns, wicket-keeper Peter Neville, left-arm spinner Steve O’Keefe and pacer Jackson Bird — will make a pit stop in Chennai to get accustomed to the subcontinent conditions before flying to the island nation. From Monday, they will train under the watchful eyes of former India all-rounder S. Sriram, who has been working as a spin consultant for Cricket Australia, for a week.
In their past five series on the subcontinent, Australia have won only one of 15 Tests. And the last time the Aussies won a series was in 2011. Sriram said the focus of the Aussies has been batting against the turning ball, especially tackling. Sri Lanka’s veteran left-arm spinner Rangana Herath. The preparation began in earnest 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 with the Australian team at different times over the past one year, said the Aussies are keen to master different conditions in a bid 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 played in Chennai before when they featured in two four-day matches against India A in 2015. O’Keefe, in particular, enjoyed the conditions as he took 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.
