Australian players have been training separately and not as one unit ahead of the ODI series against India, but the team will make “no excuses”, insists wicketkeeper-batsman, Matthew Wade.
One half of Australia's limited-overs squad is training at the Sydney Cricket Ground under head coach Justin Langer, while the rest are undergoing a mandatory 14-day quarantine and training with assistant coach Andrew McDonald across town.
“We’ve been in situations like this a little bit before with Test tours being away and T20 taking place, but it’s something completely different to something we’ve ever faced before,” Wade told cricket.com.au.
“This group has been together a long time, especially the playing XI, so we turn up on Friday morning, and everyone knows their role. There’ll be no excuses from our end,” Wade added. The two groups will unite late on Thursday night with the opening ODI slated for Friday.
Prepping for T20s
“The positive is that we’ve all been playing cricket. It’s not the off-season. We went to England when we hadn’t done any cricket. We’ve either been back here playing first-class cricket or in the IPL,” Wade added.
With a formidable top order comprising skipper Aaron Finch, David Warner, Steve Smith and Alex Carey, Wade, who last played an ODI back in October 2017, is gearing up for the T20s, starting December 4.
"For the one-dayers, it gives me a little bit of time to get my game to go in one-day cricket and T20 cricket," he said.
"I think an injury or a player gets rested then they know I'll come in at the top of the order. If 'Kezza' (wicketkeeper Carey) gets injured then I'll take the gloves off him for a game.
"That's about the only way in at the moment."
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