Much like the men from the subcontinent trying to adapt to the swing and pace Down Under, the Australians talked about the slow wickets in India and about setting a plan to vary their bowling according to the conditions.
Read: >Smith: We want to win every tournament
“It will be a lot different from bowling in Australia where there is a lot more 'carry'. The length will have to be different and we will have to bowl a lot more at the stumps,” said >John Hastings , who opens the bowling for Australia. Adaptability to the conditions is what the Australians are giving top priority especially as the team has not played many Twenty20s lately.
“I think we could really play more T20 matches leading up to big tournaments like these, if we really want to win them,” >Josh Hazlewood backed the view of his senior new ball partner.
“What we are offered here are different conditions in different grounds. And we have to pick our eleven based on the conditions. In these conditions, we pacers will probably have to play a defensive role while the spinners attack,” Hazlewood said about his role.
Zampa's emergence
The Australian pacer also said that the spin department has really gained from the addition of a bowler of the calibre of the legspinner Adam Zampa. “Our spinners, particularly Zampa was unbelievable in the way he made his debut in South Africa (earlier this month). The way he was bowling against batsmen like (David) Miller and (AB) de Villiers showed a great lot of his confidence and skills,” Hazlewood tried to draw strength from Zamba’s ability.
Hastings said the main challenge for the pacers will be limiting the shot playing ability of the big-hitters like Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma and M. S. Dhoni. “They are such fantastic players and can hit the ball to any part of the ground they want. As a bowler, the hardest thing is to eliminate some of those shots. So, I try to keep it simple - hit a particular area on the pitch and make subtle variations,” Hastings set out the course for the quickies in the tournament.
>Mitchell Marsh , who generally follows the Hastings and Hazlewood in the bowling attack, said keeping the variations is very important. “Variations in bowling are very important and you need to mix things up bowl slower deliveries. As a bowler I will look to work on that area of my game and hope to contribute with the ball. The great thing about our side is we have got so many options with seven guys who can bowl. So, captain Smith has lot of variation in his hand,” Marsh said about his all-round role in the team.
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