Cricket Australia imports Indian soil to conquer spin demons
June 4, 2014 - 5:13PM
By CHLOE SALTAU
If Australia is to stay at No.1, it will have to get better at playing spin, and Cricket Australia is going to great lengths to make that happen.
It has an elaborate plan to import soil from India and deposit it in the middle of a Brisbane greyhound track to recreate a little piece of the subcontinent in the suburbs.
"Our toughest challenge the last few years has been having success away from home," said captain Michael Clarke, after picking up a bat at the new National Cricket Centre in Brisbane for the first time since he led Australia to a famous overseas victory over South Africa in March.
But the pitches in South Africa are similar to Australian ones and no one has forgotten the horror of last year's Test tour of India - the scene of a 4-0 thrashing and the ''homework'' scandal.
The next Test assignment is against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in October, when off-spinner Saeed Ajmal and friends will doubtless set out to expose old frailties.
"We didnt play well in India,'' Clarke said. "I dont know, but I am guessing the wickets in Dubai will be similar. I am guessing they will prepare wickets that spin and they will have two or three spinners in those teams.
"We have to find a way to get better. That is one of our great challenges as a Test team."
Team performance manager Pat Howard said CA was aiming to have subcontinent-style outdoor pitches near the NCC - at the adjacent dog track and Allan Border Field - installed by the end of the summer using Indian soil.
There is already a special surface designed to take spin in the state-of-the-art indoor nets at the NCC, where Phil Hughes practised his sweep shots on Wednesday.
But the outdoor pitches at Allan Border Field are too bouncy to prepare players for the conditions they encounter on the subcontinent, prompting CA to make a reconnaissance mission to Dubai 18 months ago.
Chairman of selectors Rod Marsh introduced different pitches at the Dubai-based ICC academy when he was head coach there several years ago.
"A third of all our matches are in the subcontinent, so you've got to be able to deal with it," said Howard.
"While we do practise here against spin ... we know it's not as real as being there. We're never going to make it exactly the same, but we're going to try to get as close as we can.
"Our domestic cricket does a wonderful job of preparing you to play in Australia, but the whole reason we play Australia A tours or send guys to the MRF [academy in India] or Sri Lanka, or teams come here, is to be able to deal with the global conditions you have to deal with. One of the great challenges is winning away.
"The subcontinent [pitch] idea has been around for a long time and were very much trying to make this a place where in the middle of winter guys can get themselves ready and prepared.
"Some players in our system are fantastic at using their feet and playing against spin, but our collective experience has got to get better."
Contracted players are attending a punishing fitness camp at the NCC, with a limited-overs tour of Zimbabwe to come before the Pakistan series, followed by a hectic summer that culminates with the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand.
An Australia A series will include games at Marrara Stadium in Darwin, which is lower and slower to prepare players for the UAE tour.
