Australia coach Darren Lehmann wants variety in domestic pitches
Australian coach Darren Lehmann believes that the domestic pitches have had an adverse effect on Australian batsmen's ability to adapt. He also called for domestic pitches to go back to where they were and agreed with captain Steven Smith's assessment that selectors need to choose players based on conditions.
"I think we have said for a while that we would like the Shield wickets to go back a little bit in time where they are all different," Lehmann said. "You had Perth which was grassy and bouncy and went through and swung, and Brisbane seamed and Adelaide reversed and spun and Sydney spun from day one."
The recent trend of drop-in pitches have meant that domestic pitches in Australia have lost their traditional qualities.
"All those things we would love to see happen, but the problem we've got now is we've got drop-ins at a couple of grounds, so it's hard to do," he added. "You would love that to be the case but you are living in a different world and so it's a bit harder.
"In terms of Test wickets, whatever we get we'll trust the curators to do the best they can. I think you see it has been pretty fair in Australia for a couple of years but there is no reason it can't improve either."
Lehmann also spoke about the need to change and how the batsmen are already trying to incorporate that, as was evident from Adam Voges' attempt to repeatedly reverse sweep the spinners.
Speaking of Voges' innings, he said: "We have had those discussions already. It's probably him going 'I have to change', thinking he can play a certain way, and change in other ways. So, that's learning the game, isn't it, and trying to adapt. But being proactive is the key to having good success in the subcontinent, not being reactive."
Australian coach agrees with captain
While the Australian coach was quick to agree with the captain's claim that selectors need to choose batsmen based on conditions, he added that no member of the team in Sri Lanka didn't deserve their place after previous performances.
"Totally agree," Lehmann said of Smith's suggestion. "The interesting thing, though, if you have a look at our summer and the way our batters played, if we didn't take any of those batters, how would we be viewed in the press? It's always tough. We haven't had the success, now we have to look outside the square."
Speaking about the possibility of Shaun Marsh appearing in the final Test, he said: "Everyone in the squad will be considered, that's what happens when you don't have the results you would like, we will need to have a look at the wicket, sum it up and go from there."