Australia opener Joe Burns doesn't hate fielding at short-leg

Burns spoke ahead of final Test

Australian opener Joe Burns described fielding at short leg can be "painful and scary" but admitted he doesn't hate it. The 26-year-old was also disappointed with himself for not converting starts in challenging conditions.

Speaking about fielding at short leg, he said: "I don't hate it because I feel like I'm always in the game in the subcontinent. I feel like it's an important position. At times it is quite painful and scary. You can sometimes hear the ball fizzing past you. You can certainly feel it hit you when it does. Whenever you get scared you kind of just look at the badge on your helmet and it makes it all worthwhile.”

Burns was quick to add that every innings is "different" and doesn't want to make the same mistakes again.

"As a batter, you want to give yourself a chance to get in; it's always disappointing to get out early in your innings," he said. "Especially in these conditions, you know it's going to be tough to start. I guess that was the most frustrating thing about the second innings in Kandy - you know, when you do get a start you need to push on and make a game-changing score.

"That's probably been the most frustrating thing for me so far on the tour, having an opportunity there in Kandy to really go on with it, and not take that opportunity. Like I said, we don't make any excuses, we just try to learn as much as we can. I've learned a hell of a lot over the last four innings, and hopefully I'll take those lessons forward from here."

While the opener admitted that the players aren't used the kind of surfaces they in Sri Lanka back home, he wasn't ready to use that as an excuse.

"When you grow up, you learn a game, you play all your domestic cricket in Australia," Burns said. "Some guys are lucky enough to play in the IPL or in County cricket and you get a taste of different experiences.

"I guess the courage comes when you're asked to change your game in the cut-throat environment of the pressure-cooker that is international cricket. It does take courage. I think all our boys are doing that. The results probably don't show that so far.”

Burns was quick to add that there is plenty of "pride to play for" in the final Test. " We're two-nil down in a series. It's very frustrating at the moment. It's a tough spot to be in. I feel like we're doing everything we possibly can to turn it around.

“We’ve gone through a little bit of a tough time. But if we can turn it around and put in a good performance, it would be huge. I know all the boys are extremely motivated. We just have to trust that putting work into your game will get the results. You want to be a part of winning teams as a group but also as an individual to be putting in strong performances around the world.

"That is what drives us as individuals and as a team. That's why we're working so hard and trying to be really open-minded to develop game plans and skills that are going to allow us to have success for a long period of time as a group.”