"I think that is going to be significant" - Michael Clarke baffled at no practice matches for Australia before Test series in India
Former Australian captain Michael Clarke has questioned the lack of warm-up games for the visitors ahead of their four-Test tour of India. The 41-year-old highlighted that batting in India is highly different to batting in Australia as spin and reverse swing will play a significant role.
Earlier, Australia head coach Andrew McDonald acknowledged they were okay with playing no warm-up games on the India tour. Veteran batters Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith also concurred with McDonald on the same.
Smith even recalled how the curators served up a green top for a practice match ahead of the 2017 series and a spinning track for the first Test.
Australia captain Pat Cummins believes his side is as ready as they'll ever be as they prepare to embark on a career-defining tour of India next month #INDvAUS | @ARamseyCricket
Speaking on "Big Sports Breakfast" on Tuesday, Michael Clarke stated that practice matches were vital to get acclimatized to the Indian conditions. The 115-Test veteran predicted that India will play at least two spinners in the series and that the series will be challenging for the Aussie batters.
"That’s the part I don’t understand. The no tour game before the first Test in India," Clarke said.
"I hope I’m proven wrong but I think that is going to be significant. Batting in those conditions in one-day cricket and T20 cricket is one thing, batting in Indian conditions in Test cricket it is a completely different game."
He went on to add:
"You need a completely different plan to what you have playing in Australia, the way you start your innings against spin bowling, the way you play reverse swing, through the Australian summer we didn’t see any reverse swing, the games were over in two, three days."
"So reverse swing is going to play a big part (in India), all these batters that walk out and play bowlers bowling 130-140ks – there’s every chance India is going to play at least two spinners, so it’s a completely different game."
Clarke enjoyed success in India from the outset, scoring a classy 151 on his Test debut in Bangalore on the 2004-05 tour. The right-hander averaged 40.50 in 13 Tests in India with three centuries.
"If you haven’t grown up playing in those conditions, man, it's extremely difficult" - Michael Clarke warns Australia's batters ahead of India series
Michael Clarke added that Australia's batters must start well and go on to score big, though he indicated that it was easier said than done. Clarke also stated that natural variations can make survival a real struggle and said:
"You need to bat in the best possible conditions in India because after that, if you haven’t grown up playing in those conditions, man, it’s extremely difficult to start your innings.
"And if you get in you need to go on and make a big score because your first 20 runs in India in second innings, whoa, a ball that you go forward to and block in Australia easily against spin, over there can roll along the ground, can bounce and take your glove.
"You can go to block it outside off and it bowls you leg stump, natural variation over there is massive."
An 18-player Test squad has been assembled for the Qantas Tour of India in February and March.
Congratulations to everyone selected! https://t.co/3fmCci4d9b
Australia haven't won a Test series on Indian soil since 2004 and will be looking to achieve it when the Border-Gavaskar Trophy starts on February 9 in Nagpur.