“The answer is no" - Andrew McDonald on whether coach Daniel Vettori's absence due to IPL auction affected their preparations for 1st BGT 2024-25 Test
Australia's head coach Andrew McDonald denied that Daniel Vettori's absence affected their preparations for the first Test against India at the Optus Stadium in Perth. The former Australian all-rounder admitted that the hosts are massively behind in the game and have some problems to solve if they are to win the series.
Australia finished the second consecutive day on the backfoot as the tourists assumed complete control of the opening Test in Perth. The hosts scraped to 104 in their first innings after finding themselves teetering at 67-7 overnight. With the ball, Australia were a tad unlucky not to find even a single breakthrough as India romped to a 218-run lead.
Speaking to the media, McDonald revealed that Vettori is still connected with them. While he feels the pitch has changed significantly, McDonald equally credited Yashasvi Jaiswal and KL Rahul for batting well.
As quoted by The Age, the 43-year-old claimed:
"He [Vettori] is still connected with us. A lot of pre-planning, prep work gone in. The answer is no [it didn’t make a difference], he’s got some commitments elsewhere. I think the wicket’s changed considerably. The seam and swing was down compared to yesterday. I thought KL and Jaiswal played extremely well. The morale is always good. It’s a pretty level team. We’ve got some problems to solve. There’s no doubt we’re clearly well behind the game at this stage. India are in the driver’s seat."
The Australian pace trio tried their best to create a chance on day two. Usman Khawaja had dropped a tough chance off Yashasvi Jaiswal as Mitchell Starc was denied a wicket. Vettori, meanwhile, had to be present for the IPL auction as the coach of the SunRisers Hyderabad, but will be present for the remaining Tests.
"We may have been a fraction short" - Andrew McDonald
Reflecting on their bowling plans, McDonald felt they didn't do anything that differently from the opening day, explaining, as quoted by ESPN Cricinfo:
"In terms of the way that we bowled, I don't think was too dissimilar [to yesterday]. Potentially, early on, we may have been a fraction short if I was to be critical, but I thought they went about their work well. We thought there may have been a little bit more there. I suppose, if you want to say that we're a little bit surprised, yeah, there wasn't as much seam movement or swing, and I think the bowlers were presenting the same in a similar fashion to the way they were yesterday."
Australia already face a daunting task ahead of their second innings in Perth.