While their limited-overs teams had a fruitful tour of Sri Lanka to reiterate a growing sense of adaptability, Australia’s Test side find themselves trying to pick up the pieces after suffering a third consecutive series whitewash on Asian soil. Keen to address the difference in fortunes, head coach Darren Lehmann has expressed readiness to consider white-ball form ahead of a grueling Test tour to India next year.
Speaking to cricket.com.au, the 46-year old highlighted the need to revamp their thought-process if they are to overturn a sequence of disastrous performances in the subcontinent.
Lehmann felt, “The way (the limited-overs team) played has been exceptional. That's all you can do, put your name up in lights (from) the way you play in the one-day format. All performances for Australia count and that's really important. We thought the side we selected for the Test series (in Sri Lanka) was right (based) on form and the previous matches we played.”
He added, “Obviously we didn't play as well as we would've liked (in the Tests) and some of the guys struggled with the conditions here and that's understandable, that happens sometimes. Those one-day guys have come in and they've performed really well and that's impressive. And that's all you can do when you're looking to another tour in February of India, for example, looking at the whole squad and what we take there.”
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Some of the beneficiaries from Lehmann’s updated mindset might be the likes of George Bailey, Glenn Maxwell and Adam Zampa. While the first two have a few Test caps to their names, the leg-spinner is yet to taste the sport’s traditional format.
Zampa, in particular, could be in contention after Australia's premier red-ball spinners have flattered to deceive time and again in Asia. Interestingly, Maxwell was tried as an all-rounder on turning tracks during their previous tour to India as well as the UAE. On the other hand, George Bailey’s five Test caps in the 2013/14 Ashes came on the back of prolific run-scoring in the 50-overs format.
Alluding to Bailey’s case, Lehmann noted, “We've certainly done that before when George Bailey played really well in India and got picked in the Ashes home series a few years back. We've got a pretty important home summer as well, so we'll have a look at those over the next few weeks.”
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