Cricket Australia imports Indian soil to counter Pakistan spin attack

Michael Clarke

With Australia scheduled to play a two-Test series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates this October, in an attempt to improve on their 0-4 whitewash against India in their last visit to the subcontinent, Cricket Australia has decided to import Indian soil and use it to lay similar type pitches at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane.

It is done in an attempt to help the Australian players get used to dry wickets that are often dished out in the subcontinent.

Although the Australian cricket team has made its way back to the top position in both Tests and ODIs, they haven’t yet proved their credentials on turning decks. Michael Clarke’s men will be looking to set the record straight against one of the best spin attacks in the world, Pakistan, in their next tour.

CA General Manager (Team Performance) Pat Howard said, “A third of all our matches are in the subcontinent, so you've got to be able to deal with it. Whilst we do practise here against spin and there's the famous Matt Hayden stories about him working on it here (at Allan Border field), we know it's not as real as being there. We're never going to make it exactly the same but we're going to try to get as close as we can. Our domestic cricket does a wonderful job of preparing guys to play in Australia but the whole reason we play Australia A tours or send guys to the MRF (Pace Academy in Chennai) or Sri Lanka or teams come here is to be able to deal with the global conditions.”

He added, “One of the great challenges is winning away and that's why we're trying to get our guys used to playing in different conditions. The subcontinent (pitch) idea has been around for a long time and we're very much trying to make this (National Cricket Centre) a place where in the middle of winter guys can get themselves ready and prepared.”

Australia captain Michael Clarke said: “Good teams get to number one, great teams stay there. We didn't play well in India, I am guessing UAE pitches will be similar. I am guessing they will prepare tracks that spin and they will have two or three spinners in those teams. We have to find a way to get better. That is one of our great challenges as a Test team.”