“Missed A Trick”: Australia’s Preparation For India Tour Under The Microscope

Did Australia ‘miss a trick’ with their preparation for the India tour by not playing a tour game between the Big Bash and the Test series?

AUSTRALIA’S ‘PREPARATION DEBATE’:

Australia slumped to trail the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2-0, with India winning by six wickets in Delhi.

So Brad Haddin and Ben Horne debated whether Australia even had the right idea with their preparation on Willow Talk.

Haddin said the preparation in India wasn’t necessary, recalling touring under Darren Lehmann during his career.

“(In) Pakistan (tour) they didn’t play a tour game, and they did well,” he recalled.

“Sometimes in a tour game (in India) you get four medium pacers, a green wicket and you get nothing like the Test match.”

But Horne suggested the lead-in from the Big Bash was less okay.

“I imagine coming out of T20 cricket straight into Test cricket is difficult, particularly when you add in the extremity of the conditions in the subcontinent,” Horne said.

“Also just the tiredness of the players, like David Warner said it before he flew over that he was exhausted.

“If that was the feeling of a few players then maybe they missed a trick by not resting the players during the Big Bash.”

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