Australia batting duo handed shining duties for India series
Slips fielders Usman Khawaja and Aaron Finch have emerged as possible candidates to be in charge of the ball management against India … simply because they don’t sweat.
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Australia insist they won’t be sweating over their treatment of the ball this summer in their first Test on home soil since sandpapergate.
‘Ball management’ is something no one took much notice of in international cricket before Cameron Bancroft was infamously caught red-handed in Cape Town.
There were plenty of sweaty palms in Australian cricket that day and in the months since, but Josh Hazlewood has declared the shining of the ball will be a perspiration-free zone this summer.
Slips fielders Usman Khawaja and Aaron Finch have emerged as possible candidates to be in charge of the ball management against India … simply because they don’t sweat.
“To be honest the people who shine the ball are the ones who don’t sweat, it’s as simple as that,” Hazlewood said.
“The bowlers sweat a lot when they bowl and you don’t want it getting wet, you want to keep it dry and shine it.
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“It’s two guys who don’t sweat, simple as that.”
That said, Hazlewood can’t see reverse swing being a major factor in this first Test in Adelaide like it was in South Africa earlier this year and in the UAE more recently.
For the first time in several years the Adelaide Test has reverted to a daytime contest and turning the lights off is likely to take the art of reverse swing out of the equation.
“It’s pretty common sense … this ground and Perth are not ideal for reverse swing so it’s more normal seam and swing,” Hazlewood said.
“I don’t think it’s going to play a massive part in this game.”
Australian cricket has been under a glaring spotlight since the South African disaster but with precious little match play to change the focus.
Although the Aussies have played overseas in England, Zimbabwe and the UAE since Justin Langer took over, this is the first time the nation will be watching.
Hazlewood said the team is at ease with that expectation.
“I don’t feel extra pressure. I feel a lot of extra excitement,” said Hazlewood.
“There’s potentially a debutant. It’s always good to have that around the group.
“It’s the excitement of the Australian summer coming around again. There’s nothing better than playing Test cricket in Australia.
“Excitement is (the main feeling). We’ve got a couple of days’ training to finetune a few things.”
The potential debutant Marcus Harris faced a stern examination from Hazlewood and the Australian quicks in the nets.
Australia are yet to make a decision over who will play out of Harris and Peter Handscomb.
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