Conversations and time in the middle will help potential Test partners Will Pucovski and Joe Burns gel

Conversations and time in the middle will help potential Test partners Will Pucovski and Joe Burns gel before the have to face India in Adelaide.

Will Pucovski is in the frame for a Test debut in Adelaide. Picture: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

A close relationship with Test captain Tim Paine and the presence of his Victorian coach Chris Rogers in Sydney have ensured Will Pucovski is preparing perfectly for a potential Test debut in Adelaide.

The 22-year-old Victorian batting dynamo did his best to get out of the “cricket bubble” following his twin double-hundreds in the Sheffield Shield which thrust him into Test contention.

Only what seems an unlikely recovery from injured opener David Warner could now prevent Pucovski patterning Joe Burns at the top of the Australian order against India in the first Test.

Back in training ahead of an Australia A clash with India A, in which Pucovski and Burns will bat together, the rookie said “understanding each other” would be the key to any Test success.

“Joe and I get along really well which is a good start. We haven’t batted together heaps, but that’s cricket,” Pucovski said.

“As long as you know how to bounce off each other and get each other going in the middle or know what each other require, that’s all that matters.

Will Pucovski is in a good place ahead of a likely baggy green debut. Picture: Daniel Kalisz/Getty Images

Joe Burns went to Byron Bay to refocus ahead of the Test series against India. Picture: Mark Brake/Getty Images

“Just understanding each other, what each other needs. You do go through stages where one player might be fatigues or struggling a bit in the middle and the other one tries to get them on track and vice versa.

“If you know how each other works, more on a human level, that makes a pretty good partnership.”

Chatting with Burns, fresh off a break, comfort with Paine and Rogers, a former Test opener, being in Sydney as part of the coaching staff and the “processes” the 22-year-old has established over the past 18 months has Pucovski primed to perform should he get his baggy green cap.

“I was pretty happy when I found out (Rogers) was coming up just because having that continuity is very helpful,” Pucovski said.

“We have only been working together for a few months, but we’ve worked out how to bounce off each other and how to work off each other. It’s very handy to have him up here.”

Pucovski and Paine, who often engage in exchanges on social media, also spent a lot of time chatting during training in Sydney on Friday.

It was just “general chitchat” but being close with the Test captain is another tick for Pucovski feeling comfortable in the national team.

“I get along really well with him,” Pucovski said.

David Warner’s injury has opened the door for a Burns-Pucovski partnership. Picture: David Gray / AFP

Pucovski said he didn’t get caught in the hype around a potential “bat-off” between he and Burns before Warner’s injury, and he wasn’t getting lost in the noise around his possible Test debut now.

He said the new reality didn’t change how he would go about things.

“I don’t think so. If you are in the 17-man squad you know you are pretty close (to playing),” he said.“

“It hasn’t really changed much. Selections and injury is one of those things out of my control.

“All I can do is prepare myself the best for if I play in Adelaide. If Dave gets up I don’t play.

“I am as mentally prepared as I can be.”

Burns said on Thursday that establishing a bond between openers – which he and Pucovski could do for Australia A – was vital to succeeding at the top of the order in Test cricket.

“Opening batters are always batting at the same time of the game against the same opposition, so you work really closely together on what your plans are,” he said.

“It‘s something me and Davey did really well, being able to understand the game and control the tempo of the game, realising how your games complement each other to apply pressure to the opposition.

“I haven’t had a chance to bat too often with Will … so games like the Australia A game and the lead-up to it, it‘s a crucial part of our preparation as a Test squad.

“For not only me and Will but for all the guys in the squad to gel together, make sure our plans are good and to take momentum of working together into that Test series.

“It‘s exciting. Will’s obviously in really good form, he’s earned his spot in the squad, and I’m just looking forward to getting to work with him and getting stuck in.”

Originally published as Conversations and time in the middle will help potential Test partners Will Pucovski and Joe Burns gel