Australia A end India tour with defeat as Pakistan Test squad proves to be unwelcome distraction

THE largest stuff up by Australia Test selectors wasn’t who they picked for the two-Test series against Pakistan in the UAE next month but how they did it as this stunning admission reveals.

Travis Head was among the runs as he warmed up for Pakistan tour.

TRAVIS Head admitted Australia A had been distracted by the announcement of the Pakistan Test squad as they succumbed to a six-wicket defeat to India A in the final four-day game in Bengaluru.

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Cricket Australia named a 15-man squad for next month’s two-Test series in the UAE at the lunch break on the final day of the match in India, with the tourists fighting hard to save the match.

Head - who was one of nine Australia A players named in the Test squad and was batting at the time - said it had been hard “adjusting to the news”.

“It was difficult to make sure I was adjusted (to the news), to make sure I went out and continued to bat and play the game and try to get the result that we wanted for today,” he said.

Peter Hanscomb (56) and Head (47) fought hard in partnership that gave the match a semblance of a contest but once they departed only captain Mitch Marsh (36) and Michael Neser (17) made double figures.

Travis Head was among the runs as he warmed up for Pakistan tour.

India A’s spinners Krishnappa Gowtham (3-39), Kuldeep Yadav (3-46) and Shahbaz Nadeem (2-67) combined to knock over the visitors for 213, leaving the hosts a chase of just 54 runs.

But they soon found themselves reeling at 4-25 as Chris Tremain and Michael Neser took two wickets apiece.

But Ankit Bawne stepped up to hit 28 off 18 balls and guide his team to victory.

Head was optimistic about the draw and the tour as a whole for the Aussies.

“We were really close to holding out today in some difficult conditions. I thought we had some good plans, some blokes batted really, really well. We probably just missed the trick with someone going and batting a bit longer and saving the game,” he said.

“I think all in all we’ve had a really, really good tour, disappointing not to win the series over here, I know coming over here that was the aim - to win games of cricket - but it’s really positive.”

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Originally published as Australia A end India tour with defeat as Pakistan Test squad proves to be unwelcome distraction