Australia set to unveil new opening act

Australia is refusing to reveal if Will Pucovski will make his debut as patrons learn they must wear a mask to SCG

Will Pucovski is set to be unveiled as Australia’s latest Test debutant on Thursday morning Picture: AFP

Selectors have kept a mask on the face of the Australian cricket team until the toss, but David Warner is due to return as opener and only indisposition (his) or madness (selectors’) can keep Will Pucovski from making his debut with the side.

While Warner is not completely recovered from a series of tears to his groin, he has trained through gritted teeth and is insistent that nothing short of a leg falling off will keep him from taking the field.

India, meanwhile, looks certain to include Rohit Sharma at the cost of Mayank Agarwal in the opening position and Navdeep Saini in place of the injured Umesh Yadav.

The veteran opener gave the 22-year-old Pucovski throwdowns in the nets on Wednesday in what was an unusually popular pre-match training session.

Tim Paine admitted on Wednesday that the SCG match shaped as one of the most important the team has played under his tenure.

Usually only a few keen batsmen show up on the day before a Test, but the Australians are determined to put in a better performance after struggling with the bat in the series and allowing India to draw level with a win in Melbourne.

In 2018-19 Tim Paine’s men had the excuse of missing both Warner and Steve Smith when they handed India the Border Gavaskar trophy for the first time on home soil.

The traumatised side had yet to climb back towards the top of the world rankings as it has done since.

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The 2020-21 side may have been missing Warner — maybe more disconcerted by that fact than it wishes to admit — but losing at home to the Indians for the second consecutive time would be an embarrassment.

Paine, who himself has been engaging in extra training sessions with Smith and Marnus Labuschagne in an attempt to overcome the stranglehold Ravi Ashwin has over his batsmen, dismisses any concerns about what losing anther series to India at home would have on his record.

“It’s disappointing that we lost that last series,” the captain said.

“Regardless of the team we had in, but we’re not looking any further ahead than this Test.

“This Test is the most important Test we’ve played in a long time and that’s the way we’re treating it.

“The series is up for grabs still and we want to win it, but my record as captain and where I’ve lost and won is irrelevant.

“Our main focus is on this Test match, righting a few wrongs from the first two Tests.

“We won convincingly in Adelaide but apart from an hour of magical bowling from our quicks, we were pretty ordinary in that Test as well.

“We know we need to improve, we know where we need to improve and we’re excited to do it. That’s all we are focused on.”

Paine could not, however, contain himself from a slight dig at the Indians who have been sending out anonymous complaints about biosecurity.

The visitors are annoyed that they have been subject to tighter conditions in Sydney and Brisbane and threatened to refuse to go to Queensland if it meant being confined to rooms.

The visitors say it is unfair that they get to perform during the day at venues then are locked down again when most of the people they perform for are free to do as they choose.

Paine denied it was frustrating for his side to have the visitors throwing the schedule into doubt and had a little chip at his opponents.

“I’d just say a bit of uncertainty because when you hear things like that coming — particularly from India, who we know hold a lot of power in world cricket,” he said.

“It’s likely that it could happen, so for us we just want to be really clear on this Test match.

“We know the protocols. We know what is expected of us.

“We‘re going to focus on that this week then whatever happens next week, happens and we’ll adapt to it, but we’re not too fussed.

“We’re not buying into where the Test is being played.

“As far as we’re aware it is at the Gabba, but as I said in the team meeting the other day — we couldn’t care less — if you rang us up and said it’s in Mumbai tomorrow, we’d get on a plane and play it.

“That’s the way we are looking at it.”

It may as well be Mumbai for residents of an expanding list of Sydney suburbs and towns who have been told they face a $1000 fine for even attempting to attend the Test.

The pitfalls inherent from a day at the cricket in such times were highlighted on Wednesday when people who were in zone five of the Great Southern Stand at the MCG on December 27 were told to test and isolate.

Authorities said a 30-year-old man who was in that area that day tested positive on January 5.