Key all-rounder Cameron Green has surprised team management with his recovery from a broken finger, while David Warner has been quietly plotting his own Indian uprising, as Australia prepare for the first Test of a heavyweight series, beginning on Thursday.
Green has not played since he was hurt batting during the Boxing Day Test against South Africa, but coach Andrew McDonald said on Saturday that he had made “significant” progress over the past couple of days.
Skipper Pat Cummins had said on Thursday that Green will not bowl in the Test should he play, but McDonald rejected suggestions Green had been in discomfort when bowling, saying Green had shown enough – at least with the bat – during the team’s pre-series camp in Bengaluru to prove he was now an outside chance to take his spot in the XI.
Pat Cummins hopes to become the first Australian captain to win a Test series in India since Adam Gilchrist stood in for Ricky Ponting in 2004.Credit:Getty Images
“We haven’t put a clear line through him or haven’t put a clear line on the team sheet. So, I wouldn’t say he was in discomfort when he was bowling,” McDonald said.
“I would say one of the deliveries jarred the bottom of the bat and that can create discomfort for anyone, but there is a little bit of awareness around that finger. He has made some significant steps forward in the last couple of days, probably to my surprise.
“So, there is still an outside chance, everything going well, he might be on the team sheet.”
Green shapes as a key figure in the tourists’ blueprint to become the first Australian side since 2004 to claim the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in India. His fast-bowling skills mean he can be the third seamer, while allowing the Australians to field two specialist spinners.
Nathan Lyon will be one, but just who partners this country’s greatest off-spinner of all time has yet to be determined. Left-arm finger spinner Ashton Agar, leg-spinner Mitch Swepson and uncapped offie Todd Murphy have been pressing hard.
“The good thing is, someone like Ashton Agar was in our last team (against South Africa), Mitchell Swepson played in our last two overseas tours, so there is a bit of experience there, and Todd Murphy has played a lot of first-class leading here,” Cummins said.
“We feel we have a lot of support around Nathan Lyon. Again, these four days have been really important, and we had a bit of a spinning camp before we got on the plane.”
Cummins on Saturday again backed his fast bowlers to do the job, whether that be as attacking weapons, or locking down batsmen in a more selfless role while others probed.
Warner, 36, spoke of exhaustion before leaving local shores, having had a demanding home summer of international cricket and a lucrative return to the Big Bash League.
The robust opener has been given time off early on the tour, but has been dissecting how best he can rectify a poor record in India, where he has averaged only 24.25 in eight Tests, without a century. His top score is 71.
“I haven’t noticed any fatigue in David Warner since I got here,” McDonald said.
“I would probably dispel that as a bit of a myth. He has had a couple of days off … he has been there (at training) for one of the two days, and he is not there today.
“We are managing each individual coming in around their specific preparation and where they have been and there is no doubt it was a demanding summer into BBL, and it creates a challenge back into Test match cricket. But we feel the preparation we have him on he will be recharged and ready to go. It has been well documented he hasn’t had the series that he would like. It’s always challenging.
“But I think the way he is applying himself in his downtime to really land on a method to take on the Indian spinners and also the quicks and to have a successful tour, I think you will see him fully invigorated and invested and fully charged for the challenge ahead.”
The tourists will train again on Sunday, and leave for Nagpur on Monday.
