- Commissioner’s statement on Ventura, Marte
- Ronnie O’Sullivan: Masters champion ‘felt so vulnerable’ in final
- Arron Fletcher Wins 2017 WSOP International Circuit Marrakech Main Event ($140,224)
- Smith challenges Warner to go big in India
- Moncada No. 1 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Braves land 2 on MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- Kingery makes MLB Pipeline’s Top 10 2B Prospects list
- New Zealand wrap up 2-0 after Bangladesh implosion
- Mathews, Pradeep, Gunathilaka to return to Sri Lanka
- Elliott hopes for rain for Poli
Familiarity in Asia not helping – Sutherland
- Updated: August 23, 2016
James Sutherland, Cricket Australia CEO, wants to know why Australia’s Test team performed so poorly in the recent Sri Lanka series despite spending more time in Asia than just about any generation of cricketers before them.
In a pointer to the lines of enquiry to be pursued following the 3-0 defeat to an unfancied opponent that cost Australia the No. 1 Test ranking, Sutherland said he was somewhat mystified as to why ever more frequent visits to India in particular had not translated into better displays in the region. The loss of the third Test in Colombo meant Australia have now lost nine Tests in Asia in a row over three series.
“If you have a look going back in time over recent years, some of our Test cricketers are playing more in India than they’ve ever played before,” Sutherland said in Melbourne. “They’re used to subcontinental conditions through their experiences in the IPL and on other tours representing Australia. These are conditions we are more familiar with perhaps than we have been in decades gone by, and it comes back to the ability to adapt. That’s something I’ll be interested to hear more about.
“It’s probably a whole lot of different things. The critical thing is adaptability to conditions and that’s what we ought to understand better. Clearly conditions here are very different to England, which are very different to what we see on the subcontinent, and to be the best team in the world, to be the No. 1 team, you need to be able to win away, and that’s what we’re about.”
In reflecting on the conditions faced by the players, Sutherland said little more could be done in terms of pre-tour preparation, and also expressed the view that the pitches encountered at Pallekele, Galle and Colombo were more or less as had been expected. “We’re certainly disappointed with the performances of the team in this Sri Lankan series and the review will tell us more but I don’t think we can complain in terms of the preparation we had over there in Sri …
continue reading in source www.espncricinfo.com
