Australia will begin their first overseas Test tour in little over two-and-a-half years when they take on Pakistan from March 4th in the first Test in Rawalpindi. This is Australia’s first tour of the Asian country since 1998, although Pakistan has hosted Australia in the UAE in the past two decades. The Aussies will have a tough task on hand against a rejuvenated Pakistan side, which has seen the rise of new stars and talented cricketers over the past couple of years and are once again a force to reckon with across all formats under the able leadership of star batter Babar Azam.
Australian captain Pat Cummins spoke to the media before leaving for the tour and touched upon the big factor that the Aussies might have to contend with, reverse swing.
“I’m not sure it’s a competitive advantage, but it’s a reality of playing over there,” Cummins said.
“A lot of the time the ball just reverse swings, and we didn’t really experience it this summer with grassy wickets and short games whereas over there it can be a real weapon.
“So we’re just trying to upskill that.
“We haven’t bowled a lot of reverse swing in the last year or so, but it’s a huge factor going to the subcontinent,” the Australian Test captain added.
The Aussies have a tight schedule on the tour but Cummins feels the team will be fresh and will be able to do well if they can replicate similar playing conditions to Pakistan, during their practice sessions before leaving for the tour.
“Normally you fly in, and you have a couple of weeks in a place, which has its pros but it also has its cons,” Cummins said.
“I think here, being able to spend a bit more time in Australia, we’ll be able to fly in, we’ll be fresh and if we can replicate similar conditions to what we might expect over there, we can literally land and in a couple of days we’ll be up to speed for the Test match.
“We had a spin-bowling net today (at the MCG), and we practiced a lot of reverse-swing bowling which can come into it over there in Pakistan.
“The way you’ve got to play spin and face reverse-swing bowling, it can be quite different to what you might experience in a traditional Australian summer.
“It’s a bit of fun as well.
“We’re seeing new things and trying new things, so it adds an extra element to training,” Cummins signed off.
