Seamer Moises Henriques says banging the ball into a lifeless Chennai pitch will be an energy-sapping experience but Australia are determined to focus on pace in a bid to win the first Test.
Australia made the surprise move on Wednesday of announcing their side two days before the four-Test series against India starts.
Henriques was named to make his debut in the vital allrounder’s role ahead of uncapped Victoria offspinner Glenn Maxwell.
Australia will gamble on Henriques’ brand of reverse-swing bowling to complement frontline quicks Mitchell Starc, Peter Siddle and James Pattinson and the offspin of Nathan Lyon.
India in contrast are likely to pick four spinners on a grass-less Chidambaram Stadium pitch.
“The exhaustion and the energy it takes out of the bowlers to keep repeating those types of things (is a factor in short-pitched bowling),” Henriques says.
“We’ve got some pretty fit bowlers. That’s the strength of this side.
“With James Pattinson and Mitch Starc and Peter Siddle, there’s three very fiery quicks there.
“That’s the Australian team’s strength and we have to play to that strength.
“We do have a couple of part-time spin options there (left-armer Michael Clarke and legspinner David Warner).
“Going in with the three quicks and myself, we play to our strengths.
“The quicks are going to be the ones who are looked upon to take the wickets.”
Henriques says the hard-working Siddle is an inspiration to his teammates.
“He’ll run in for you all day. It rubs off on everyone else,” Henriques said.
Henriques is also drawing inspiration from teammate Shane Watson, a star allrounder who will be playing in the series against India as a batsman only because of injury problems.
“When I was younger I was a bit more of a tearaway,”said Henriques, 26.
“Having suffered a lot of injuries growing up, I had to adapt and change the way I bowled because my body just couldn’t handle that.
“I certainly bowl a lot more within myself now and try to challenge the batsmen with my consistent lengths and hopefully get some movement with some reverse-swing.
“That’s something that Shane does very well. His length is impeccable. He bowls very good with an old ball as well.”
Skipper Clarke has overcome a hamstring complaint while opener Warner will play despite not having fully recovered from a fractured thumb.
Australia team: Michael Clarke (capt), Ed Cowan, David Warner, Phil Hughes, Shane Watson, Matthew Wade, Moises Henriques, Peter Siddle, Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell (12th man).
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.
Through electric bowling, dashing batting and acrobatic fielding the West Indies made themselves one of the most popular teams throughout history.
After posting 92 with the bat, the RCB star was having an equally brilliant day in the field.
The RCB opener posted a man-of-the-match 92 off 47, as his side defeated Punjab Kings by 60 runs.
The opener scored a man-of-the-match 89 off 30, in the 10-wicket win against Lucknow Super Giants that came off just 9.4 overs.
Nathan Lyon believes Australia would have won the 2023 Ashes series 4-0 if he hadn't broken down with injury. But the veteran spinner says…
The recent announcement of Australia’s T20 World Cup squad took me back to the 1983 ODI World Cup campaign - one of our great…
