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Coached by former Australia Test captain, Australia A's tour of India concluded on October 5. Australia A's only win came in the second unofficial ODI which was a rain-hit encounter. Against a quality India A side boasting of a few regulars in international cricket, Australia A were often outclassed. Four of their players falling ill due to stomach infections did not help their cause either. But Paine chose to look at the positives of the tour. He understands the challenges of playing international cricket in India and hopes that the Australian team bears the fruits of it in 2027.
“International cricket is as hard as it gets and then you add these foreign conditions on top of it. It’s near on impossible to expect someone to come here for the first time and succeed straight away in a Test match. That’s why tours like this are so important. So far, this series has been a great success, and hopefully we’ll see the fruits of it in 2027,” Paine said as quoted by Sportstar.
Paine on challenges of playing in India
Paine said that playing on red clay wickets in Lucknow was a good experience for the batters. Also, it was a tough challenge for Australian pacers to bowl long spells in the heat they don’t often experience back home or in England.
“It’s been an excellent experience for this young group of Aussie cricketers to come and play in these extreme conditions,” Paine said. “The heat is something these guys don’t get to experience often. For a young group of guys to come and experience this, hopefully before they have to play in a Test match over here, you can’t put a price on it,” Paine said.
“We’ve been really lucky to have played on the red clay wickets [in Lucknow], which you don’t get in Australia. How dry they are, how much they spin, how much they bounce has been a real challenge for our batting group. And for our big quicks, just how hot it is bowling three or four-over spells and being absolutely spent is something you don’t experience in Australia or English conditions,” the former wicketkeeper-batter added.
Positives in batting department for Australia A
The big positive for Australia A in Tests was Josh Philippe and Sam Konstas scoring a century each. In the drawn encounter, Philippe took down India A bowling attack smashing an unbeaten 123 off just 87 balls. Konstas scored 109 in the first game of the tour as well, making his case for the Ashes spot.
In the One-Day series, Cooper Connolly and Mackenzie Harvey got some runs under his belt. Connolly will play in the three-ODI series against Shubman Gill's India at home, having retained his place after a fifer against South Africa.
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