No excuses’ in India

Vice-captain says Australia’s batsmen need to stand up in India, says he’s excited by pre-tour camp in Dubai

David Warner says Australia will have “no excuses” when they head to India in February, adding the tourists can take some heart from England’s recent series against the world’s No.1 Test side.

The Australians are in high spirits having won their past four Tests matches, but will head to India next month having lost nine consecutive Tests in Asia and with just one series win there since the late 1960s

.Only adding to the magnitude of the task facing Australia is the fact that Virat Kohli’s side are unbeaten in their past 19 Tests at home and recently completed a 4-0 series win over England, including two victories by an innings.

But Warner said the fact that England were able to show some fight with the bat during their recent series – they posted 400 or more in three of the five Tests – gave the Australians some confidence.

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“We just saw the recent series with England and to be brutally honest they played very well,” Warner told cricket.com.au during a promotional shoot for the MILO Champ Band.

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“They batted deep, they got big runs on the board. India just got bigger runs on the board.
“So for us as a team to take some positives out of that … the challenge is to try and bat longer periods.

“We’re going to have to take 20 wickets to win the game, simple as that, and we’re going to have to adapt straight away. No excuses.

“Whether it’s batting or bowling and taking catches in the field, we’ve got to be on from ball one and have a plan B if plan A doesn’t work.”

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Australia will take the unusual step of holding a pre-tour training camp in Dubai as they seek to win their first series win in Asia since 2011.

Australia’s preparations for their Test series against Sri Lanka last year weren’t helped when the pitch used for the pre-series practice match had a thick cover of grass, while those used for the Tests themselves heavily favoured spin bowling.

But this time, the Aussies will get a heavy taste of spinning conditions before they head to India for a warm-up match in Mumbai and then the first Test in Pune from February 23.

“The preparation there is going to be fantastic,” Warner said.

“The wickets are going to be very similar to what we’ll face. We’re very grateful for that to happen.

“That’s the best way for us … to get over there and get ready for India.”

Reflecting on the 3-0 series win over Pakistan, Warner said the ability of Australia’s batsmen to stand up was the key to them bouncing back from their series defeat to South Africa.

Having not posted a century between them in the first two Tests of the summer, Australia’s top five contributed eight three-figure scores in the four Tests that followed, which all resulted in victories.

“Losing the Test series on home soil is probably the kick up the backside … we got handed to us and we needed to bounce back from that,” he said.

“The Australian fans were not happy with us and what we were doing. We know as a team we weren’t good enough.

“The batters took more of the responsibility, which we should have, and we’ve bounced back.

“There was a lot of talk about them coming here and their spearhead quicks knocking our top order over and it was going to be easy for them. That was the talk in the media.

“I’m just glad we turned up and played the best cricket that we could.”