India, England call off training amid cyclone chaos in Chennai
BRISBANE, Australia: Skipper pper Steve Smith says Australia’s pace attack will test the resolve of Pakistan batsmensmen with short-pitched bowling in Brisbane’s bane’s first ever day-night Test from Thursday.rsday.
Smith has yet to finalise his team and hasn’t ruled out playing with four pacemen at the expense of spinner Nathan Lyon, but he is promising mising the tourists a work-out on thee bouncy Gabba pitch.
With in-form quicks Mitchellchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood armed with the new ball, Smith said team strategiststegists had watched Pakistan’s recent series es in New Zealand where the tourists slumpedlumped to two hefty defeats.
“I think traditionally sub-continent -continent sides don’t handle the pace and nd bounce in Australian conditions,” Smith mith said on Wednesday, ahead of the three-Test series.
“So you need to try and find nd ways to exploit that as much as possibleble and at times I’m sure we’re going to see some short-pitched bowling to mess with their feet to find ways to get themhem out.
“New Zealand obviously y did a good job, so hopefully our bowlersowlers can replicate that.”
Smith was far more upbeat beat about Australia’s chances after stopping pping the rot of five straight Test defeats ats with a revamped team in Adelaide e late last month.
“It’s been a nice turnaround. nd. We’ve won four games on the trot (including three ODIs against New Zealand) ealand) as an Australian team now and hopefully we can keep that winning momentum going,” he said.
Pakistan also have fast bowling ammunition to return fire at the Gabba, led by Mohammad d Amir and Wahab Riaz. Smith pinpointed ointed Amir as a potential “handful”.
YASIR WARNING “He’s a quality bowler. He’s got some great skills. He bowlswls with really good pace and can an swing the ball,” he said.
“It’s great to have those sort t of gears and those skills so no doubt he could potentially be a handful if it’s swinging around.”
But Smith also warned Pakistan’s leg-spinner Yasir Shah to make sure his length was on the mark or the Australian batsmen would take to him.
Yasir has captured 116 wickets in just 20 Tests since his debut against Australia in Dubai two years ago.
“I guess the extra bounce can play in your favour as a spin bowler at the Gabba, but it can also play against you,” Smith said.
“Your length has to be spot on, generally there isn’t too much turn — it’s more bounce, so length is crucial. NEW DELHI: The England and Indian training sessions were cancelled on Wednesday owing to unfit ground conditions at the MA Chidambaram stadium in cyclone-battered Chennai which hosts the fifth and final Test from Friday.
Ten people were killed by Cyclone Vardah, the worst cyclonic storm to hit the tech hub in southern Tamil Nadu state in more than two decades. Trees and power supply lines were also uprooted when Vardah struck on Monday.
The Indian team management said the match would go ahead as scheduled while confirming that the practice session had been called off on Wednesday.
The pre-match press conferences and training would take place as scheduled on Thursday, it said.
The England team also said it had called off Wednesday’s practice session and would now have bowling and fielding drills on Thursday.
Kashi Viswanathan, the secretary of the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association, said the cyclone had damaged the sight screen and other stadium property.
“The sight screen has been badly damaged, the bulbs of the floodlights blown off, a number of air-conditioners also got damaged,” he told the Press Trust of India (PTI) news agency on Tuesday.
“The assuring part is that the pitch and the outfield has not been affected by the cyclone,” he said.
Viswanathan also said three stands at the ground will be closed for the Test match due to a long-running dispute with the Chennai city council which has “And if you’re slightly off your length, you can really cash in down the wicket and square of the wicket as well.” Smith added that r rookie opener Matt Ren Renshaw, who made his Test debut against South AfricaAf in Adelaide this month, was adapting to his new environment. “He’s comingco out of his shell in the lastlas couple of days. I was impressed with the way he played last week an and been impressed with the way that he trains. “He’s got bea beautiful hands in the slips cordon, the practicepra that we’ve done and the way tha that the ball goes into his hands is beautiful.beautifu “I’ve been rea really impressed with that and hopefully he can have a really nice week at his home ground.” Gabba curator Kevin Mitchell said he would be surpris surprised if the first pink-ball Test in Brisbane l lasted five days. “I think prob probably bat first, given the conditions,” Mitc Mitchell said. refused to issue safety certificates.
India, the world number one Test side, have already clinched the five-Test series 3-0 after an innings and 36-run victory in the fourth Test in Mumbai this week. The first Test at Rajkot had ended in a draw.