“Our toughest challenge the last few years has been having success away from home”

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

In order to get prepared for their tour of the United Arab Emirates in October, where they will play Pakistan, Cricket Australia have announced that they are planning to import soil from India.

This will allow the board to install subcontinent style pitches at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane.

The reason for this stems from the fact that Australia have only won one of the last 13 Tests they have played in the subcontinent.

“Our toughest challenge the last few years has been having success away from home,” Australia captain Michael Clarke said. “We didn’t play well in India. I don’t know, but I am guessing the wickets in Dubai will be similar.

“I am guessing they will prepare wickets that spin and they will have two or three spinners in those teams. We have to find a way to get better. That is one of our great challenges as a Test team.”

Cricket Australia’s general manager of team performance Pat Howard revealed that the subcontinent pitches will not be installed by October, but he hopes it will be completed by the end of the Australian summer.

“A third of all our matches are in the subcontinent, so you’ve got to be able to deal with it,” Howard said. “While we do practise here against spin…we know it’s not as real as being there. We’re never going to make it exactly the same, but we’re going to try to get as close as we can.

“The subcontinent [pitch] idea has been around for a long time and we’re very much trying to make this a place where in the middle of winter guys can get themselves ready and prepared. Some players in our system are fantastic at using their feet and playing against spin, but our collective experience has got to get better.”