Australia struggled against spin during their tour of India last year

Image courtesy of: ESPNcricinfo

Australia will start training on spin-friendly pitches at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane in preparation for their upcoming tour of the United Arab Emirates, where they will play Pakistan next month.

The move comes after Cricket Australia have yet to put their plans of importing Indian soil into effect.

“The artificial base and the bounce is a lot different to what we get in Australia,” Pat Howard, Cricket Australia’s general manager of high performance, told the Courier-Mail. “I think it’s a step in the right direction.

“Batsmen can practise on a pitch that will play very differently to what we can expect in Australia. It’s a start. At no stage am I going to suggest it’s the finished article but I think it will provide a good, solid base to try something different.”

In order to ensure Australia don’t crumble against spin like they did when they were whitewashed 4-0 in India last year, there are plans to bring in soil from northern Australia which might have the same effect as Indian soil.

“In a further process we have been talking to quarries and doing further testing,” Howard said. “We even found out that in Mumbai they have a mixture of clays. It’s very different, as you could imagine, if you go from the bottom of Sri Lanka in Galle all the way up to Mohali.

“It’s a fascinating process and we’re not going to have a magic bullet here. I’m happy to keep trying and innovating. I’m sure some things won’t go well, but I’m sure over a period of time we can create something that adds to the growth of players against spin.”