Former England cricketer Graeme Hick, now coach of the Australia-A team in the Quadrangular Series one-day cricket championship which will now get underway on Sunday after the first two days were washed out because of wet ground conditions, believes that his team has a lot to play for.
Seen interacting with the players at nets at Mulapadu on Saturday, Hick said his team was geared up for the challenges ahead. “We missed a day or two because of the inclement weather but that is something which we cannot control,” said Hick adding, “Hope to get into action tomorrow.
“We hope to come up with some plans for the matches here. It is going to be good cricket for the next 10 days as the teams featuring here are very strong in many departments,” he said.
“It is nice to get a feel of the wickets. We always expect to win though we are conscious of the fact that it is a huge challenge to play here. But, I feel the one-day wickets are pretty good and not as quite as the typical sub-continental wickets.
“We have to wait and see. We definitely expect the wickets to take more spin in four-day games. That will be the real challenge of playing here for everyone,” the 52-year-old said.
Speaking about his team, Hick said, “they practice well, and are nice group of young talent. I am sure they are ready for the challenges ahead.
“The presence of Ryan Harris and Sri (former India left-arm spinner S. Sriram and now spin guru of Australia) is vital as they can always impart valuable knowledge of the game having played a lot here.”
The venue with two grounds was buzzing with cricketing activity as Rahul Dravid, head coach of the Indian teams, was seen in animated discussion with the India-A and India-B members even as the sun finally was out to the relief of everyone.