The Hindu : Sport : ‘Crucial thing is to win first session’

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‘Crucial thing is to win first session’

S. Ram Mahesh

Hussey hopes the Aussies can take confidence gained from Kotla into the final Test

— Photo: S. Subramanium

SEIZE THE INITIATIVE: Michael Hussey says the key for Australia in the Nagpur Test is to start well and get into a position of strength.

Nagpur: Emboldened by the batting returns from the third Test in New Delhi, Australia will come hard at India in the first session of the fourth Test, said Michael Hussey on Monday.

Down 0-1, the touring side needs to force a win to level the series and retain the Border-Gavaskar Trophy — an endeavour the current team, criticised for not attacking as readily as previous Australian sides, was eminently capable of, said Hussey.

Creditable effort

“No matter what the pitch is like, even if it is a real flat batting pitch which I don’t think Delhi was, when the opposition makes over 600 in the first innings, to get so close takes a lot of perseverance and a lot of application,” said Hussey, whose half-century in the first innings at the Ferozeshah Kotla was part of a batting effort that saw every Australian batsman in the top five pass 50.

“I think we can definitely take confidence from that leading into the last Test. We need to win this last Test, we have to make sure we play very well in the first innings of the game, whether we bowl or bat first, and get ourselves into a position from where we can then try and attack the Indians,” said the left-hander.

“I’d just like to concentrate on winning that first session in the fourth Test match.

“It will be the most important thing if we can start well and get ourselves into a position of strength. But I think it gets dangerous if you start thinking about the result.”

The Australian team — minus Brett Lee, Michael Clarke, and Doug Bollinger — practised at the old, grimy VCA Stadium on Monday.

The new VCA Stadium at Jamtha, where the fourth Test will be played from Thursday, hasn’t the practice facilities required, and neither side will be able to train adequately at the ground before the Test match.

Would it prove an obstacle in Australia’s preparation for so crucial a Test? “That’s out of our control, so there’s nothing we can do about it,” said Hussey. “We will obviously try and visit the ground before the game and get our things set up and hopefully we will be able to adapt as quickly as possible. In the past, it has been one of the strengths of the Australian team, whatever the conditions are, to adapt as quickly as possible. Hopefully, we can adapt as quickly if not quicker than the Indian team.”

Although he has been Australia’s best batsman in the series, with a century and two half-centuries from his first Test tour of India, Hussey worked diligently on Monday, showing again the commitment to preparation that has made him so successful.

The batsman had an intense session of throw-downs to groove his alignment while driving.

Individualised preparation

“It’s sort of individualised preparation depending on what each individual needs,” he said, explaining Australia’s philosophy of preparation.

“Some guys might want to do a little bit more, some guys might need to recover. We fielded and bowled for quite a long time (in the third Test), so you wouldn’t expect the bowlers to do too much leading into back-to-back Tests. It will be different things for different players, really.”

Did Hussey think the emotion of the last few days would affect India’s focus? “I hope so!” he said, smiling before adding, “No, I don’t think so. Those guys are seasoned hardened professional international cricketers.

“They know their games well. I am sure they will put all the distractions aside and concentrate on the last Test,” he added.

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