Australia, Dec 3
Wicketkeeper-batter Alex Carey expressed confidence in the Australian batters’ preparations, emphasising their focus on countering India’s ace pacer Jasprit Bumrah ahead of the second Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy (BGT) in Adelaide.On the grassy Perth Test pitch, Bumrah stood head and shoulders above his counterparts with the new ball. Australia’s top-order batters, known for their textbook techniques, struggled to match Bumrah’s unique action and relentless wicket-taking hunger.Delivering a Man of the Match performance, Bumrah claimed match figures of 9/72 at an astounding average of 9.00. As the series moves from Perth to Adelaide, Carey acknowledged the challenge of neutralising the “fantastic bowler.””He (Bumrah) is obviously a fantastic bowler; he has been for a number of years. Our batters are world-class as well and always find ways to come up with solutions,” Carey told reporters, as quoted by the ICC.Australia’s primary strategy to counter Bumrah revolves around surviving his first two spells with the new ball.”We’ve had a look at him now. Hopefully, we can combat that first and second spell and get him bowling a little bit deeper in the innings with an older ball,” Carey noted. For Carey, Travis Head’s explosive 89-run innings against Bumrah and the Indian pacers, using a worn-out ball, exemplified how to blunt the threat of India’s lethal seam attack.”We saw Travis sort of counterpunch a bit. I trust our batters. We’ll find a way not only (against) Bumrah… they played a couple of other debutants who bowled well too,” Carey remarked.Despite heading into the day-night Test following a record 295-run defeat, the Australian team’s morale remains undented.”If you ask the batters, we all want to perform better. As cricketers, you go out there to score a hundred, and if you don’t, you’re sometimes disappointed. But we’re a very united group. We all get the opportunity to bat, and we’re all eager to put big runs on the board. I trust the guys to do that,” Carey added. With India leading the series 1-0, Australia will aim to turn the tide and replicate the 2020 pink-ball nightmare they inflicted on the visitors in the second Test, starting on Friday.
