AUSTRALIA INDIAN TOUR, 2020-21
Langer said competition for any space is healthy for Australian cricket. © AFP
Australia will have an unchanged eleven for the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne, with head coach Justin Langer alluding to the same, unless changes are imposed on them at the last minute.
“He would be a pretty brave man if he changed the XI for this Test match after the last one,” Langer said. “At this stage, unless something happens in the next few days, and it can happen in the world we live in, we will enter with the same XI, I would say.”
With David Warner already ruled out for the second test, the starting pairing of Matthew Wade and Joe Burns will continue at the top. Langer said that Warner wasn’t fully up to the mark for his career yet, but he was hoping to win it back later in the series.
“We have a few pick puzzles in every game one way or another. Davey had a good hit yesterday, he’s a bit off the run. We know how dynamic he is, there’s no one more dynamic in the game with the run between the grounds. “. , with the way you work. You want to make sure you are 100% fit to get great energy personally and as a group get energy from that. But these things with the national team have a fun way of working. Who knows, we can try to come up with as many hypotheses as we want so far. But my experience is that the national team has a fun way of functioning when it comes to the time you have to do it, “he said.
On the pressure this will put on players like Burns and Wade, with Warner waiting behind the scenes to return, Langer suggested the competition bodes well for Australian cricket.
“That’s part of every individual player’s journey, you are literally under the bomb every time you play for Australia. Every player is, that’s how it should be. We know we have competition, I find myself repeating it over and over again, but it’s very healthy. for Australian cricket. It’s hard when you’re in the top 6 hitters because there are always people knocking loudly on the door to take your place. So you have to be on the lookout all the time. And equally for the guys outside, you have to hit that hard to have a chance. So it’s really healthy. ”
Looking ahead to the Boxing Day Test, Langer chose not to delve into what went wrong the last time India toured in 2018, particularly when they fell behind in the first inning total.
“I think we are a very different team. We have come a long way in two years, now we are playing cricket very well, we are confident,” Langer said. “I also remember losing the draw at MCG on a very, very, very, very flat wicket and that certainly took some of the wind off of us, that’s for sure. So we are a different team, we know that in the first innings in Australia we are looking to score 400 points in the first inning. No surprise, that’s what we’ve based our best cricket in years on. ”
Given that the MCG is not yet full capacity, there could be large swaths of empty seats, but it didn’t dampen the excitement of a St. Stephen’s Day test for Langer.
“30,000 is better than none, it’s not the same as 90 obviously. But I’m sure the 30,000 that will come will provide the atmosphere that we love about the Boxing Day event.
“Boxing Day, as you’ve heard me say, is my favorite day on the calendar for as long as I can remember, Boxing Day as an Australian cricketer … it’s a little different without our families here, it’s the first time in 50 years. no family, the sacrifices that are being made … the fact that when we play on Boxing Day there are 30,000 people is a great thrill for anyone who loves to play cricket like we do, “Langer said.
© Cricbuzz
