With things other than Sachin in their mind, Aussies get going

With things other than Sachin in their mind, Aussies get going
Express News Service

Nagpur, February 19: Australian coach John Bucannan, visibly disappointed with his team’s performance against India A, said that the Indian master blaster Sachin Tendulkar was not the key issue for the tourists in the forthcoming Test series.

‘‘Tendulkar is just one of the other issues. He plays less conventional shots against the spinners and plays on the rise against the medium pacers,’’ the coach added without going into details on how the Australians were to deal with Tendulkar, even as lesser-known batsmen went to make runs against the tourists in the three-day match which ended in a draw here on Monday.

Talking about the other issues on his agenda, the Australian coach said it was all about how his pacers and spinners were to cope with the Indian tracks. ‘‘Collin Miller has certainly bowled well here and put himself in the reckoning for the first Test,’’ he told mediapersons this evening.

According to Bucannan, the Australian top-order’s batting failure in the first innings here was compensated by the tailenders (Michael Kaprowicz and Jason Gillespie) who played spin rather remarkably.

‘‘However, I’m happy that our top-order batted well in the second innings. Our fielding, too, was good,’’ he added.

PATIENCE PAID OFF, says LANGER: Justin Langer, who benefited from India A’s fielding lapses to score a magnificent century on Monday, said the innings was a result of his patience and gameplan to stay at the middle as long as possible.

‘‘One needs to be very patient early on while playing and later one could get adjusted to the tracks,’’ he said.

He said domestic cricket had helped him tackle the spinners because there were quite a few spinners Down Under.

‘‘My plan today was to build up some good partnerships and lay a solid foundation. I was watchful throughout the innings and played positively,’’ he said.On his heated exchanges with Indian leg-spinner Balaji Rao, Langer said that he was a bit disappointed the way Rao had told Steve Waugh to go back after dismissing the Australian skipper.

‘‘I just told him to play with a little more smile on his face, and not to get too serious about it.’’