Hick: Aussie batsmen love a challenge

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India and England are regarded as the two most difficult places for Test teams to tour, and new Australia batting coach Graeme Hick has emphasised the need to be patient when batting in either country.

The former England batsman was named in his new role this week, and during his four-year contract the Aussies will contest an Ashes series in England, and go to India. He feels the Aussies will be ready for the challenge, despite recent results in Asia not going their way.

Sri Lanka won the recent Test series three-nil as Australia failed to cope with the spin of Rangana Herath. Before the series, the Aussies had spoken about patience, but words did not translate into actions and Hick insisted they do next time.

Hick said of his man-management strategy on the CA website: “All your great players love a challenge. They manage to adapt and work it out themselves, in a way.

“So (I will) just pose a few questions, challenge them a bit. And I think there’s a challenge there anyway, especially in regard to England and the Ashes – I don’t think they’ll need much motivation for that.

“It’s about adapting to the conditions. I think at times the Australian way is to really dominate, especially in Test cricket … Maybe India is a place where you need a little more patience.

“Let’s not forget it’s one of the hardest challenges in cricket. The teams that have been successful there recently have been (due to) guys who have made big runs up front.

“So it’s a matter of if one of our top order gets in, just batting a couple of sessions maybe is not enough.

“You’ve got to look at posting a big first-innings score if you get in, so that may require a little more patience than some players might normally play at.

“But that’s the exciting part – we’ve not won there for quite a while, and I think this group of players, having spoken to a couple of them briefly, is certainly up for the challenge and wanting to make a better account of themselves than they did in the Sri Lanka series.

“The biggest thing will be the side believing they can go over there and be successful, and coming up with a plan and sticking to that plan.”

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