Sydney: Australia captain Michael Clarke has lauded the decision to send bowling coach Ali de Winter to next month’s Champions League in South Africa to make certain young pace men Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc return fit for the Test series against South Africa.
In a desperate bid to avoid the Doug Bollinger debacle of two years ago, Cummins and Starc will be made to do extra red-ball work with de Winter.
Bollinger was forced to fly straight from the Champions League to India for a Test in 2010 and broke down, costing Australia the match.
Bollinger was subsequently condemned for his lack of fitness.
“We can certainly learn from that,” News.com.au quoted Clarke, as saying over the Bollinger incident.
Cricket Australia was criticized for allowing Bollinger and Michael Hussey to stay with their Indian Premier League team Chennai Super Kings, who won the Champions League title that year, instead of allowing them to play in a warm-up match ahead of the first Test on that Indian tour.
Clarke said about Cummins and Starc: “It’s important they do plenty of work with the red ball as well to make sure they are right to go when the first Test against South Africa comes around in early November.”
ANI
First Published: Friday, September 14, 2012, 20:39