Melbourne: Rob Quiney, who will bat at No.3 against the Proteas, has said that South African pacers Dale Steyn and Vernon Philander will not be able scare him as he prepares for his Test debut at the Gabba.
Quiney will become the 429th player to wear the baggy green after all-rounder Shane Watson was ruled out of the first Test due to a calf injury.
It has been a long and tough road to the Test arena for left-hander Quiney, who will make his Test debut aged 30 years and 81 days, almost seven years after first turning out for the Bushrangers.
Steyn is (ranked No.1), Philander (No.2) and Morne Morkel (No.9) in the ICC’s top 10 bowlers list.
Quiney is confident of facing the Proteas’ pacers, after having scored 85 and 11 not out against them for Australia A in Sydney, The Sydney Morning Herald reports.
“I`ve seen him go up the gears so hopefully I can combat him when he goes up to his fourth gear. It`s half the challenge. I got through a couple of spells (from Steyn in the tour match) which was great for the mind,” said Quiney.
“He (Steyn) ramped it up a bit more to ``Hughesy`` (Australia A teammate Phil Hughes) than me, but from the other end he was bashing the wicket pretty hard. It was his final hit-out in the middle and he wanted to make sure he was right and everyone knows what a good bowler he is and how fast he can be.
“I will be prepping pretty hard this week. I`m sure the South Africans will step it up another notch and will bring it to us. As a pace unit they will be licking their lips at a quicker wicket than in Sydney, so fingers crossed we do a good job in the top order.”
ANI
First Published: Tuesday, November 06, 2012, 12:27