Australia’s future Test hopefuls are getting a crash course in subcontinental cricket, with former captain Tim Paine describing the Australia A tour of India as an experience “you can’t put a price on.”
Now head coach of the Australia A program in Lucknow, Paine said the players were gaining lessons that would serve them well in future tours. “It’s been an excellent experience for this young group of Aussie cricketers to come and play in these extreme conditions,” he said. “The heat, particularly yesterday, was something these guys don’t get to experience often. For a young group of guys to come and experience this, hopefully before they have to play in a Test match over here, you can’t put a price on it.”
The series has been played on red clay wickets at the Akana Sports City, far removed from what Australian players are used to. “We’ve been really lucky here at the Akana Sports City to be playing on the red clay wickets, which you don’t get in Australia,” Paine said. “How dry they are, how much they spin, how much they bounce has been a real challenge for our batting group. And for our big quicks, just how hot it is bowling three or four-over spells and being absolutely spent is something you don’t experience in Australia or English conditions.”
Even Australia’s fittest young players have been pushed to their limits. “Campbell Callaway is a great example—someone who loves to train and does everything at high intensity—but he’s had days here where he’s lost seven or eight kilos and been completely exhausted. For him to learn that he can’t prepare the same way in these conditions will be invaluable when he comes back in 2027.”
Paine said he had been struck by how India uses its varied playing surfaces to develop its next generation. “We’ve been pleasantly surprised with the opportunities to come over and learn on the red clay. Next week we move to another venue where guys will get to experience the black clay. Even the subtle differences between the two types of pitches, and hybrids of both, require different skill sets and approaches. A lot of our guys had no idea that you could get two or three different types of clays—and they all play differently.”
The Australians have also had to adapt to contrasting batting philosophies from their Indian counterparts. “In the first match, on a flatter wicket, our guys batted like Australians—lots of power and boundaries. But then India batted and went about it completely differently: ones, twos, manipulating fields, batting square of the wicket. To see our guys adapt in the second game and show they could go up and down the gears has been really pleasing.”
Having captained Australia in a 2017 Test series in India, Paine knows how difficult it is to succeed in local conditions and believes early exposure is crucial. “International cricket is as hard as it gets and then you add these foreign conditions on top of it. It’s near on impossible to expect someone to come here for the first time and succeed straight away in a Test match. That’s why tours like this are so important. So far, this series has been a great success, and hopefully we’ll see the fruits of it in 2027.”
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