MELBOURNE: Australia’s Mitchell Swepson said he did not adapt quickly enough to conditions in Pakistan when he made his test debut in March and the leg-spinner is determined to learn from the experience and hit the ground running in Sri Lanka next month.
After five years on the fringes, Swepson made his debut in the second match of the three-test series in Pakistan which Australia won 1-0.
He picked up two wickets in the first innings but came away empty handed from the next three, toiling on the flats pitches of Karachi and Lahore.
Australia will play both their tests against Sri Lanka at a traditionally spin-friendly Galle but Swepson said he would not take anything for granted.
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“One thing I learned from Pakistan is you can have your assumptions about what conditions are going to be like, but ultimately when you hit the ground you have to be able to adapt,” he told a Cricket Australia website on Friday.
“I knew it was going to be tough, hard, grinding cricket, but I think I was still surprised at how tough it really was … “I think if I’d have adapted a bit quicker, it might have been a different story.” The 28-year-old said he learned the value of patience and consistency and was keen to show improvement in Sri Lanka.
“So my prep going into Sri Lanka is, yes, we’ve got our assumptions that it’s probably going to spin, but it’s going to be important to be able to adapt on the run and work out what pace and shape to bowl with so I hit the ground running.”
Australia are scheduled to play three Twenty20 matches in Sri Lanka beginning on June 7, followed by five one-day internationals and two tests.
Australia’s squad have raised concerns about the tour with the island nation in the midst of an economic crisis but will back a decision to go ahead with the visit, Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg has said.
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