Chennai: Australian captain Michael Clarke on Tuesday simply came out to put a full stop on the talks about their approach against slow bowlers in the recent practice matches, saying they would not be daunted by the home team's slow bowlers in the high-profile Test series starting here on Friday.
Addressing a press-conference after the team's training session, Clarke said he has got a side which can beat India on their home-soil.
"We will not be intimated by Indian spinners. We need to have success from every single delivery that we face. We have got a good squad, we have got plenty of good choices in spin bowling, batting and fielding," Clarke said, adding that they won’t be looking too much into how India were going to play and what conditions will suit them best.
“In Indian conditions the ball spins as the pitch deteriorates and also has variations and bounces as well. I think the reverse swing is also very important. But, as I said we have the capability to do well in India," he said, adding that India were a tough side and they get even better in their own back yards.
“So, the focus of the Australian team is to keep our preparations on check and to make sure that we do the right things to play the brand of cricket that we want to play," said Clarke when asked if India would be under pressure after their recent loss at home against England.
Not giving much importance to Harbhajan's remarks that India will beat Australia 4-0 in the series, Clarke said that he was happy to see the off-spinner back into the team. "It is nice to see him back in the squad. He is a wonderful player and a very competitive cricketer and loves challenge of playing against any opposition, especially Australia. I think he is a very good bowler and we have to play well to make sure he does not have too much of an effect on the series. In regard to result on the series, I am now focusing on the first Test and would like to take one match at a time," said the Australian captain.
Asked about his players' failure against spin in the practice games, Clarke said the slow bowlers got more wickets as they bowled more overs. “At the end of day you have to get out to somebody. The more overs that somebody bowls he will take more wickets and that’s why spinners were successful. But, it's one of the areas that we need to address as we had to face lot of spin bowling as well as reverse swing for the upcoming four-match series. Our boys have been training hard and preparations have been fantastic," he added.
