Australia’s Test landed in Perth ahead of their highly-anticipated five-match series against India with one goal in mind — to reclaim the Border-Gavasker Trophy for the first time in a decade.
Led by inspirational Pat Cummins, the Test side will spend the next four days preparing for the first Test against powerhouses India at Optus Stadium starting on Friday.
India have won the past four-series between the two cricketing heavyweights, with Australia last winning a series against the sub-continental side in the 2014-15 summer.
But the home nation has never lost a Test at Optus Stadium, including a 146-run win in the first ever game to be played at the Burswood venue nearly six years ago.
Only six players — Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Nathan Lyon, Josh Hazewood, Usman Khawaja and Travis Head — will pull on the whites for the Aussies this week that played in that win more than half a decade ago.
South Australian captain Nathan McSweeney will become the 467th recipient of the famed Baggy Green when he makes his debut at the top of the order, having won the highly-publicised battle to partner Usman Khawaja.
McSweeney said he was ready for the bouncy, fast Optus Stadium surface in what could be a baptism of fire for the new Australian opener.
“I feel like my game suits those conditions and I’m looking forward to preparing this week in the lead-up,” McSweeney told 7NEWS.
The man likely to be waiting at the other end off a run-up is Indian fast bowler Jasprit Bumrah, who will skipper the side in the absence of Rohit Sharma.
“I’ve been looking at footage over the last couple of seasons, we’re really lucky with the resources we have to try to gain some knowledge of what we might come up against,” he said.
“Tapping into guys like Travis Head and Alex Carey and Marnus (Labuschange) who I speak to quite often, so guys that have faced him.
“I can use that knowledge and hopefully I can play well against a quality side.
“I feel like I’m batting the best I have, so I am looking forward to the challenge and hopefully I can spend some time in the middle.”
Cummins and Hazlewood were among the last to arrive after flying in from Sydney, while Head and Carey were all smiles when they met up with Victorian fast bowler Scott Boland.
Khawaja cut a cool figure with his sunglasses on as he got off his flight from Brisbane with Labuschange, as they prepare to lead the Australian top order against a strong Indian bowling outfit.
The Australian will have their first training session at Optus Stadium on Monday morning, before an optional session on Tuesday afternoon.
Content Source: www.perthnow.com.au