Adelaide: Australia’s fast bowlers will once again pepper England’s middle and lower-order batsmen with short-pitched deliveries on a lively track in the day-night second Ashes Test in here, coach Darren Lehmann said Tuesday. The Australian pacemen tormented England’s lower order with bouncers on the fourth day in Brisbane to set up the hosts’ 10-wicket win in the series opener.
“(Bowling short) certainly hasn’t changed from four years ago,” Lehmann told reporters at the Adelaide airport ahead of the second Test beginning, Saturday. “It’s a bit different in Australia than England where grounds are smaller and you can’t really get away with it, on bigger grounds you can. So that’s one for us that we see as an advantage.
“They pink ball and the night cricket will help us in bouncing the deliveries. So we can go after them. That’s the blueprint, it’s no secret we’re going to attack their middle and lower-order like that (short pitched deliveries),” added the coach.
Mitchell Starc had asked for a bit more pace from the wickets after the Gabba served up a docile surface in the first Test and according to Lehmann his wish could get fulfilled with the pink ball at the Adelaide Oval.
“It’s a fascinating test match, there’s a lot of talk about it’ll seam and it’ll swing,” Lehmann said, adding that Australia’s experience of playing day-night Tests in the past would come handy. ”The ball stays pretty good, but you can make runs if you play normal. And it (the pitch) does quicken up at night – probably the fastest wicket around Australia at night, so that’s going to be interesting, how it plays.”
The 47-year-old Lehmann, who played 27 tests for Australia, lauded off-spinner Nathan Lyon who bagged five wickets in a key contribution towards the hosts’ victory. “He (Lyon) kept us in the game on day one, he was fantastic. He’s just grown with confidence and success breeds that,” Lehmann asserted.
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