The Ashes: No excuses from the Aussies
Hazlewood ready to goAustralian bowling coach Andrew McDonald says the quicks will be ready to fire in the opening Ashes Test at the Gabba as their preparation has been excellent.
Australia are priced at 1.005 to win the Ashes series against England and will be looking to get off to a flying start in Brisbane on 8th December.
Lack of red-ball cricket
Australia's star fast bowlers Josh Hazlewood, Mitchell Starc and new captain Pat Cummins have had little opportunity to play red-ball cricket due to the T20 World Cup.
They have not played a Test in six months and have also missed out on playing in the first leg of the Sheffield Shield season.
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Even so McDonald says that cannot be used as an excuse and he expects the trio to be sharp heading into the first Test.
"I think with we've made the best of what we've had," McDonald told reporters on Sunday afternoon.
"It was always going to be a shortened prep, and less than ideal switching formats and quarantine and all that stuff. But I think the art of the modern day cricketer is to be able to adapt to that.
"There'll be no excuses from our end and I'm sure there'll be no excuses from England's end either."
Really well prepared
The players have been working hard at a training facility on the Gold Coast and McDonald says they will be in great shape for the Gabba.
"Also, these guys have got a lot of Test experience to draw upon. So changing formats is something that they've been able to deal with across their careers," he added. "I think we'll be really, really, really well-prepared."
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