Aussies play down Perth jinx
Is there a hoodoo at Perth Stadium, and should Australia’s test team be worried?
The 60,000-seat stadium has hosted just four games of cricket, with the home side on the losing end in all of them.
The Perth Scorchers copped a 71-run belting in a BBL semifinal against Hobart Hurricanes last summer.
Both England and South Africa beat Australia in ODIs at the venue, while WA lost to NSW by 104 runs in a Sheffield Shield clash there last month.
Australia will be aiming to end the losing trend of the home side when they host India in the second test, starting today. India hold a 1-0 lead in the four-test series.
Australian opener Marcus Harris is adamant there is no hoodoo. ‘‘No I don’t think it is a hoodoo at all,’’ he said. ‘‘I wasn’t aware of it [those results] so I’m not too worried about it.’’
Some of Australia’s test team – including Harris – are yet to set foot in the 60,000-seat venue.
A fast and bouncy deck is expected to confront Australia and India when action gets under way today.
Perth Stadium curator Brett Sipthorpe has done his best to imitate the conditions seen at the WACA ground, which is renowned for its pace and bounce. International pacemen often fell into the trap of bowling too short at the WACA in a bid to produce some menacing bouncers to rattle the batsmen.
India’s bowling coach Bharat Arun will drill into his bowlers not to make the same mistake on the Perth Stadium deck.
‘‘You need to understand that on any responsive track, what is really going to be successful is your consistency and that’s exactly what we’re going to work on with the bowlers.’’