Bairstow’s DIY plans for a wall of confidence
ENGLAND arrived here for the first Test declaring themselves fit, ready and raring to go for the Ashes – thanks to a home-made build-up designed by their coaches.
Unable to rely on the quality of the opposition to examine them in the way Australia will at the Gabba, England have had to be inventive.
And that is where the bouncer training with Mark Ramprakash’s yellow balls, reflex work with Paul Collingwood and a wet tray, and Paul Farbrace’s boxing pad for short leg catches have all come in handy.
In addition, Shane Bond, Bruce French and Mushtaq Ahmed have challenged the players over the first three weeks of the tour to make sure that they are ready come Thursday.
“We’ve got everything we needed out of these first few weeks,” said wicket-keeper Jonny Bairstow.
“It’s about us guys – preparing in a way that sees us go out in as strong a mental, physical and technical state as possible. The guys have got a lot of confidence going into the Gabba where we know what type of pitch and attack we’re going to face.
“We accept it is going to be different to what has been put in front of us so far, but the guys have been working hard against Ramps and his yellow balls, putting themselves under pressure in the nets.”
England took just one wicket in 75 overs on the final day of their drawn warm-up match with a Cricket Australia XI in Townsville.
But Bairstow said: “We were just making sure that people were fit. You don’t want to be tired for the Test.”