Australian batter Travis Head has rubbished accusations of a divide within the Test side after Josh Hazlewood’s comments during the series opener in Perth raised eyebrows.
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Speaking to reporters at stumps on day three, Hazlewood was asked how Australia would approach the run chase in fourth innings after India posted a record target.
“You probably have to ask one of the batters that question,” he responded.
Australian legend Adam Gilchrist and former England captain Michael Vaughan theorised that Hazlewood’s remarks suggested there was a divide within the playing group.
But Head laughed off the speculation while speaking to reporters at Adelaide Oval on Monday afternoon.
“That can be put to bed,” he said.
“This team’s been together for three to four years … the guys get along really well.
“We hold high expectations for both sides and it’s a very individualised sport.
“The batters want to hold our own. We know how good our bowlers have been for us in the past, and they’ve gotten us out of trouble a lot.
“As a batting group, we know if we put enough runs on the board we can put ourselves in a great position.
“Definitely no divide.”
FORMER TEST CAPTAIN BACKS UNDER-FIRE MARNUS
Former England captain Michael Vaughan has called for patience with Australia’s struggling batting line-up but says they must find a spark in the field after an uncharacteristically “flat” performance in Perth.
Vaughan said the Australian selectors should persist with Marnus Labuschagne for at least one more game as he expected the out-of-form No. 3 to take a more aggressive approach in the second Test on Friday.
Labuschagne has only 123 runs from his last 10 Test innings and was put under further pressure on Sunday as teenage opener Sam Konstas made a fluent hundred for the Prime Minister’s XI against a near full-strength Indian bowling attack.
It added to Konstas’ case for a debut during the Border-Gavaskar series that could also allow Perth debutant Nathan McSweeney to slide down to his usual position at three.
But Vaughan said Australia had to stick with the squad it began the series with for at least one more game.
“I’d go again (with Labuschagne). I’m a big believer that once you start a series with a team, unless there’s an injury or two and you have to change the formation, because of that, you made the call,” Vaughan told SEN.
“I believe you keep the same side for two or three games … try and get them playing together. If you start swapping and changing the side, that can create a bit more chaos in the batting unit.
“It’s not the Marnus of three or four years ago, so he’s got to find a method of looking to score and being a bit more positive, I think we’ll see that in Adelaide.”
Vaughan was confident former captain Steve Smith’s game was in good order and would quickly translate to runs in the next few matches after he “got a couple of good balls” in his return to No. 4 in Perth.
“I don’t have any concerns for Steve Smith at four … I think his movement is fine, and he’ll score runs,” he said.
Doubts had emerged over Mitch Marsh’s availability for Adelaide after he pulled up sore following his return to bowling in the first Test, but Vaughan said Australia should try to keep him in the side as a specialist batter after showing good “control” in Perth.
“(Marsh) has to play as a batter surely because he’s the one player that you watch and see over the last few Test matches who looks like he has some kind of control,” Vaughan said.
“I think this Australian team, the best way that they can play is just be so disciplined and so on in the field. We look down at the fielding in Perth, it just looked at times like it was a little bit flat, and that’s very unlike Australia.
“For this team to within two days of the Test match look flat in the field … that’ll be what they’ll be trying to put right in Adelaide.
“If they can do that and get that buzz right, I think they’ll be absolutely fine.”
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