After his side’s disappointing defeat against India in the Perth Test, Australia head coach Andrew McDonald confirmed that they will retain the same squad for the upcoming Adelaide Test, which will be starting on December 6.
India staged a stunning comeback from a series whitewash against New Zealand at home, defeating Australia by 295 runs in Perth despite being bowled out for a mere 150 runs in their first innings.
McDonald said that the people in the changeroom of the Perth Test will be the same as in Adelaide.
“The people in that changeroom are the same people that will be in Adelaide. It is always a consideration, wherever you go in the world in terms of the personnel you pick for conditions,” McDonald was quoted by ICC as saying.
He also opened up on Mitchell Marsh’s fitness and said that the team management knew that the Australian all-rounder was slightly underdone.
“We’ll wait and see. We knew that Mitch was slightly underdone coming in, but I thought the performance in the first innings was satisfactory,” he added.
Marsh secured 2/12 in the first innings but was expensive in the second against the visitors in the Perth Test.
According to ICC, Marsh has had fitness concerns over the year, having picked up a hamstring injury during this year’s IPL and had bowled only four overs during the previous eight months before the Test.
The head coach further added that the team morale of the host is pretty good after the loss in the first Test.
“I think morale is pretty good. I think this team is really good at the highs and lows, it’s quite a level team so we’ll be somewhere in the middle of that,” McDonald added.
