Tour Match against Sri Lankan Board XI benefitted Australia, says http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Usman-Khawaja-c2729 – Cricket News Update
http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Australia-c746’s young opening batsman, Usman Khawaja, has termed the ongoing Tour Match against Sri Lanka Board XI as a massive advantage for Australia, saying that the match helped Aussies adjust their game according to the conditions.
Keeping the good momentum going, the tourists started off the longest version of the contest on a high. Khawaja played a vital role in the warm-up game, as he collected 101 runs and steered his side to a strong position in reply to http://www.senore.com/Cricket/Sri-Lanka-c758’s first innings
total of 258.
Khawaja’s fine knock has brought him among the favourite players to be selected in the final playing XI for the first Test, set to be played at Galle International Stadium from August 31 to September 4, 2011.
The 24-year-old batsman admitted that the game not only helped him understand the wickets in Sri Lanka but also assisted his teammates in adapting to the conditions before the crucial first Test.
"It's a lot hotter out here than it is back home and it's a lot more humid than it is back home. Those sort of things are a massive part of it. Bowlers can get that bowling and batsmen need to get that batting. The guys yesterday bowled beautifully, Copes
bowled awesome and we got some time under our belt fielding-wise,” said Khawaja who made his Test debut during the 2010/2011 Ashes series.
Australia’s batting unit is in terrific touch these days. While the Pakistan-born left-hander smashed a ton, http://www.senore.com/Cricket/MJ-Clarke-c1978 hit a fifty and century respectively.
Talking about his team’s chances to win the Tour Match and step into the Test series with a win under their belt, Khawaja uttered that the way players have been playing, he is quite hopeful that the Aussies will produce good results in the series.
"We had a good hard day of cricket. You can train as much as you want but you never get as much as you do out of being on the field and doing the hard yards," added the classy opener who holds an average of 45-plus in first-class cricket.
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