Australia bring in Sridharan Sriram as spin bowling coaching consultant
Sunday 20 September 2015 11:16, UK
Australia have employed former India all-rounder Sridharan Sriram to improve their batsmen's technique against spin.
A left-hand batsman and left-arm spinner in his time, 39-year-old Sriram has joined as a coaching consultant to help with their previous troubles in the lead-up to their tour of Bangladesh.
"Working with the Australian Test team is a great honour," Sriram said
"I've played international cricket for India and I'm looking forward to sharing my experience and knowledge of subcontinental conditions with the squad.
"The Australian cricket team talks about 'one-per centers' and my role will be to contribute that one per cent to help the team adapt to the conditions and opponents quickly.
"In the long run, I see myself as someone who can help the Australian batsmen become better players of spin bowling and also help spinners understand the psyche and technique of different batsmen, and adapt to different conditions."
Sriram played eight one-day internationals from 2000-04 for India but made his biggest mark in domestic cricket as a prolific run-maker for Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
He was an assistant coach in India's domestic Twenty20 competition, and worked with Australia A during their recent tour of India. And he is being retained to help Steven Smith's side prepare for next month's two-Test series against Bangladesh.
Virtually unbeatable on home soil, Australia have been woeful on foreign pitches and lost the recent Ashes series 3-2 in England, despite entering the series as firm favourites.
Their batsmen have long struggled against spin, but especially on the flat wickets of the subcontinent, with the team firmly beaten 4-0 on their last Test tour of India in 2013.
