Australia has built an artificial pitch at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane to help its batsmen deal with spin-bowling on the slow tracks of the subcontinent, where they have so often struggled in the past.
The surface, which is intended to mimic the conditions in India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, has a concrete base with artificial grass, clay and turf rolled into a compact layer on top.
"The artificial base and the bounce is a lot different to what we get in Australia," Cricket Australia's high performance manager Pat Howard told Brisbane's Courier Mail on Tuesday.
"I think it's a step in the right direction. Batsmen can practise on a pitch that will play very differently to what we can expect in Australia.
"It's a start. At no stage am I going to suggest it's the finished article but I think it will provide a good, solid base to try something different."
Australia's problems with spin bowling are widely considered to have contributed to the humiliating 4-0 series sweep they suffered in India last year.
The first players will get a chance to bat and bowl on it this week as Australia prepare for a trip to the United Arab Emirates to take on Pakistan in two Tests, three one-day matches and a Twenty20 starting next month.
Howard said he would continue to investigate the possibility of bringing soil from India to more accurately replicate conditions, even if he had discovered that there was a great deal of variety in the make-up of pitches in South Asia.
"In a further process we have been talking to quarries and doing further Testing," Howard added.
"We even found out that in Mumbai they have a mixture of clays. It's very different, as you could imagine, if you go from the bottom of Sri Lanka in Galle all the way up to Mohali.
"It's a fascinating process and we're not going to have a magic bullet here.
"I'm happy to keep trying and innovating. I'm sure some things won't go well, but I'm sure over a period of time we can create something that adds to the growth of players against spin."
Maqsood in line for Pakistan T20 captaincy?
The Pakistan Cricket Board is seriously considering young batsman, Sohaib Maqsood for the national T20 captaincy.
According to sources, Shahid Afridi was the front runner for the T20 captaincy but some of the selectors and a strong lobby in the board were in favour of a younger captain who could be appointed on long-term basis.
"The idea is that if Sohaib Maqsood is appointed the T20 captain he can lead the country right until the 2016 World T20 while in Afridi's case it will have to be a short term appointment," one source said.
Maqsood, 27, is also being seen as a strong candidate as he is an MBA and experts believe he will cement his place in the national team in all three formats soon.
Maqsood who hails from Multan has played just 17 ODIs and 13 T20 matches for Pakistan since his debut last year.
The source said Maqsood might even be appointed vice-captain to Misbah-ul-Haq for the upcoming One-day series against Australia so that he can be groomed for the future.
Yousuf slams PCB for scheduling T20 event before 2015 World Cup
Former captain Mohammad Yousuf has slammed the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) for holding the national T20 championship before the World Cup 2015.
"I don't understand the logic behind having the national T20 event at this time when we are hardly going to play two or three T20 matches against Australia and New Zealand before the World Cup," Yousuf told Geo Super channel.
"It would have been more sensible to have a 50 overs One-day event at this stage instead of T20 cricket," Yousuf said.
The national T20 championship for regional teams is scheduled to be held from September 17 to 28th in Karachi after which the Pakistan team will fly to the UAE for its "home" series against Australia and New Zealand.
Pakistan will be playing eight ODIs against the two teams in the UAE.
Yousuf said that Pakistan was facing a real problem in its batting before the World Cup.
"All this talk about promoting youngsters has led to this problem in the batting department. I blame some of the former players and media who keep on stressing the need to have young players. My vision is clear that anyone who performs, no matter what age, should be in the team," he stated.
Yousuf pointed out that even in the ongoing Champions League in India, the batting had been exposed.
"Our batsmen are facing problems in staying at the wicket. For some time now our batsmen are struggling to play the full 50 overs and yet we have no one-day tournament before the World Cup," the senior batsman noted.
Yousuf said that the youngsters had learnt nothing from their predecessors.
"In cricket you need to stay at the wicket and keep on scoring runs to do well in one-day cricket and our current form and approach in this format needs rapid improvement or we will face problems in the World Cup in Australia and New Zealand," Yousuf said.
"And I don't think by making the players in contention for the World Cup play in T20 format the board is helping the cause of the team."
