'I'm a traditionalist, I love Tests'
Tim Nielsen talks to Peter English, looking ahead to his first international season as coach
|
|
It's been excellent. At the start I was taking a little bit of a back seat and understanding how everyone goes through their things. Now everyone is comfortable and they understand how I do things as well. Knowing how the players work individually has been very important. And it was a good result with the one-day series win in India. It's been great.
At the start there was a stage when I just set things up and looked at how things were done and the different requirements. I got a better handle on things by seeing how the players and support staff wanted to contribute, and now we understand how to work on making everything click.
The management staff started to get things together for it in India, but we didn't give any information to the players while we were there. It was important to wait until after the Twenty20 match to start talking about Sri Lanka because it's easy for things to get too complicated. We'll talk about most things when we get to Brisbane to prepare for the first Test [November 8-12]. Until then we'll let them get ready themselves.
It won't be easy. The players have only one four-day game before the Test. One benefit we had in India was, apart from Michael Clarke, every batsman made a considerable score. The bowlers did well and bowled six- to seven-over spells, which was up from the four overs during Twenty20. It will be good for them to get a roll on their Test preparations.
Both sides will be really tough, but one good thing for us is they are a bit similar. They have a couple of good fast bowlers, they rely on their spinners, and they have strong top-order batsmen. It's not a bad thing that we're playing similar sides in the same season. We might be able to get some rhythm instead of having to change depending on who we play against, like we've had to do in other seasons.
We will play two Tests back to back throughout the summer, so we will have only a couple of days' turnaround between games, if they go the distance. It will be important for guys to have a spell between the games, getting them fresh and doing a bit of work.
I'll probably have chats with the selectors, but they work out the way to go. It's going to be different this season because there have been some big changes: no [Shane] Warne, [Glenn] McGrath or [Justin] Langer. If the selectors have questions they want to ask me, then I'll speak with them. They'll also talk to Ricky Ponting and get all the information needed to make the right decisions.
It's very exciting and I can't wait. There is always a massive buzz around the first Test. I live in Brisbane now, so it's a home Test for me, and my family will be around at the Gabba. I'm a traditionalist, I love Tests, and I'm looking forward to the special feelings you get in each of the cities when there's a Test on.
Peter English is the Australasian editor of Cricinfo