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Sydney - Australia Test opener Joe Burns is working on
taking his innings past the shine of the new ball, after being dropped during
the series against Sri Lanka in favour of Shaun Marsh.
Burns is working on getting his place back, and realises
that he needs to make more of an effort early on, using patience to get past
the new ball while also sending bad deliveries to the ropes.
Burns told Cricbuzz: "I've been working on a few
things, like facing the new ball and starting my innings. They are things that
in international cricket will allow me to bat for long periods.
"You're always trying to improve your game. It's about (improving facing the) new ball in the first innings.
"The first morning in a Test match is where an opener
earns their pay. It's an area where an opener can set the tone and where you
can have a massive impact.
"As an opening batter you are dictated by what's coming
down. If it's in good areas then it's difficult to attack. But it's about
having a mind-set that if they bowl a loose ball than you are going to put it
away and put pressure back on the bowlers."
Burns added that opening the batting was even tougher
against the pink ball, and hoped to have strategies in place should he be
picked for the two day-night Tests the Aussies have coming up in the next few
months.
He added: "It's very challenging as a top order batsman
because it swings. It only swings for a short while but takes a lot of
adjusting because the seam is almost invisible on the ball so you have to look
for different cues.
"The more you play against it the easier it becomes.
It's always going to be different to a red or white ball, but it just takes an
adjustment.
"The pink ball fluctuates from doing a lot to nothing very quickly, so it's just finding a way to manage those early periods."
