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Andrew McDonald (Image source- Twitter)
The Australian Team is currently on a tour of Sri Lanka for an all-format series. While the T20I series has concluded, the ODI series is nearing its conclusion. The Australian team has begun preparations for the Test series. The two-match series will begin on the 29th of June, 2022.
The team has devised a new drill for practicing catching in close proximity to the bat. In a video posted by cricket.com.au, head coach Andrew McDonald is seen holding an AFL ball while Nathan Lyon delivers the cricket ball from the opposite end. The fielders are seen diving to reach for the ball in the video.
"Coming to a net session near you soon: The Aussies have come up with an ingenious new training drill for the close-in fielders ahead of the #SLvAUS Tests," read the caption of the video.
Here is the video
Coming to a net session near you soon: The Aussies have come up with an ingenious new training drill for the close-in fielders ahead of the #SLvAUS Tests pic.twitter.com/5lLKd39gjU
— cricket.com.au (@cricketcomau) June 21, 2022
"So we had the AFL football out and we had Travis Head at silly mid-off and Marnus at bat-pad. Just trying to hone in on those skills because we understand how important these positions are. Little drill with me throwing the ball to Ronnie (Andre McDonald) with the football ball and it's just popping up a little bit. It's hard to practice bat-pads when you can kind of read the play but with the footy, we have found that we can get a little bit of variation in it," Nathan Lyon said while speaking of the new drill.
"I think it's a really good training drill, to be honest with you. I have not seen it done like that before, that's something we'll be moving forward with I reckon, and I am more than happy to throw it if it means that we are getting into really good positions for the bat-pads," he added.
As for the tour, Australia won the three-match T20I series 2-1, while Sri Lanka have sealed the one-day international series 3-1, with the last match still to be played. R.Premadasa Stadium in Colombo will host the fifth ODI match on the 24th of June.