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Aussies prepare for world record pitch

3 minute read

Australia will face West Indies on the same strip of the Trent Bridge pitch that England have twice broken the world record for the highest score in an ODI on.

Aaron Finch
Aaron Finch Picture: Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images

Australia's bowlers have to be prepared to go for some runs on Trent Bridge's world-record pitch against the West Indies, according to captain Aaron Finch.

Australia will play on the very same strip England have twice broken the one-day world record for the highest team total in the past three years, including last year against the Aussies.

Not content with the 4-444 they whacked against Pakistan in 2016, the hosts subjected Australia to 50 overs of misery last year when they struck 6-481 on the same piece of turf.

It's helped Trent Bridge gain the reputation as one of the best batting grounds in the world in one-day cricket, with the average run-rate of 6.67 over the past five years the highest of any regular venue.

"You have to understand that in conditions like this you're going to go for boundaries, so the key to bowling I think is to make sure that they're hitting your best ball," Finch said.

"If you're executing your best ball over and over and they're playing good shots in our percentages, then you have to wear that.

"You have to be prepared to suck up some pressure and soak up a few boundaries here and there, as long as we're getting hit in our areas.

"We often talk about now good execution versus poor execution, and that's all it is. Did they hit a good ball for four? Yeah, so don't worry about that.

"If it's poor execution or a poor plan on my behalf, then it's something to reassess at the end of the game."

The record-breaking pitch is just to the right of the centre of the square, with a 65-metre boundary on one side of the ground.

That could well play into the hands of the big-hitting West Indies, who expect to have Chris Gayle at their disposal as he recovers from a back injury.

"It's going to play a big part, no doubt," Finch said.

"I think when teams have got left- and right-hand combinations, they've always got somebody able to target that boundary.

"That's something that will be taken into account, no doubt, throughout the game. And as a bowling unit, it's about defending the big side."

Meanwhile ,Australia are expected to resist the urge to play a second spinner, despite the wicket being notably dry after Monday's clash between Pakistan and England.

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