SYDNEY, Dec 9: Australian allrounder Cameron Green says it was a �step-up� to face the Indian bowlers in the first warm-up game and he is looking forward to the tough challenge of encountering the pink ball against a full strength visiting team in the second practice game.
The 21-year-old is primed for a Test debut after scoring an unbeaten 125 for Australia A in their first practice match against India A, which ended in a draw on Tuesday.
Green was on Wednesday confirmed in the 12-man Australia A squad for the day-night practice game starting on December 11.
�Obviously, when you play Shield cricket, you have an idea of what you are facing. The Australian domestic competition holds you in good stead, it�s a tough competition with world-class players, but the match against India was a step-up,� Green said in a virtual news conference.
�It was more of a challenge because I hadn�t really seen those bowlers bowl before. That took a little bit of time to get used to ... It was still a little bit of a step up.�
Green said veteran Indian pacer Umesh Yadav, who had claimed three wickets, was the most difficult to face at the Drummoyne Oval pitch here.
�You could obviously tell the world class skill of Umesh Yadav. He was bowling down the breeze on a wicket that did not have enough for them. Yeah, that was incredibly tough,� he said.
�But I had Paine at the other end, so it was helpful to get through them. So it was definitely tough to face.�
Green and Paine had shared a 104-run sixth wicket partnership.
Green, who has featured in a single ODI against India, had a fruitful Sheffield Shield campaign where he scored 363 runs at an average of 72.60 with two centuries.
�You never really know if you�re ready. All I can do is to play well in the next game. And that�s kind of a tough challenge facing a full strength India side with a pink ball in Sydney. �I�ll just yeah see how it goes and just keep trying to perform and it�s for the selectors to decide.�
Green said the Australian side is �an incredibly hard team to break into.�
�It is pretty settled at the moment. Apart from a few injuries with Davey (Warner) at the top... But that really is not the position I�m vying for.
�All I can do is really just make myself available and get myself ready,� he said.
The young allrounder said it will be his first taste of pink-ball cricket as he gears up for the second tour game.
�I�ve never actually faced it before, for whatever reason I keep dodging the day-night games in domestic cricket. I have a training session today and it will be the first ever I face it or bowl with it. That will be pretty interesting,� he said.
�There are a lot of guys in the team who have played with the pink ball before. So I try and bounce as many ideas off those guys as I can.
�A few guys say if you are batting at night but already in, it seems like it�s okay. But it�s just when you are new to the crease it�s very tough.�
The Border-Gavaskar series gets underway in Adelaide from December 17, 8.30 am onwards on Sony Six and Sony Ten 3 channels. � PTI