Mitchell Swepson had a forgettable start to his Test career as the young Australian leg spinner averaged 133 with the ball in his debut series in Pakistan. However, ahead of the upcoming Test series against Sri Lanka, Swepson has emphasized adapting to the alien conditions, something he failed to do against Pakistan.
"One thing I learnt from Pakistan is you can have your assumptions about what conditions are going to be like, but ultimately when you hit the ground, you have to be able to adapt," Swepson told cricket.com.au.
Swepson stressed that the conditions in Pakistan were different from those he had anticipated prior to the series. He also admitted to failing to adapt to the adverse conditions, which resulted in his failure with the ball in the three-match Test series. At last, the talented leg spinner from Queensland said that had he adapted to the conditions a bit quicker, it would've been a memorable tour for him.
"I had some assumptions about what the pitches in Pakistan were going to do regarding spin, and they probably weren't quite as conducive to spin as what we wanted, and that probably reflected in the way I bowled some of my spells. I think if I'd have adapted a bit quicker, it might have been a different story," the 28-year-old concluded.
The wickets supplied in the Test series between Australia and Pakistan were among the flattest ones in the history of the game, which made all the bowlers from both sides toil extremely hard to reap the rewards.
Further, unlike most of the subcontinental decks, the tracks in Karachi and Rawalpindi weren't ideal for the spinners, which caused massive inflation in the average and strike rate of both the Aussie tweakers.
While Nathan Lyon could pick 12 wickets at a strike rate of 109, Swepson managed to grab just two wickets after bowling more than 90 overs.
Australia's tour of Sri Lanka commences on 7th June with a 3-match T20I series, following which both these sides will clash in five ODIs and two Tests.