On Wednesday, Pat Howard, the team performance manager of Australia, stated that they would run a camp for struggling batsmen before including them in the test side that will play against India on 26th December.

Howard said, “The camp is designed to complement rather than duplicate the preparation of those batsmen playing in the Chairman’s XI in Canberra,”

The camp will start on 20th December and continued till 22nd December, in Melbourne. Ricky Ponting, Mike Hussey, Brad Haddin, Shane Watson, Shaun Marsh (if fit), Dan Christian and skipper Michael Clarke will take part in the camp.

After the Hobart test, Australia coach Mickey Arthur said, “The swinging ball was one thing that again probably exposed us a little bit…..That’s going to be top of the agenda to work on before Boxing Day because I know (India coach) Duncan Fletcher really well and I know he’ll try and expose us with the swinging ball. We need to put a hell of a lot of work into that, especially with our top seven batters. That’s going to be the focus.”

Aussie test team’s performance, especially the performance of the batsmen, has been criticized after the loss of second test against New Zealand in Hobart. In that match Australia were bowled out for 136 in the first innings and 233 in the second innings. At home, this was Australia’s first test loss to New Zealand, in 26 years. Their performance in South Africa was not like ‘Australia’.

Performance of the team, what Australia is known for, is not up to the mark, in recent years. The team is going through a transition period and most critics think that this is the best chance for India to grab the series in Australia.