Melbourne: Senior Australian batsman Mike Hussey feels that his team is not overtly worried about playing the Indian swing bowlers, even though opposition pace spearhead Zaheer Khan has promised to unsettle the hosts with moving deliveries.
Hussey admitted that Australian players did not have much exposure to swing bowling but said they would not have problems in this regard.
"The fact is it`s (swing bowling) a very dangerous art form. If a bowler is generating good pace and swinging the ball, any batsman will find it tough," Hussey said.
"We haven`t had much exposure to swing bowling as those from some of the other nations. As a general rule, our pitches have been hard and flat and not conducive to consistent swing. But I don`t believe we have a problem with it," Hussey wrote in his column for Perth-based `Sunday Times`.
His comments came following taunts from Zaheer that he would try to silence Australia with swing in the four-match Test series starting in Melbourne on December 26.
"It is definitely encouraging as a bowling unit. Our strength has always been swinging the ball, so that`s what we`re going to rely on here as well," Zaheer had said.
"Even though the wickets here will offer bounce, we`ll still be trying to use the swing of the ball," he had said.
Hussey, who has been under pressure to score runs to retain his place in the Australian side, had no doubt that Zaheer would generate plenty of movement through the air.
"Zaheer, in particular, is a very good exponent of both swing and reverse swing, the latter being more helpful in flat conditions," Hussey wrote.
"It will be an interesting toss in Melbourne, where it can swing around a bit early, as there is always moisture in the pitch on the first day," he said.
Hussey, who will play for Perth Scorchers in the Twenty20 Big Bash League, said Aussie batsmen also had great respect for Indian off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin.
PTI
