'Failed to adapt quickly' - Mitchell Swepson elaborates one regret from his Test debut

Mitchell Swepson is looking to contribute to the team on the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka after learning some hard lessons during the debut series against Pakistan on their home soil. The leg spinner has said that he failed to adapt to the conditions quickly and that did not help him to make a substantial impact on those flat Pakistani tracks.

Swepson got his Baggy Green during the second Test match on the tour of Pakistan earlier this year. In the first innings, he scalped two wickets including the wicket of Pakistan’s skipper Babar Azam. However, he failed to get any wickets in the next three innings despite bowling 81.4 overs. Now, Swepson believes that he will be better prepared this time when he will get the opportunity with the ball on spin-friendly pitches in Sri Lanka.

If I’d had adapted a bit quicker, it might have been a different story: Mitchell Swepson

Speaking to cricket.com.au, he said: “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.” He also added: “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.”

He said that his preparation for the Sri Lankan tour is well on the course as he is looking to adapt to the conditions much quicker this time around. The 28-year-old made his ODI debut in Pakistan after the Test series and is hoping to represent his country more in that format in the absence of Adam Zampa in Sri Lanka.

“So my prep going into Sri Lanka is, yes, we’ve got our assumptions that it’s probably going to spin, but it’s going to be important to be able to adapt on the run and work out what pace and shape to bowl with so I hit the ground running,” he added.

Swepson is practicing on the National Cricket Centre’s hybrid pitch which presents subcontinental conditions as he wants to improve and get the standard up once again in the upcoming series.