Haddin unconcerned by Indians' short-bowl ploy

Sydney, Jan 1 (CRICKETNMORE) Australian wicketkeeper Brad Haddin has said he was unperturbed at the prospect of facing a barrage of short-pitched deliveries and has invited India to continue targeting him with bouncers.

Haddin endured a rough form with the bat, repeatedly getting dismissed to the short-ball against the Indians but showed signs of returning to form with a crucial knock of 55 at the Melbourne Cricket ground in the third Test.

The 37-year-old said he wasn’t intimidated by India’s belief he has a weakness against the bouncer.

“If that’s their plan. I’ll combat them whatever way I see fit,” Haddin was quoted as saying by news.com.au Thursday.

“If their bowlers want to bang it down halfway for an hour and a half then go for your life. I think I’ve said for a while, I feel in better touch with the bat than I did leading into last summer. It was good to contribute with the bat the other day but the big thing was we had to get through that night (of day one).

The veteran keeper-batsman was under pressure to contribute with the bat after a series of low scores. He said he was forced to be aggressive while batting at Melbourne due to the delicate situation of the match but was well prepared to counter the short-ball ploy.

“We couldn’t expose our lower order. That was a pretty big moment in the game. The next day was about changing the momentum of the game. I knew where they were bowling," the veteran player said.

“It was pretty predictable what was going to happen. I hit two fours and they went back to conventional bowling.”

IANS