Jon Pierik
Australia soon to begin challenge of the fittest
By Jon Pierik
Jul 17, 2007, 16:07

Deep in the bowels of the MCG in early July, in the historic stadium's new indoor nets, Matthew Hayden picked up a bat and had his first hit since Australia's surge to a third-straight World Cup.

Hayden, a Queenslander, was in rain-swept Melbourne for a junior clinic, but spent 30 minutes before the children arrived facing any bowling that was on offer.

It was all a bit of fun, but the realisation of what awaits wasn't too far
away. ''That's just the start. It's long road ahead,'' he said with that broad grin of his. Indeed it is.

From September, when Australia arrives in South Africa for the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup, cricket's world champions face up to 27 Tests, 50
one-day internationals and a dozen Twenty20 matches in the ensuing 18 months.

That's enough to leave even the most passionate of fan, let alone a player, a little daunted.

Brett Lee said he felt the team had run on the smell of petrol fumes after its hectic 2005-06 campaign culminated in a short tour of Bangladesh last year. If Lee conquers the coming schedule, he must have a motor akin to Lewis Hamilton's McLaren for only the most finely tuned cricketer will be able to play in the majority of matches.

How best to handle this schedule will be discussed as part of Australia's pre-summer camp in August, which will held in Coolum - in the laid-back
holiday region along Queensland's Sunshine Coast.

The now famous boot camp employed last year by then coach John Buchanan will not be seen. There will be no midnight treks, cooking under the stars or lugging heavy bags around.

Under the new regime of the lively Tim Nielsen, Australia's 25-man
contracted squad will sleep comfortably in a five-star hotel. The week-long camp will be more meeting-orientated, rather than having an emphasis on physical work, although there will be some training.

Nielsen, the former South Australian wicketkeeper, is known for his love of hard work and he also has an excellent reputation among Australia's next generation of talent at the Centre of Excellence in Brisbane for his
technical nous.

He has also worked as Buchanan's sidekick and, while he has praised his predecessor's work (it's hard to argue with a record of 70 wins from 91 Tests), Nielsen will do things his way.

''Tim is a great man's man. He is a very sociable, very, very hardworking
individual,'' Hayden said. ''I think he still holds the record for the most runs in a beep test for South Australia. He prided himself on his work ethic.''

There will be much work to do now legends Shane Warne and Glenn McGrath, and long-time stars Justin Langer and Damien Martyn have retired. Nielsen will not only have to coach but will, at times, find himself playing amateur psychologist. He will have to coax the best out of young spinners Dan Cullen or Cullen Bailey if they play and experience the type of days the magical Warne rarely had to deal with.

No longer will the ball be thrown to Warne, with the pressure immediately thrown on the batting side. Now there will be days when the off-spinning Cullen must summon the spirit to plough on with figures of 0-100 beside his name.

The national selectors know they will also have no option but to turn to new faces during the searching schedule which awaits, and form may not be the over-riding factor.

For the likes of Adam Gilchrist, Ricky Ponting and Hayden to survive, rest will be required during nondescript one-day series.

Another challenge for Nielsen will be controlling Stuart MacGill's volatile
temper, and nursing through Shane Watson when he complains of yet another soft-tissue injury.

Buchanan couldn't have scripted his farewell any better. It's debatable how much of an impact he really had on Australia's sustained run of success, but the bottom line is he walked away with the Ashes
regained, with breakthrough Test series wins in India and Sri Lanka, and a pair of World Cups.

That's some resume, and it's little wonder he is selling himself to
companies now as a motivational speaker. If there was any doubt the likes of Gilchrist, Ponting and Hayden would struggle for motivation after such a successful 2006-07, that certainly won't be the case.

The veteran trio may now face the toughest and most challenging task of their distinguished careers - keeping a rebuilding Test side atop of
cricket's Everest.

It promises to be a fascinating year with home Test series against Sri Lanka and India, and potentially treacherous tours of Pakistan and India amongst a hectic 2008 schedule.

Only the fit (and brave) will survive.