Aussie players assemble for two-week fitness camp
The Australia men's squad has today assembled at the National Cricket Centre in Brisbane for a two-week intensive fitness camp.
The camp will shake off any lingering cobwebs from the players' official six-week leave period, with Australia coach Darren Lehmann promising to "flog 'em on the running track".
While several of the squad have taken advantage of the leave period to take up Indian Premier League contracts, the Test specialists have not been in action since the epic triumph over South Africa in early March.
The camp is the first stop in preparations for a massive, non-stop two-year schedule of cricket.
Sixteen players face a gruelling two weeks in Brisbane under the stewardship of Strength and Conditioning Coach Damian Mednis.
Michael Clarke, James Faulkner, Brad Haddin, Ryan Harris, Phillip Hughes, Nathan Lyon, James Pattinson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, David Warner and Shane Watson are the centrally-contracted players in attendance today, while Nathan Coulter-Nile and Alex Doolan are also on deck.
George Bailey and Mitchell Johnson, who played in Sunday night's IPL final, plus their Kings XI Punjab teammate Shaun Marsh, will join the squad tomorrow.
Their IPL teammate Glenn Maxwell is headed in the other direction to join three other Australian stars currently plying their trade in England.
Chris Rogers is captaining Middlesex, Peter Siddle is opening the bowling for Nottinghamshire and Aaron Finch is playing T20 Blast and County Championship cricket for Yorkshire.
Maxwell will link up with Hampshire and is expected to play later this week.
Australia coach Darren Lehmann said the players should be under no illusions about the challenge ahead.
"This is a case of getting everyone together for the first time since Bangladesh to check their fitness, do all their screenings, make sure they're medically right and ready to go," Lehmann told cricket.com.au.
"We'll flog 'em a bit on the running track and make sure they're fit. It's a big 24 months coming up for us."
There will be some skills sessions but the focus of the camp is firmly on strength and conditioning with track, gym and pool work dominating the schedule.
"There'll be a few lectures but a lot of screening more so than anything else, a few skills sessions but they won't be able to lift anything too much because they'll be pretty tired.
"We'll also cover the mental side of the game, nutrition, the whole lot," said Lehman. "Everyone's up for two weeks together, they'll be pretty tired by the end of it but that's great."
An Australia squad has not assembled since the World T20 tournament in Bangladesh, and the Test team has since risen to the world's No.1 side after an annual ICC update.
Australia's marathon schedule begins with the one-day international tri-series against Zimbabwe and South Africa in Harare in August.
That's followed by a series against Pakistan in the United Arab Emirates in October before a jam-packed home summer schedule that includes limited-overs matches against South Africa, four Tests against India, a tri-series with India and England and finally culminating with the co-hosting of the Cricket World Cup.
There will be no respite after that tournament as Australia then head to the West Indies, which will be immediately followed by a three-month tour of the UK for an Ashes series and limited overs matches.
Australia are then scheduled to visit Bangladesh in October 2015, which will be followed by visits from New Zealand and the West Indies in the 2015-16 season, which could include the first ever day-night Test match against the Black Caps.
Australia is then scheduled to visit India, New Zealand and South Africa in the first few months of 2016 before the next World T20, to be held in India.
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