Aussie quicks rest ahead of series decider

Mar 22, 2017 - 7:39 AM Australia's bowlers will be on light duties this week as they attempt to negotiate a tight turnaround before the Test series decider against India starts on Saturday.

The tourists toiled for 210 overs during India's marathon first innings in the third Test. It left them battered and bruised but not broken.

Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Steve O'Keefe and Nathan Lyon continue to be monitored but at this stage team medicos haven't seen any red flags.

Australia travelled to Dharamsala on Wednesday. Their training sessions on Thursday and Friday will both be optional, with team management wary of overloading players adjusting to higher altitude.

In the visitors' favour is that they didn't bowl at all on Monday, day five of the drawn match in Ranchi. Their stint in the field was the longest in over 40 years but that statistic applies to a single innings rather than an entire game.

Much has been made of the workload of Cummins in particular. He was playing his first Test since a dazzling debut in 2011, having finally recovering from a series of serious setbacks.

The right-armer delivered 39 overs in Ranchi, which was roughly what team medicos were budgeting for.

If Cummins remained at home instead of replacing Mitchell Starc in the squad, the plan was for him to bowl a similar number of overs in the last round of the Sheffield Shield then back up in the final should NSW have progressed.

"The fact they didn't have (to bowl in) a second innings is probably a good thing for us and they could really relax on day five," Peter Handscomb said.

"It's a big thing, if you can get the bowlers a day off to put their feet up then they'll come out and win us games.

"It was great they had that rest and now, coming into the final Test, they'll be all ready and raring to go first day."

Losing a bowler early in the upcoming match would be a hammer blow to Australia's hopes of just their second Test series win in India since 1969.

A sore Hazlewood did minimal work in the nets prior to the third Test, but steamed in for 44 overs.

Lyon continues to nurse a cracked callus on his spinning finger, while O'Keefe delivered a staggering 77 overs in Ranchi. No Australian has rolled the arm over so much in a Test innings since 1979.

"A crazy amount of overs but he does that at training anyway so he's perfectly fine," Handscomb said.

Source: AAP