Western Australia choose India for pre-season trip

A Western Australia squad will trade the bounce of Perth for the spin of India during a 12-day pre-season tour next month. Wayne Clark, the Western Australia coach, hoped the trip, which includes stops in Bangalore and Mysore, would help the Warriors avoid the slow starts of recent summers.

"This is a great opportunity for the boys to get some really good match practice against high quality opposition," Clark said. "We've been pretty slow out of the blocks for the last couple of seasons so hopefully this will help us to turn that around and get us set for a good start to the season." The 15-man squad will play three one-day fixtures and a three-day match against the first-class side Karnataka, which is the home state of Rahul Dravid and Anil Kumble.

Western Australia also announced their captain for the summer, with Justin Langer appointed for the fourth season in a row. Michael Hussey has relinquished his role as the state's deputy due to his expanded international commitments and been replaced by Marcus North. "We will be looking not only for success this season," Langer said, "but also to build the foundations in our young, talented squad for sustained success in the next five to ten years."

Tour schedule
September 23-25, Western Australia v Karnataka
September 27, Western Australia v Karnataka
September 29, Western Australia v Karnataka
September 30, Western Australia v Karnataka