Nervous Copeland enters the unknown

Trent Copeland marked his departure for Australia's Test tour of Sri Lanka by admitting to nervousness. But he believes his methodical bowling can extract wickets on all surfaces, even the unforgiving pitches Australia are likely to encounter in Galle, Kandy and Colombo.

Phil Hughes, Ryan Harris, Peter Siddle, Usman Khawaja, Michael Beer, Nathan Lyon and Copeland all departed for Sri Lanka on Tuesday, the final pieces of an Australian squad that has been patch-worked together via the tour's segues from Twenty20 and limited-overs to Test matches.

At 25, Copeland is a mature character, having crafted his medium pace in Sydney grade cricket then pursued it with great success in the Sheffield Shield for NSW. On the face of it Copeland might be expected to play a more prominent role on the tour of South Africa that follows Sri Lanka, but he cited Glenn McGrath as an example of how the simplest methods can have universal value.

"I don't think I can ever compare myself to the great man [McGrath], but I think patience, line and length and just trying to do a little bit with the ball and just continually asking questions of the batsmen is my theory," Copeland said. "I suppose in that regard it is similar to what he did, but I've just got to do what's been successful for me at state level and hopefully that can work.

"Just believe in your skills; it doesn't matter whether you're in flat, hot conditions or green seaming conditions down in Hobart, if you put the ball in the right area often enough it is really my game plan, and that'll be successful no matter what the conditions. Other than that it's just about backing myself and being able to accept that sometimes batsmen play good shots.

"If I bowl the ball and put it where I want to put it and they can still hit me, then good luck to them and I need to re-assess. But if I can be 100%confident in doing that then that's all I can do."

Chosen for Sri Lanka after showing poise and parsimony on unresponsive pitches in Zimbabwe, Copeland will be behind the likes of Harris, Siddle and Mitchell Johnson for a pace bowling spot. He can reasonably expect an opportunity however, given the attritional nature of back-to-back Test matches - a factor that precluded Doug Bollinger's inclusion.

"Obviously it is a great opportunity for me to be involved, I'm very nervous getting to the airport and going on my first tour," Copeland said. "I need to get comfortable with the surroundings and hopefully make an impression once I arrive there. That's all I can do.

"[Playing] is something I can't really control, if given the opportunity I think I'm ready to go and I'll do my best to prepare well once I get over there. The Australian cricket side has been so successful for so long and hopefully that continues. If I can add to that, well great, but if not, then I'll bide my time and wait until the time comes."

One happy circumstance for both Copeland and Khawaja has been the employment of Chandika Hathurusingha, the former Sri Lanka opening batsman and occasional seam bowler, as the NSW assistant coach. His knowledge of home conditions has been a valuable source of advice for both men in the weeks leading up to their departure.

"[Hathurusingha's appointment] has been perfect timing for me, because I've had a chance to chew his ear off about the conditions over there and hopefully learn a lot once I'm there," Copeland said. "Watching the one dayers and the T20s in Colombo and places like that, the conditions are obviously going to be hot, humid, the ball might swing around a little bit, and other than that I'm just prepared to take it as it comes.

"I've been in Zimbabwe for the last month on the Australia A tour over there; similar conditions, flat and slow wickets, hot conditions, training outdoors in the heat and stuff like that, so I think if there has been a good preparation anywhere I think that's probably the one, so I think that's held me in good stead."

Copeland's lack of a Cricket Australia or BBL contract means he is flying to Sri Lanka as a man of significantly more modest means than many team-mates, but he reiterated his desire to move beyond that pigeonhole.

"The game is evolving and T20 cricket's playing a large part in the marketing of cricket and keeping younger people involved and interested in watching it," he said. "This is a great opportunity and I'm absolutely thrilled about it, but I think I can make strides in the other forms of the game as well - I'd hate to think that I'll only ever play one form of the game.

"I'm up for the challenge and if its Test cricket or T20 it doesn't matter, I'm training hard and hopefully I can play all three."