Neser ticks off his good, bad and ugly

Queensland's Michael Neser has adopted the attitude of "train ugly" as he looks to establish himself at cricket's highest level.

Neser debuted for Australia in their ODI series whitewash against England in the northern summer, playing twice and taking two wickets in what was a difficult introduction to international cricket.

But far from distancing himself from the 5-0 thumping against the world's top-ranked 50-over side, the 28-year-old is embracing the lessons, harsh as they were.

"You don't want to forget about it – if you do that you won't learn anything," he told cricket.com.au in Brisbane, where he is training with the Australia A one-day squad ahead of their departure next Monday for India.

"I think it's about training ugly, working on the things you're not good at and getting better. There's no point having the bowling machine set on half-volley and hitting beautiful cover drives all day.

"(Head coach Justin Langer and I) had a little chat after the tour, about expectations and things I've got to work on.

"He's keen on us being the best learners in the game, and part of that is learning from our mistakes. It obviously wasn't a great tour but I think we've learnt a lot.

"So I've been working on a combination of technique stuff, execution in certain areas, and preparation.

"I probably could've been more on song with my preparation in England. Moving forward to India, I think my preparation has been really good, so I'm excited about that."

Neser's ODI debut capped a dream period for the fast-bowling allrounder, who last summer won the KFC Big Bash with Adelaide Strikers before completing a rare double with victory in the Sheffield Shield with the Bulls.

At a camp in Brisbane in May, the right-armer was being used by Langer as a net bowler, but when Josh Hazlewood was ruled out of the UK tour, Neser was given his chance. He took 2-46 on debut, but second time around, he struggled to contain England's explosive batting order as the tourists were soundly beaten.

Neser understands the fickleness of the white-ball game and as he turns his attention to India and the home summer beyond, is working on some methods to stay ahead of the batters.

"In India, for somebody like me who bowls mid-130kph, variation is the key – subtle changes and consistent areas.

"There's a couple of new balls I'm trying out at the moment – every year I try to bowl a new variation because I find that in the Big Bash and the Shield, the guys you play every year tend to work you out.

"So if you're not coming up with something new, or honing in on certain things, they can get away from you."

Neser is also aware how attractive the proposition of a genuine allrounder is to selectors, and the right-hander, who has six first-class half-centuries to his name as well as a List A hundred, is adopting the same mentality of finding the areas with deficiencies, and focusing on them.

"With India in mind, I'm trying to put a key emphasis on batting against spin," he added. "I've been doing heaps technically to play it better.

"I take my batting really seriously. I've changed a couple of minor things so hopefully I can contribute. I'm always asking the Queensland coach to bat me higher but I've got to put in a few more good performances before that happens."

With the fitness of Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood still an unknown ahead of the Pakistan Tests, there could be a surprise or two in the fast-bowling stocks in Langer's first Test in charge. Neser is hesitant to look that far ahead but knows the best way to curry favour with selectors. 

"That's the dream, to play for Australia," he said. "But I'm looking at India – that's my key focus. As we all know, they're looking to pick on form so if I do well in India, then it's up to the selectors from there."

Australia A Tour of India

Australia A one-day squad: Travis Head (c), Alex Carey (vc), Ashton Agar, Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne, Michael Neser, Joel Paris, Matthew Renshaw, Jhye Richardson, D'Arcy Short, Billy Stanlake, Mitch Swepson, Chris Tremain, Jack Wildermuth

Schedule

One-day fixtures in Vijayawada

17 August v India A

19 August v South Africa A

21 August v India B

23 August v India A

25 August v South Africa A

27 August v India B

29 August - Quad-Series Final

Australia A four-day squad: Mitchell Marsh (c), Alex Carey (vc), Ashton Agar, Brendan Doggett, Peter Handscomb, Travis Head, Jon Holland, Usman Khawaja, Michael Neser, Joel Paris, Kurtis Patterson, Matthew Renshaw, Mitch Swepson, Chris Tremain

Four-day fixtures in Vizag

2-5 September v India A

8-11 September v India A