More than bowling put to the test: Tremain

Victoria paceman Chris Tremain will put more than just his bowling to the test later this year when he embarks on his first major tour of India.

The right-armer has been named in both the one-day and four-day Australia A squads for their winter tour of the subcontinent, which will lead into Australia's Test series against Pakistan in the UAE.

Tremain has visited India twice before but never played there, and he and his A teammates will venture to parts of the country that only a handful of Aussie cricketers have been before.

The one-dayers will be played in the Andhra Pradesh city of Vijayawada before the squad shifts some 350km north-east to the coastal city of Visakhapatnam, also known as Vizag. The same two venues hosted New Zealand A's tour of India last year.

Hailing from the small town of Yeoval - which has a population of around 300 people - just outside of Dubbo in central New South Wales, Tremain is no stranger to being off the beaten track.

And he jokes that the tour will test his intestinal fortitude and geography skills as much as his cricket.

"I've been there twice ... and I've been violently ill both times," he told SEN of his previous visits to India.

"The best bit of advice I got was to just cop it and roll with it. You're going to get sick and just to the best you can to get by.

"I've never played on wickets like it and things like the climate are all going to play a big factor.

"In terms of tactics, it's going to be a 'suck it and see' thing. We really don't know what we're getting into. 

"I've actually never even heard of the place ... for the four-day games. It could be the equivalent of Dubbo in India."

While not one of India's major cricketing hubs, Vizag has been visited by senior Australian men's teams three times before; Mark Waugh scored a century as Australia won their 1996 World Cup clash against Kenya there at the old Indira Priyadarshini Stadium before Matthew Hayden and Ricky Ponting reached three figures as Steve Waugh's tourists won an ODI at the same ground in 2001.

International matches in the city then moved to the newer ACA-VDCA Stadium, where Michael Clarke scored an unbeaten century in an ODI defeat in 2010.

The ACA-VDCA Stadium also hosted its maiden Test match in 2016, when Virat Kohli led India to a crushing win over England.

But cricket in Vijayawada is more of an unknown and the city has hosted just one senior men's international before, an ODI between India and West Indies back in 2002.

Tremain, who played three ODIs in 2016, has developed into one of the most consistent bowlers in Australian domestic cricket and was a crucial part of Victoria's Sheffield Shield treble in recent years.

He was named Sheffield Shield Player of the Year last season as well after taking 51 wickets at 21, many of which came on the lifeless drop-in pitch at the MCG.

The 26-year-old's consistent form has brought him to the cusp of more chances of the top level in the form of selection in several A squads, while he also trained with Australia's Test team before their tour to Bangladesh last year and was recently with the ODI squad in Brisbane before their departure to the UK.

And he's excited about the trip into the unknown and his first taste of playing cricket in Asia.

"It's going to be hard going to India, it's going to be different but it's a challenge that everyone talks about," he says.

"They say it's horrid, you get sick and it's hot, and it's hard. But you envy the guys that have had the opportunity to do it."

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

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

Tour schedule

One-Day fixtures - Vijayawada

17 August v India A

19 August v South Africa A

23 August v India A

25 August v South Africa A

29 August – Tri-Series Final

Four-Day fixtures - Vizag

2 – 5 September v India A

8 – 11 September v India A