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Swepson's one regret from maiden Test campaign

Being able to adapt quickly to conditions was leg-spinner's biggest lesson from promising first series in the Baggy Green

Mitch Swepson hopes hard lessons learned on brutally flat Pakistani tracks can help make him a force on the upcoming tour of Sri Lanka, with the leg-spinner citing a failure to adapt quickly to conditions as a regret from his maiden Test series.

Swepson debuted in the second Test of the hard-fought three-match series, in which Australia ultimately prevailed one-nil with a 115-run win in the decider in Lahore.

The Queenslander, who had been on the periphery of the Test side for five years, took two wickets in his first innings – including that of Pakistan captain Babar Azam – but failed to find a breakthrough in three innings thereafter, despite soldiering through 81.4 overs and having some misfortune in the way of dropped catches.

And as he looks ahead to the upcoming two-Test campaign in spin-friendly Galle, Swepson says he will be better-equipped this time around to change his game to suit the pitches he is presented with, should they differ from what the Australians are expecting.

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"One thing I learnt from Pakistan is you can have your assumptions about what conditions are going to be like, but ultimately when you hit the ground you have to be able to adapt," he told cricket.com.au.

"There were some positives, and some things I wish I could have my time over with, but the whole thing was just an awesome learning experience.

"I knew it was going to be tough, hard, grinding cricket, but I think I was still surprised at how tough it really was, and the lessons learned from that are going to hold me in good stead.

"I had some assumptions about what the pitches in Pakistan were going to do in regards to spin, and they probably weren't quite as conducive to spin as what we wanted, and that probably reflected in the way I bowled some of my spells.

"I think if I'd have adapted a bit quicker, it might have been a different story.

"So my prep going into Sri Lanka is, yes, we've got our assumptions that it's probably going to spin, but it's going to be important to be able to adapt on the run and work out what pace and shape to bowl with so I hit the ground running."

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Swepson, who also made his ODI debut on the same tour and hopes to win more limited-overs caps in Sri Lanka in the absence of Adam Zampa, said the lessons learned also centred upon the need for extra patience and consistency at Test level, which has in turn "only got me wanting to improve and get the standard up again, and hopefully in the next few months I can do that".

The 28-year-old today trained in Brisbane with a number of Australia and Australia A squad members, while he has in recent weeks also honed his craft on the National Cricket Centre's hybrid pitch, designed to replicate subcontinental conditions.

Alongside fellow Queensland spinner Matt Kuhnemann, who will tour Sri Lanka with Australia A adjacent to the Aussie squad, Swepson has also linked up with spin guru John Davison, with whom he has worked considerably in the past at the Bulls.

Davison agreed with Swepson's assessment that he had erred tactically in Pakistan (Australia did not have a spin coach on the tour, but have since added Kiwi spin legend Dan Vettori to their support staff) but would benefit from such a challenging assignment.

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"I think he probably did bowl too fast in Pakistan, but they were on wickets that were a nightmare for everyone to bowl on," Davison told cricket.com.au.

"It was a pretty tough initiation for him. I think he'll come out the other side of that and be better for the experience.

"I don't think he bowled as well he potentially could have in Pakistan. The roles that he's played for Queensland, he's managed to bowl a holding role quite economically and still take wickets.

"We're still yet to see the best of what he can do on the international stage. I think it will excite some people when they do see it."