Second strings tune up for big stage

'A' team cricket is a strange world. Tickets are often free, but the crowd is invariably sparse. Outright fast bowlers dabble in spin. Premier batsmen are content with a couple of middling knocks. Gains for the self can almost be of greater importance than those for the team. And all of it is completely logical for there are no World Cups or Test championships to fight over. Just a pecking order.

Australia A, India A and South Africa A might still like to win the seven-match one-day tri-series that kicks off in Chennai on Wednesday, but they might be just as content finding solutions to make their respective first XIs stronger.

In 2013, Dean Elgar struck his highest score - 268 - in first-class cricket against Australia A. He is one of the first-choice openers for South Africa and is the current captain of the A team. In 2014, Naman Ojha slammed 219 and 101 in a four-day game, remained not out both times and was chosen to tour England with the Indian Test squad in July. Australia A's response in that same match was led by Mitchell Marsh, who cracked a double-century of his own and went on to claim the allrounder's spot in their Test XI. The three teams meet in the 50-over format from tomorrow, but the opportunity remains the same. A good showing against an international-quality side at home or away is great for the resume.

"I think it's something that every player will think about," Elgar said. "They might not necessarily speak about it, but they will be thinking about it because that's their common goal. I think every person that's playing for their A side wants to play for the national side. So they are only human to want to think for higher honours."

More pertinently, South Africa, who are in transition, are due for their longest tour of India in October. Graeme Smith, Jacques Kallis and Alviro Petersen have called time on their careers. With craters - let alone holes - to fill, players like Elgar, who is himself only 17 Tests old, Reeza Hendricks, who is among those discussed to take over the Test opener's slot, Eddie Leie, a promising young legspinner and Wayne Parnell, who doesn't get to play in the senior team too often, an 'A' tour has great significance.

"This series is a big series for every player in the side just because of the changing of the guard, if you want to call it that, in various formats now in South African cricket," Elgar said. "It's big for the players to make a stamp, whether they get a game or two to try and make those one or two games count for them. It's happened quite quickly back home, I don't think anyone expected them to retire so quickly but it's exciting as well. It just shows you the depth that we have and the hunger of the players is right up there."

A healthy bench strength is a luxury most teams would like, even if it costs the odd 'A' game. The scrutiny is less, and consequently so is the backlash. Only last week did Rahul Dravid term India A's 0-1 loss to Australia A a "good lesson," and that "the thing about this series. You have to keep learning and keep improving."

It is a policy that tends to hold good for everyone. Virat Kohli amassed over 700 runs in four Tests against Australia and is among the top-tier batsmen going around across formats. But he insisted on playing one of the 'A' games and used it as a chance to polish a shot he rarely plays: the sweep.

"I feel as an international batsman on a personal level, you need to keep adding things that could make a difference in probably say the next 6-12 months in your game," Kohli had said. "With bowlers bowling more attacking lines, it really comes into play, in case you want to accelerate the scoring rate. They might set fields that are difficult to pierce. If you master another shot, it just opens up dimensions in your game that will be helpful in future."

An 'A' team's results don't haunt their country's fans and burn column inches. First-class and List A records aren't as quickly flung back at a player's face. The emphasis on their growth and redevelopment instead is what people are interested in.

That presents as good an environment as any for someone struggling to get back in form, like Quinton de Kock. He was persisted with in the World Cup, but his rope got cut during the Bangladesh tour. He is expected to join the South Africa A squad ahead of their second one-dayer and will remain with them for the unofficial Tests as well. He would be disappointed at not being part of the ODIs against New Zealand, but it does give him some space to remedy problems that have crept in since his return from injury.

The team's needs, of course, are not altogether ignored and Australia's Callum Ferguson said the ideal case was to balance both priorities: "Every A tour is important from an individual point of view. Guys playing in a winning side always do well. So it's about creating a culture in which the team's cause comes first and it's the real focus for us."

Australia will be especially keen for some younger talent. Their one-day team is vibrant, the fast-bowling attack that helped them win the World Cup have several miles left in them. Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins are not even 25 yet. Throw James Pattinson in that mix as well, he is among the 15 men in Chennai trying to work his way back up. But their batting though is not quite as healthy, especially in Tests.

More often than not their solutions have been to settle for a short-term solution by picking older, seasoned players. But say if the likes of Joe Burns, Peter Handscomb, Usman Khawaja enjoy a booming series here, options open up. And most captains like looking around a room and being able to have 14 men all capable of getting into an XI and staying there for a while.