Sydney, Feb.19 : Australian cricket team coach Tim Nielsen says that he has been spending a lot of time telling the players not to be distracted by developments related to the Indian Premier League (IPL), and to be more concerned about "watching the ball and hitting it, hopefully where there's no fieldsman".

Nielsen said that he has faith in the ability of his players to shut out the distractions of this long and controversial summer, and "will encourage a back-to-basics approach in an effort to snap the form slump that has produced below-par batting performances in the past three games."

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, Nielsen is adamant that the new Twenty20 tournament, uncertainty about next month's tour to Pakistan and the accumulated fallout from the Sydney Test are not excuses for lacklustre batting, which has not stopped Australia winning their most recent matches against Sri Lanka and India.

"There is no doubt those things going on have an impact on players. There are things going on in everybody's life, every day of the week that are not related to cricket that we have got to deal with. This is one that is public. It's not having an impact we should be concerned about. We need to worry about watching the ball and hitting it, hopefully where there's no fieldsman," he said.

The auction of IPL players will be held in Mumbai tomorrow, when up to 16 Australians will learn which city buys their allegiance.

ANI