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"Boof" Lehmann still with a bit to prove

Darren Lehmann has escaped much of the blame so far - how long will this continue? (AP Photo/Rui Vieira/PA)
Expert
13th February, 2014
18

There’s no doubt Darren Lehmann is the inspiration behind Australia’s Test revival.

He felt his way in his debut as Australian coach during the five Ashes Tests in England, for a 3-0 loss.

But “Boof” is no boofhead when it comes to correcting wrongs.

The 5-0 shellacking of England in the return Ashes campaign was as comprehensive as it was staggeringly unbelievable.

And the momentum has carried over to Centurion, where the baggy greens have South Africa by the throat after two days.

But don’t get too carried away, there are still batting problems despite the overwhelming results.

Australia can’t keep relying on the middle order, and the tail, to get them out of gaol.

The top order is brittle, and until Australia can select a stable 1 – 2 – 3 who can be consistent, papering over the cracks by winning won’t hide the problems.

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There have been 11 digs since the baggy greens stepped up to the plate, but in 10 of those 11 digs, the openers Chris Rogers and David Warner have only posted one century partnership.

Just one in 11! That being the second innings of the third Ashes Test at the WACA when the two lefties put on 157.

To compound the problem, Rogers and Warner have only managed two 50-plus stands – 67 in the Gabba second dig, and 64 in the MCG second dig.

The other eight opening partnerships were broken early.

The next best was a 34 in Adelaide, two in the 20s, then 19, 15, 13, 12, and 4.

On those facts, it would appear Australia has a habit of falling behind the eight-ball almost every dig.

And it doesn’t get much better for the second wicket, where eight of the 11 partnerships haven’t reached three figures in team total.

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Nor the third wicket, where six of the 11 haven’t reached 100 in total.

That 1 – 2 – 3 hole in the batting order must be “Boof’s” prime objective to fill.

Alex Doolan looks a likely 3 contender; David Warner is one of the most exciting batsmen in world cricket, but there’s a long time between drinks; Chris Rogers is a far better proposition than Ed Cowan, but still not consistent enough.

Your move, “Boof”.

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