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35 questions Australian cricket needs to answer now

9th August, 2015
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Michael Clarke is ready to come out of retirement. Anyone keen to ask him? (AFP PHOTO/Lindsey Parnaby)
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9th August, 2015
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In the aftermath of the Trent Bridge disaster, Australian cricket followers seem to have fallen into two camps.

There are those that would be happy with nothing short of public hangings for the entire squad, along with the coaching staff, selectors and Cricket Australia board members.

In the other camp are those that believe you should support your team through think and thin, never say a bad word about them, and arm themselves with the opinion that it’s un-Australian to ‘bag’ the national team out or hold them accountable for their failings.

Of course, hyperbole aside, there are many that fall into neither camp, and simply want Australia to start winning Test matches again. However, it’s much more fun to concentrate on the opposite ends of the bell curve.

Yet regardless of where you sit, what is not up for debate is that the performance in the Fourth Test – with the series on the line – was not acceptable.

With the Ashes lost in extremely convincing fashion – considering there is still one Test to be played at The Oval – it’s time once again for Australian cricket to ask itself some hard questions.

More importantly, its time said questions were answered, and here are 35 that I would like to ask.

1. Honestly and sincerely, was Michael Clarke ‘pushed’?
2. If he wasn’t – and it was his own decision – was any effort made to stop him from retiring?
3. Do Australian batsmen consistently have trouble against a moving ball?
4. If so, what’s been done – and is being done – to overcome it?
5. Is there a reason why Australian cricket uses Kookaburra balls instead of Duke balls?
6. Does Australia have succession plans for players when they reach a certain age (say, over 32)?
7. Or is the strategy to simply replace veteran players, when they stop performing, with whomever else is in-form?
8. Can Australia realistically select Mitchell Johnson and Mitchell Starc in the same Test XI?
9. Given Shane Watson and Brad Haddin played just the one Test each, how close were they to not being selected for the tour at all?
10. If Brad Haddin wasn’t going to be dropped for the Second Test at Lord’s – as Michael Clarke suggested – then he must have been dropped for missing a Test due to family reasons, right?
11. Does such a decision fit into Australia’s alleged policy of putting family first?
12. Rod Marsh said it was an ‘amazingly hard call’ to drop Haddin, along with saying ‘there was no choice’. So, which is it? It can’t be both, can it? (OK, technically that was two questions).
13. Are the coaches and selectors happy to adopt the mantra of “that’s just the way he plays” with Dave Warner, or should he be expected to be, y’know, a Test batsman?
14. Do the powers-that-be have an unhealthy obsession with selecting an all-rounder?
15. Or did the dropping of Mitch Marsh signify an end to this irrational love affair?
16. What preparations – listed in detail – were undertaken for playing in English conditions?
17. Was Pat Cummins ever a realistic chance of playing a Test Match on this tour?
18. If yes, how the hell could that conclusion possibly be arrived at?
19. If no, why the hell was he picked?
20. Was Ian Healy out of line, or making an astute point, by blaming the WAGs for the series result?
21. With Chris Rogers retiring, Adam Voges (for the most part) looking out of his depth, Shaun Marsh doing Shaun Marsh things, and Michael Clarke calling time on his career, who are the next four batsmen in line for a call-up?
22. What impact, if any, has T20 cricket had on Australia’s Test batsmen?
23. How important is Sheffield Shield cricket, and is it given the level of respect and attention needed to blood a successful Test side?
24. Individually broken down, how much money does each form of cricket/competition earn Cricket Australia? (ie: Tests versus ODI versus International T20 versus BBL, etc.)
25. Does the amount of revenue each of the competitions generate, accurately reflect the level of importance to Cricket Australia?
26. Would it please be possible to outlaw the saying ‘play your natural game’ if a player’s natural game is horrible and not one suited to success at Test cricket?
27. Would you ever consider something crazy like a rule that states if a batsman averages less than 30 over 10 or more consecutive Tests, he’s automatically dropped, with no selector input required?
28. Given his impressive first-class record, why wasn’t Brad Hodge selected? (Yes, I admit, that one was just to make sure you’re all still awake and reading).
29. Does Australia always and unapologetically have to play ‘aggressive cricket’, irrespective of the match situation, or is there some leeway for playing ‘sensible cricket’?
30. What are Greg Blewett’s credentials to be Australia’s fielding coach?
31. Why was Blewett given a three-year contract, yet his predecessor, the highly rated, respected and experienced Mike Young, only on short-term, part-time deals?
32. What are Michael Di Venuto’s credentials to be Australia’s batting coach?
33. What KPI’s does Di Venuto have as Australia’s batting coach?
34. Remember the Argus Review, or whatever it was bloody called? Another one might be needed. I know I’m not meant to answer these questions, but just a thought.
35. Is it possible that sometimes a ‘bad tour’ just happens, and there is no need to panic or overreact?

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So there you have it, 35 questions that I would like to ask Cricket Australia. There may be a few I’ve missed, and that Roarers would like to add, so please, feel free to fire away.

Given the series loss, I think it would be a very prudent exercise for Australian cricket to undertake.

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