- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
Usman Khawaja has proved in the first two World T20 games that treating every ball on its merits, timing, precision, and keeping the ball on the ground is far safer and more effective than the aerial route preferred by the other five recognised Australian batsmen.
So much so, Khawaja is the leading batsman with 97, Glenn Maxwell has 48, Shane Watson 34, Mitchell Marsh 30, David Warner 23, and skipper Steve Smith just 18.
Apart from Khawaja, that’s a pretty pathetic return for the talent on show.
The next telling stat are the strike rates – Maxwelll 141.17, Khawaja 134.72, Watson 125.92, Warner 115.00, Smith 105.00, and Marsh 103.44.
More:
» Australia-Bangladesh highlights
» Australia-Bangladesh scorecard
Note the three best strike rates are the three top scorers.
And the third stat, boundaries and sixes, sees Khawaja on top with 13 fours and a six, Maxwell 4/2, Watson 3/1, Marsh 1/2, with the captain and vice-captain at 1/1 each.
Khawaja 13/1 – the other five collectively 10/7.
Hello, warning bells are ringing.
Little wonder the Australians couldn’t pass New Zealand’s 142 which was a major bonus seeing the Kiwis are a minimum 180-190 batting line-up.
But Bangladesh is a 110-120 side, so it was a big bonus for them to score 156, as the Australians crept home with nine balls remaining.
As an overall picture the Australians, apart from batsman Usman Khawaja and leggie Adam Zampa, are currently playing poor cricket that won’t hold up against Pakistan and India in their last two games.
Like Khawaja, Zampa deserves high praise..
He’s bowled just five overs in taking 3-26 at 5.20 an over.
And in those 30 deliveries 12 have been dot balls, which for a leggie is sensational.
No other Australian bowler deserves a mention, and therein lies another problem when an old stager like Shane Watson is easily the next best bowler with 3-53 off eight, and 21 dot balls.
The attack is either a selection problem, or an ability problem
Whichever one it is won’t beat Pakistan or India, which translates to an early flight home.
Come on fellas you are far better than that – digitus extractus and get on with it.