- Video
-
Club Roar
Captured a great grassroots sporting moment? We want to see it!Content Collections
The Roar Community
- Join
- Login
It’s obvious the main problem with Australia’s national cricket side is that they are struggling to play as a cohesive unit.
Usually one would expect Australia to have achieved the victory target set by New Zealand in Hobart in the second Test.
But such is the mental state of the Aussie batsmen at the moment, that quite a few cricket writers including one on The Roar, anticipated that the die was not yet cast when the Aussies were 72/0 overnight before capitulating on the fourth day at Bellerive.
And, so it proved in the end when New Zealand won a Test in Australia for the first time in 26 years.
There would not have been so many doubters among the cricket pundits in years gone by, when dare I say it, the likes of Warne, Gilchrist, McGrath among them, were around.
Now the tide is changing for the worse and Australian cricket has to start asking itself – not so much why, but where to from here?
It takes some time to rebuild a team into a winning combination after running roughshod for so long over the opposition. The time has now come when the excuses proffered, that Australia is still a team “in transition” as it concerns the re-building phase after the numerous retirements, can be regarded as nothing but a red herring.
By now one would not have expected that transition to have been fully completed of course, but there is no indication either that Australia knows where it is headed – save a few bowlers who are making their mark.
Australia seems to be lurching from one batting disaster to the next – to the point where no one is sure what will happen next. Their dismal collapse for 47 at Newlands recently, as much as it was unacceptable, was quite inexplicable.
Surely, as a unit the team in its entirety should have better assessed what was going on. They barely avoided being bowled out for their lowest total ever in Tests.
It was evident in the type of shots that were played on the day at Newlands, that they were not a reflection of a team that knew what it was doing based on the state of play. The same could be said for their first innings total of 136 all out at Bellerive. What’s going on here; Ponting especially, and Hussey look a shadow of their former selves in very important positions in the batting order.
As to why this is happening all too frequently is anyone’s guess. Many snippets of advice have been given to the Australians on this forum as to what may be the way forward. Possibly Tim Paine as wicketkeeper, bringing back the likes of Hilfenhaus, Bollinger etc. – but how sure can we be that what most of the fans are advocating is ultimately the road to take?
Is it not something negative that has crept into the Aussie psyche that is triggering these collapses, rather than ongoing problems in finding the right combination(s)? Usman Khawaja has come in, to step up to take over the No 3 mantle and has definitely shown periodic glimpses of his talent. His innings at Newlands paved the way for an Aussie victory in the second Test against South Africa.
But still, judging from this forum there are complaints about Khawaja not being able to build bigger totals. Was the omission of Katich a big mistake?
If the selectors thought Hughes would be the best man to do the job, then they have erred. Speaking of the selectors, there has been a culling in this regard; now it’s the era of Inverarity and co. Will that improve the state of Australian Cricket in terms of consistency, which they were held in high regard for?
Not forgetting incoming coach Mickey Arthur, a South African, who will have to manage former adversaries such as Ponting, Clarke etc. I wonder how that is working out.
But it’s abundantly clear that all is not well in camp. Is it the state of Sheffield Shield Cricket (which I don’t have a clue about), as someone alluded to on this forum sometime ago that’s caused the batting failures? Is it too many Twenty20 tournaments, like the Big Bash, when Australia should have its focus on improving its form in the longer format of the game? Is it the man they call “Pup” the precocious talent, but a captain accused of having too much ego and self-love and besotted with superstardom, that’s not helping the cause?
Clarke has on some occasions been the standout contributor, only to flatter to deceive by playing a shoddy innings the next, similar to that of the players he is criticising. He’s aside to the media that Phillip Hughes may have to go back to New South Wales to get some runs smacks of a bit of arrogance. Can’t instil confidence in the lad now can it? Which means he should say the same of the likes of Ponting and Hussey, who can’t seem to make some decent scores consistently.
Do selectors need to rid the team of the likes of Hussey and Ponting, who have become too old for the job they are required to do? I think Bracewell’s quick-as-a-flash dismissals of Clarke, Ponting and Hussey in Hobart shows that the big men are unable to stand up and be counted just as they did at Newlands, and it points to a lack of unity of purpose. These are the cogs in the Aussie machine; they should be working together, but they’re not. Each to their own, maybe but also signs of some mental disintegration.
Yes they did come back to beat the South Africans at Newlands and full marks to that, but that is part of the inconsistency that is Australia at the moment. I guess, all of us including the selectors can’t place their finger on it. Can the players hold a mirror up to themselves?
It’s crunch time for Australian Cricket, a time when everyone has to unify for the sake of the game in that country; so it can move forward for the sake of progress. They’d better, as the Indians arrive. But my guess is that it’s not something they are going to fix that quickly either. The softer, brittle side of Australian cricket has unfortunately been laid bare by poor planning, questionable selections and appointments – and that includes coaching staff.
Nowhere was it more clearly demonstrated than by Nathan Lyon when he sank to his haunches, head buried between his knees when the final bell had sounded at the Bellerive. No fault of his that the death rattle had sounded for Australian Cricket.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.