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The first five Tests of Darren ‘Boof’ Lehmann’s reign as the Australian cricket coach have now come and gone.
The Ashes are still in English hands – at least for the next three months – until they arrive in Australia. Now is an extremely apt time to assess the good, the average and the ugly of Australian cricket in its current state.
What do they need to fix? Do they need to keep the status quo?
The Good
Ashton Agar – Will this kid be a two-Test wonder? God, I hope not! For all the press that he received (quite rightly, mind you) for his 98 runs while batting at number 11 on debut, his bowling left much to be desired.
After taking only two wickets in the first two Tests, he was dropped and eventually sent home early from the tour to shake a virus. One has to wonder, will he play a Test again?
Will he be given an opportunity to develop his bowling at Shield level and then have another crack at the top level? I doubt they’ll pick him as a batsman.
Shane Watson – For all the troubles that he has supposedly been through off the field in the lead-up to this series, having the vice-captaincy stripped from him will be the best thing for him in the long term.
After the fifth Test, we may have – may – finally found a number three. His 176 in the final Test was his highest Test score and has earned him, in my view, the number three spot for the return Ashes in Australia (assuming he is fit).
Chris Rogers – He may have had to wait a long time between his first Test and this series, but he has established himself and deserves to start the summer with someone (more than likely, Warner) at the top of the order.
Age brings experience, and we need bucketloads of it at the moment. Rogers’s maiden ton was superb to watch and was a reflection of his determined temperament.
Peter Siddle and Ryan Harris – Harris’s selection as Australia’s ‘Man of the Series’ was absolutely justified. His bowling in every Test was superb.
Siddle’s line, length and accuracy were generally consistent throughout the whole series. Mitchell Starc, James Pattinson and others should take note. Now.
Steve Smith – At the start of the series, I was far from being a Smith supporter. Now, I may have to eat my words and admit that I’d underestimated him.
He had consistent scores and a great ton, albeit in the dead rubber in the fifth Test. Smith still needs to work on his technical deficiencies, but he is getting better. He is a long term number five or six for Australia. Forget his bowling, this man needs to taken under the wing by Mike Hussey, Allan Border and others.
The Average
Rotation policy – There were many casualties from this tour, and one has to wonder how many of them will play for Australia again. One has to be Usman Khawaja, and another, Phil Hughes.
Both the batsmen have been thrust into the side, and people have unfairly expected miracles straightaway. Just a memo, selectors – they aren’t Ricky Ponting, Mike Hussey or any other long term player you want to mention.
If they don’t score quickly, they get thrown on the trash-heap. Hughes already has been picked and dropped three times, and he hasn’t even played 20 Tests. It’s utter madness.
How can a player have confidence in his position in the team? If they aren’t good enough (another point for debate) – don’t pick them again and find someone new.
Matthew Wade is highly unlikely to play again for a while, at least one would think. Brad Haddin, despite his age, appears the preferred option and he’s a solid vice-captain.
Mitchell Starc was in and out. Lyon was out and in. So was Ed Cowan. And so too Jackson Bird. Please! Please Darren Lehmann, can we have consistency in the near future? The same eleven for two Tests in a row isn’t too much to ask, is it?
I’m going to touch on this soon in a post on Australian Cricket’s state of affairs. Watch out for that.
Michael Clarke – One decent score and some average captaincy from Pup, including blowups with umpires and the opposition.
The Ugly
The DRS System – Scrap it. It’s rubbish. Enough said. Give the power back to the umpires and only rely on human judgement.
David Warner – Brought disgrace to the national team before a ball was bowled and couldn’t handle the heat when he returned to the team.
In a nutshell:
When it comes down to it, this series was not close. It was 3-0 and a smidgen away from 4-0. I can hear you screaming at me, talking about the weather, tosses lost that could’ve been won, ordinary DRS decisions, and on it goes.
But the bottom line is, we didn’t score enough runs, and we sure as hell couldn’t get Ian Bell out.
There’re three months until the Gabba Test, and we’ve got a ton of work to do.
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