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I hate to be a downer on our recent success, but the past two summers’ Test performances have lulled Australia into a false sense of security.
Everyone has us pencilled in to smash the Windies, and then belt the Poms in the Ashes but I don’t believe that for one second.
Credit where credit is due, our boys have performed brilliantly over the past 24 months. But looking into the future, I see some worrying signs.
First off, we’ve relied far too heavily on our brilliant fast bowlers to win us Tests. The outstanding bowling performances have somewhat covered up our frail batting.
David Warner and Steve Smith have been counted on to score big runs for us over the past 18 months. If one misses out, more often than not the other cashes in. Chris Rogers has provided some innings of substance, and Michael Clarke has too when not out injured, but all in all most of the workload has been left up to the dynamic opener and the consistent captain-in-waiting.
Sure, it’s natural that these two superstars are going to consistently perform well considering their class, but for how long can they keep it up? They’ve barely put a foot wrong for the last two years, and history tells us that even the greats suffer form slumps, or God forbid, injury.
In case of this, who do we have to pick up the slack on a consistent basis? No one immediately springs to mind, a worrying sign.
My other concern with our batsmen is the age of our roster. Again with the exception of Warner and Smith, every single batsman is over the age of 30. The hero of the first Test against the Windies, Adam Voges, debuted at 35. How many Tests are we going to get out of him before form or time catches him?
All-rounder Shane Watson is 33 and injury prone, as well as being wildly inconsistent. Clarke is now 34 with a dodgy back, is nearer to the end of his career than the start of it, and he is no longer the run machine he used to be.
Rogers will more than likely retire after the upcoming Ashes series in the Old Dart, and wicketkeeper batsman Brad Haddin won’t be far behind given his age and recent lacklustre form with the blade, which has been papered over by winning.
Part of the reason why we have such an ageing roster is because there is no one better to replace them. The likely successor to the opening role which Rogers will vacate is Shaun Marsh, who himself is already 31 with a frail body, and is one of the most inconsistent players in the squad. The other contenders to join the Test squad are the already tried Joe Burns, who was solid but not spectacular, Tasmanian Jordan Silk, a consistent performer but hardly shouting his name to be the next batsman picked, and the exciting but inconsistent Nic Maddinson.
All fantastic talent, but none have really demanded to be selected through weight of runs.
It’s concerning that the old timer Voges was the leading run scorer in the Sheffield Shield, with daylight second. I put this down to the obsession with T20 cricket and the BBL in particular. We’ve become so caught up with hit-and-giggle cricket that it seems the long form of the game has been forgotten at domestic level. And it shows. More emphasis is needed immediately on the long form of the game, otherwise we will pay for it in the long run.
Lastly, the quality of opposition and where we have played our Test cricket over the last couple of years has been a key factor to our recent success.
The Indian side we beat at home last summer, and the English side before that, were second-rate teams at best. Our batsmen and bowlers are always going to be hard to beat in our own backyard with the pace and bounce in the wickets, especially against weak sides not used to these conditions.
Our series win in South Africa can be placed in this category too, with similar conditions to ours. The team has still had to play very well to win these games, no doubt about it, but when we play in foreign conditions – for example the ill-fated India tour in 2013, the UAE tour against Pakistan in October last year, and even the First Test against the Windies – we struggle, in particular with the bat.
Chalk these sub-par performances down to the way we play spin bowling. With the success on hard, fast wickets and our bowlers skittling teams, our weakness against spin has largely been forgotten.
The upcoming Ashes series will be a lot closer than most predict. The English will no doubt prepare dry wickets conducive to spin and swing to try and trouble us. Joe Root is in sublime touch with the bat, Alastair Cook is returning to form, and Jimmy Anderson will be at his competitive best with the ball. They are going to be up for this series given the embarrassment of the 5-0 drubbing in Australia last Ashes, and will come at us hard.
Hopefully our boys can combat our weaknesses and win the series, but don’t be surprised to see the Poms push us all the way.
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