The Australian cricket team have been given a reality check after their 3-0 series loss to Sri Lanka.
A number of flaws were highlighted in their humiliating losses, not least their inability to bat on slow, turning pitches.
Two questions that immediately come to mind are: was their preparation adequate, and why do the majority of the Australian batsmen have technical deficiencies facing quality spin?
Time after time the Australian team have underperformed when leaving our shores to face the mesmerising spin of the Indian, Pakistan and Sri Lankan teams. So why hasn’t Cricket Australia modified its preparations in the lead-up to Test series against these countries – or, better still, shouldn’t they prepare some pitches in Australia that are the mirror image of what they’ll encounter on the subcontinent?
This would enable the players to familiarise themselves with the conditions that they’re about to face, giving them some much-needed confidence before travelling to countries that are a spinner’s paradise.
The meek capitulation and the lack of resistance was the most concerning aspect of the whitewash loss, with David Warner the only batsman in the final Test match who dug in and put up a fight.
Until the Test team can perform and win on a variety of pitches around the world, then their claim to be the number one cricket nation will be the topic of hot debate, even if they do assume that coveted mantle again.
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