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.
dan ced
Guest
Cricket Australia NEVER learn. Henriques, Boland, Nevill, Marsh, Marsh, keep getting selected despite their poor form. Jobs for mates.
craig swanson
Guest
The replica decks are a good idea in principle but as I understand it they are in the practice/net area. Why the hell are they not in the centre wicket where a full blown game can be played using them. Evidently Darren Berry has been blowing up over this. CA logic. Where do they get it out of a corn flakes packet?
craig
Guest
"When will Cricket Australia realise we struggle against spin?" when we go to SL and lose a test series three - zip........
Tanmoy
Guest
The team visited Sri Lanka with good record and reputation back home can play in the 6 Tests in summer. Only C.A. needs to change side while visiting India in February next year.
MJ
Guest
As long as they're obsessed with mastering Pink Balls and English balls in conditions that won't be replicating anything in England, the governing body won't care at all. They'll also assume that the players have mastered the conditions given the amount of 20 over and 50 over cricket played there (which are on roads where changes of pace are more effective than out and out turn).
Timmuh
Roar Guru
As Broken-hearted Toy said above, CA have tried to do something. There have been pitches prepared, but are use for practice. Even if we could exactly replicate conditions in Asia, it won't help much when we have no bowlers who know how to use the conditions. Learning to bat against spinners who don't have the same weapons won't help much. We have India A tours, we have all sorts of things. The conditions are just totally foreign, as they are for Asian players coming over here. The lack of tour games in modern cricket hurts a lot, but due to finances they aren't coming back. And I'm not sure they would help Australia in its current plight. It has to also be said, its not just spin our batting fails against. Seam, swing, and slower pitches generally are problems. Basically, we get roads at home, get roads in the Shield (largely at Lehmann's insistence when he a whinge or three as state coach during those two half-season where Shield tracks had some life), our batsmen can't play anything except ideal flat, fast conditions; or poor bowling in slightly below ideal.
mariachi band fan
Guest
Perhaps a more accurate headline may be "When will Cricket Australia care that we struggle against spin?"
Broken-hearted Toy
Guest
"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?" They have pitches prepared at a training centre in Brisbane that mimic s/c conditions. They have had them for a year or so? And their preparation was based around working on facing spin or at least that's what the skipper has said. I don't think it's the prep that is the problem in as much as they can't spend three months in Sri Lanka prior to the tests playing first class cricket so they do what they can. I think it's more that the players under the pressure of test cricket go to their usual mode. One example is Warner talking about patience at the beginning of the tour but he played aggressively in the matches.