2016: The year of the batting collapse

2016 has been the year of the batting collapse in Test cricket.

Australia 10-86. South Africa 83 all out. England 10-64. Sri Lanka 117 all out. Bangladesh 9-49. Pakistan 123 all out. West Indies 108 all out. New Zealand 8-73. Zimbabwe 10-87.

Every Test side bar India has had at least one Test innings this year where their entire batting line-up, or close to it, has capitulated in extraordinary fashion.

Australia’s astonishing loss of 10-86 yesterday was just the latest batting calamity for them in recent months.

In Sri Lanka, the side made 379 batting first in the third Test. But in their other five innings for the series, the average total was a paltry 163.

The frequent collapses we’ve seen across the world in Test cricket this year very rarely have been the result of a difficult pitch.

When South Africa were rolled for 83 in Johannesburg in January, the English openers then came out and cruised to a 64-run opening stand as England won the Test.

England’s loss of 10-64 in the second Test against Bangladesh this week came after they had cantered to 0-100. The Kiwis, meanwhile, lost 8-73 last month on an Indore pitch on which India made an enormous 8-773 for the Test.

Sri Lanka’s 117 all out in the first Test against Australia was on a day one Pallekele deck which offered nothing out of the ordinary for the bowlers.

Bangladesh were dominating at 1-171 when they then lost 9-49 in the first Test against England last month. Zimbabwe’s 10-87 occurred in a Test in which they’d made 362 in their first innings and New Zealand had scored a whopping 6-750 for the match.

And Pakistan got rolled for 123 at home by the lowly West Indies last month after having racked up an incredible 3-579 in their first innings. Each of these are stark examples of the frailty of modern Test batting line-ups.

Here in Australia we love to slam our batsmen for lacking gumption and being prone to collapses, and they deserve this criticism.

But it is a worldwide phenomenon. We could debate all day about the myriad reasons why there are so few tough-to-remove batsmen left in the Test format. The reality is that hard-nosed Test batting, as we once knew, is dead and buried.

The current generation of Test batsmen are frequently exposed as being incapable of weathering tough spells of bowling. The next generation surely will be no better equipped. In fact, it is logical to assume they’ll be even more susceptible given they will have spent less time playing with the red ball and more with the white during their development years.

Apocalyptic batting collapses are only going to become more common in Test cricket. More carnage is on the horizon thanks to the third Test being played under lights at Adelaide.

The Australian and South African batting line-ups have been exposed in Perth on a pitch which should be good for batting. The WACA deck has offered bowlers nice pace and bounce, but of the consistent kind which should not concern Test batsmen. There has been no significant seam movement, which is something the batsmen will face at Adelaide.

It is expected the Adelaide pitch again will be juicy, which is necessary to protect the fragile pink ball. That match could be over inside three days given the presence of quality pacemen Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Peter Siddle, Kagiso Rabada, Vernon Philander and Morne Morkel.

Of course, that match is still a while away and there’s a Test still up for grabs at Perth.

South Africa are nicely placed, leading by 102 with eight wickets in hand. In years gone by I would have said they were in a dominant position. In this era, however, Tests regularly are flipped on their head in the space of an hour.

Australia will know that if they start well today they could scythe through the Proteas and keep the fourth innings target to 200. Anything less than 280 should, in theory at least, be a gettable total on a third and fourth day WACA pitch which is coming onto the bat nicely, against a Proteas attack missing its best bowler.

Champion South African quick Dale Steyn has been ruled out of the rest of this series with a fractured shoulder. This leaves South Africa with just two pacemen, a debutant spinner in Keshav Maharaj and a part-time tweaker in JP Duminy this Test.

That would appear to be a vulnerable attack. But, for all we know, it could skittle Australia for 120. Welcome to 2016 – the year of the collapse.