There is no hiding Australia’s limited-overs struggle. They’re losing as much as they’re winning and this is reflected by their ICC ranking. The current World Cup holders have slipped to no.5 since their 2015 victory.
The side is playing without authority and a defined plan. On Australia Day, even after decimating the English top-order – leaving them at 5 for 8 – the Australian’s barely scraped home.
The English, in contrast, are rampaging. They have the best record since their woeful World Cup performance three years ago. The Lions have collected 37 wins with a win to loss ratio of 2.47 while India is the next best at 1.89.
England is ready and willing while Australia looks tired and bored.
There has been constant chatter from selectors, experts and fans alike about the need for an Australian reinvention; to modernise. But the best that Trevor Hohns and Co. have come up with is a copycat approach – let’s emulate the English.
What if, instead, the Australian’s took drastic steps to arrest their limited-overs slide? What if their new plan changed the very fabric of the game?
What if Australia fielded completely different sides for each of the three formats?
That is a different team, coach and support crew. The teams would operate independently of one another, each a separate entity – a Cricket Australia franchise.
Jack of all trades no more
The current setup means many players represent Australia across all three formats. These players are the most gifted such as Steven Smith and Mitchell Starc. Players tend to excel in one format over the others. Smith is seemingly indomitable in the test format, for instance.
Virat Kohli is the exception to the rule. He ranks in the top three for all formats. But he could become one of the all-time greats.
An independent approach would have players focusing on only one style of the game. Players like Smith in the Test arena would take their games to the next level. They would develop a refined skill set perfectly tailored to the format of their choice.
There would be no acclimating period when moving from one form of the game to the next. Players can struggle when shifting from a Test series to a limited-overs one and vice versa.
Fatigue and a lack of desire will become a thing of the past. Australia’s ODI woes during the current series can at least be partly linked to tired key players.
Player longevity will improve too. The cricket administrators can build more favourable schedules and minimise unrelenting peak periods. Also, there will be less overall cricket and that means reduced physical and mental strain.
Injury rates will fall as fitness and coaching staff customise their player’s programs based on what game they play.
Tactics will advance too, with a specialist coaching crew dedicated to each format. Analysis breakthroughs will mean players are dissected under the lens of a microscope. Every weakness, even the slight ones, will be identified then exploited.
Everything costs something
There is no guarantee that this approach will pay off, of course. There is never 100 per cent certainty – only in mathematics.
Cricket Australia’s finances will be tested during the restructuring process as they divide departments and create new ones.
Questions will arise, like; will the different Australian sides liaise with one another? How are players selected – through a nomination or form? Can a player change from one format to another?
(AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Also, when are players categorised into the different formats? Is it only at the international level or does it start earlier with domestic cricketers?
The success will not come immediately either. It will take some time before the specialised approach produces tangible results over the other cricketing nations.
Cricket is unique. What other sport plays the same game over three different time periods demanding three original skill sets? There are none.
Australia has a chance to blaze a trail just as Kerry Packer did all of those years ago. It will be rocky but it could change the cricketing landscape for the better.
It could make Australia great again.
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