While the T20 tri-series began with a commanding Australian victory, the 4-1 ODI series loss to England continues to frustrate many.
The disappointing result comes after a string of ODI defeats for Steve Smith’s side, with many searching for answers ahead of the 2019 World Cup in England and Wales.
While Smith and his deputy, David Warner, clearly showed signs of fatigue throughout the series, with neither passing 50 in the five matches, the problems stretch far beyond exhaustion.
The line-up is unsettled – it has been throughout the barren period since the series victory against Pakistan one year ago.
In 2017 Australia completed 13 ODIs (plus two washouts), winning just five games. In this period a remarkable 25 players were used – two more than India, who played a whopping 29 games.
(Mark Kolbe/Getty Images)
For further contrast, England won 15 of their 20 matches using just 18 players for the entire year. In fact only Sri Lanka (36 players), the West Indies (27) and New Zealand (26) used more players in the last calendar year, but all played significantly more matches (29, 22, and 20 respectively).
While the Kiwi’s had a reasonably successful year, both Sri Lanka and the West Indies won less than 20 per cent of their matches, reflecting the price of too much change.
The pattern of inconsistent line-ups has continued into the new year for Australia, with five players – Andrew Tye, Jhye Richardson, Tim Paine, Alex Carey and Cameron White – used who weren’t involved last year, bringing the tally up to 30 players used in the last 18 completed matches.
How can Glenn Maxwell be expected to perform with his spot constantly on the line? How can Travis Head develop when being constantly moved around the batting order?
The one-day side is expected to prepare for a World Cup next year with this culture of constant change and impatience and without any clarity in relation to personnel.
(Mark Nolan/Getty Images)
So where to from here? The series loss to England did yield some positives. Aaron Finch (275 runs at 91.66) stepped up, cementing his place in the team as Warner’s opening partner.
Marcus Stoinis (221 runs at 44.2) had an impressive series and displayed the aggression and maturity to suggest that his stay at number three may be a long one. Therefore the engine room of the team – the top four – should be settled beyond 2019.
The successful debut series of Tye (eight wickets) and Richardson (two wickets) suggest that the reserve bowlers to Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins have been found.
However, the spinner remains a problem, with Adam Zampa’s poor series (two wickets, 5.97 runs per over) paving the way for a limited-overs return for Nathan Lyon.
While the temptation may be for the selectors to wield the axe, they must learn from history. Continuity is often more effective than change.
Build your own fantasy cricket team and put it to the test with Draftstars daily fantasy competitions. Pick your match, pick your team and watch the points roll in to take out cash prizes on each match. What are you really gambling with? Set a deposit limit.
It seems franchise cricket has forgotten about the great battle between bat and ball. In fact, this season in the IPL there is no battle at all.
The mammoth rise of Jake Fraser-McGurk - his enormous potential and the destructive shot-making that he possesses makes him a very tempting option.
Marcus Stoinis produced his first IPL century and it was a beauty. He went 6, 4, 4, 4 to finish off the Lucknow Super…
Test great Steve Smith is to play for Washington Freedom in the second season of Major League Cricket as the Australian influence in the…
Nathan Lyon has revealed his disappointment that Australia's cricket chiefs have prevented him from playing his first full season of county cricket in England…
Some of you may have watched the recent Fox Sports Series 'A Brief History of Australian Cricket: the Eighties'. If not, I’d definitely recommend…
