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Justin Langer needs to work overtime with his recognised batsmen

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Expert
15th December, 2018
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Ever since prime run-getters Steve Smith and David Warner copped their 12-month suspensions the Australian batting order has been brittle at best.

In the nine Test innings since their departure, 21 have passed 30, 13 have reached 50 and only Usman Khawaja has gone on to three figures. That’s a terrible waste of a start, where impatience has been the governing factor, not treating opposition bowlers with the respect they deserve.

Low percentage shots invariably result in a walk back to the shed.

The culprits
Travis Head: 72, 36, 72 and 58.
Tim Paine: 62, 61*, 41 and 38.
Aaron Finch: 49, 62, 39 and 50.
Usman Khawaja: 53, 85 and 141.
Shaun Marsh: 60 and 45 after a successive run of 16, 7, 7, 0, 3, 4 and 2.
Marcus Harris: 70.
Joe Burns: 42 of a team total of 119 in a heavy defeat to South Africa in Johannesburg, only to be unceremoniously dumped.
Pat Cummins: 50.
Mitchell Starc: 34.

The big bonus has been offie Nathan Lyon, who has been putting in the extra hours to improve his batting even though he’s No. 10 in the order. His last three digs have been 24*, 38* and 9* to produce positive results and send a message to the recognised batsmen above him: Olay every ball on its merits.

So there’s plenty of work for coach Justin Langer to get the utmost out of a depleted order. While he’s at it, he must find the genuine all-rounder this side urgently needs.

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The all-rounder was Shane Watson, and while Moises Henriques, Glenn Maxwell, James Faulkner, Mitchell Marsh, Hilton Cartwright and Magnus Lubaschagne have been given a shot, they have all fallen short to become more liabilities than assets.

Langer can’t rely on the current four-man attack of Starc, Cummins, Josh Hazlewood and Lyon to last the distance in four Tests against India if these heatwave conditions keep sapping them of energy. This Perth Test is a perfect example of what challenges Langer faces.

Winning the toss for the first time in his five-Test career as captain, Paine had the chance to bat first, and a first time century opening stand between Harris and Finch was a huge bonus on a lively new drop-in Perth strip. But to score only 327 after such a rousing start was a bitter disappointment.

Let’s see how Justin Langer improves his team from here on in.

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