Plenty of questions have been asked recently about where Australian cricket has gone wrong, if it has to do with the absence of Warner and Smith or if the allure of the shorter form of the game is affecting where the up and coming generation of cricketers are choosing to perfect their trade.
The fact is Australia have finished 2018 with a dismal three Test match wins, the worst return since 1996. But the woes don’t stop there – in 19 innings Australia only managed to exceed the 300 run mark four times. Due to the batsmen’s underwhelming performances, it has taken the spotlight off the bowlers who have statistically been statistically quite poor.
Australia had a bowling average of 32.73, which lags well behind the best average of South Africa of 22.86. We also had a worse bowling average than the likes of Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe.
So is it the One-Day Internationals and T20s that are causing us to return lacklustre Test results? Well before we get carried away on the one-day form impacting Test Cricket it must be noted that Australia only managed two wins from thirteen matches in One-Day Internationals in 2018.
The real issue is how cluttered the cricket season has become with big-name stars earning their paycheck in the T20 form in Australia and abroad. BBL08 has also added 16 more games this season putting the number of games up to 59 matches in just two months. This increases the likelihood of fatigue which ultimately can lead to injuries.
(Photo by Matt King – CA/Cricket Australia/Getty Images)
So how do we fix it is the obvious question and it isn’t going to be a short-term solution. A major problem of Test match cricket is that not enough attention, prestige or money is in Sheffield Shield cricket. While T20s are fun and exciting nothing can replicate the value of time at the crease, how can you expect someone who is inventive and a slogger in T20 to be patient and precise in Test cricket?
There is nothing wrong with multiple forms of cricket. The fact is that T20s bring further attention to the sport and the sportsmen involved. The issue is the earning disparity between the forms especially at Shield cricket level. While I believe the Big Bash season has too many games condensed in such a short period, I think Sheffield Shield cricket needs to have more of a bearing on Test cricket and have form in that competition strongly impact Australian Test selection.
For those who are up and coming cricketers, there is no better time to put in the hard work at the nets and make a name for yourselves as I don’t remember a time in recent years where there has been anywhere near as much indecision in Australian team selection in all forms of the game.
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