Australia will start their T20 series in India this Sunday in need of arresting a recent run of poor form in Asia.
Four months ago, when they went to the UAE to tackle the world’s number one T20 team, Pakistan, Australia would have arrived brimming with confidence, having won 17 of their previous 25 matches in the format.
The tourists were promptly thumped 3-0.
That series should have taught Australia the importance of having a balanced approach to batting in Asian conditions. On the harder, truer pitches in Australia, England, South Africa and New Zealand, teams can afford to stack their top six with power hitters and aim to blast their way to totals of 190-plus.
That is just what Australia did as they cruised to victory over England and New Zealand in last year’s tri-series, which was hosted in Australia and New Zealand. Across five matches, Australia incredibly scored at just under 10 runs per over.
In Asia, however, it is not necessary to aim for monstrous totals. Greater versatility and finesse is required with the blade. This was on show in Australia’s disastrous series in the UAE, when Pakistan gave them a lesson in how to bat the conditions.
In each match, Pakistan batted around one solid batsman – Babar Azam. The young right-hander did not look to take on the bowlers and manufacture boundaries. Instead, he focused on working ones and twos and punishing the odd ball that begged to be hit.
The stability he offered allowed batsmen around him to attack. Even then, few of the Pakistani players threw their bats mindlessly – most made avoiding dot balls their priority.
Meanwhile, Australia’s batsmen continually followed the pattern of dot, dot, big shot, dot, dot, big shot.
Their reliance on boundaries and lack of respect for strike rotation was the key reason for the losses. Quite ridiculously, Australia faced 20 more dot balls per innings than Pakistan across that series. Australia badly missed banned star Steve Smith, who while a somewhat unfashionable T20 cricketer, is exactly the sort of accumulator they lacked.
AAP Image/Richard Wainwright
In India, Australia’s batting line-up will again be laced with boundary merchants. The only proven strike rotator is Peter Handscomb, who did this job impressively in the recent ODIs against India.
The likes of captain Aaron Finch, D’Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell and Usman Khawaja all tend to prefer scoring in blocks of four and six, which is why it would be worth batting Handscomb at three to anchor the innings, giving the others the licence to tee off.
Although Handscomb is fresh from an ordinary BBL campaign, there is no one else who could comfortably play this role.
If the Aussies instead look to blast the Indian bowlers it could get very ugly, very quickly. That approach may work on hard, true pitches elsewhere, but it’s a more dangerous approach on many Indian decks.
Consider that India’s average score when batting first at home has been a solid but unspectacular 174 over the past three years. This is a line-up bursting with power, experience and class, yet even they haven’t been able to consistently pile up big scores in their home conditions.
In that time India’s best batsman has been Virat Kohli. The superstar has scored at a relatively modest rate of 8.1 runs per over, anchoring his team’s innings, as Azam did for Pakistan. Like Azam, the Indian skipper allows few dot balls.
Australia cannot afford to go dot, dot, big shot throughout this series or they will be flogged again.
Australia’s best XI
1. Aaron Finch (c)
2. D’Arcy Short
3. Peter Handscomb
4. Glenn Maxwell
5. Marcus Stoinis
6. Ashton Turner
7. Alex Carey (wk)
8. Nathan Coulter-Nile
9. Jhye Richardson
10. Adam Zampa
11. Nathan Lyon
Australia’s T20 squad for the tour of India
Aaron Finch (c), D’Arcy Short, Marcus Stoinis, Glenn Maxwell, Ashton Turner, Peter Handscomb, Alex Carey, Nathan Coulter-Nile, Jhye Richardson, Adam Zampa, Nathan Lyon, Shaun Marsh, Usman Khawaja, Jason Behrendorff, Pat Cummins
Peter Warrington
Guest
yes i agree, i think it's a fair bargain for all if he is "retired" from Tests but picked for (and even captains) all the white ball stuff for another 3-4 years while his white ball form and hitting endures.
dan ced
Guest
NO. did you see that shot he played for the Stars? mentally unfit to play for his country. Put him on the do not call list.
JamesH
Roar Guru
Yeah I can see them being backed into a corner if Carey doesn't do at least a decent job with the bat in India.
JamesH
Roar Guru
Can't fault any of that. This is the problem when you give someone the vice captaincy before they warrant a spot on performance.
Paul
Roar Guru
The selectors will be under serious pressure if Carey doesn't perform exceptionally well in India and the UAE, because it's going to take an Australian team playing exceptional cricket to roll India & England in the WC.
Ronan O'Connell
Expert
I'd happily trial Handscomb as keeper ahead of Carey in both white ball formats but I know it won't happen anytime soon, the Aussie selectors are all in on Carey for the foreseeable future.
Josh H
Roar Rookie
He'll play a key role if he doesn't throw his wicket away like he did a lot during the big bash. But if he can recapture his form he had during the one-dayers in January, he'll definitely be an asset because we badly need a consistent accumulator in that side.
Kandeepan Arul
Roar Rookie
I will sit on the fence when it comes to Handscomb. Hard to make any sense of his form. Looked good in the one-dayers against India but his shot-making in the BBL semi final and final was………well let’s just say he either temporarily lost his brain or he doesn’t give a hoots about the melbourne stars or the BBL. For Australia’s sake I hope it is the latter.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
As noted by others, why include Carey if Handscomb is keeper? Why not put in Shaun Marsh (if available) or even Ashton Turner or Khawaja (despite question mark over spin)? Marsh isn’t guilty of the all-or-nothing approach to T20 batting you mentioned as he hasn’t been picked in T20i’s since 2016. He averages 39 over 166 innings, at strike rate of 129, with 45 scores over 50 ( 1 every 3.7 innings). Interesting to compare this with our other main batsmen: Stoinis - 27 ave, 125 S/R, 7 50s in 72 innings (1 in 10.2) . Finch - 36 ave, 143 S/R, 59 50s I. 246 inns (1 in 4.2) Maxwell - 26 ave, 154 S/R, 27 50s in 223 inns (1 in 8.3) Short - 38 ave, 137 S/R, 17 50s in 59 inns (1 in 3.5) Handscomb- 22 ave, 116 S/R, 4 50s in 53 inns (1 in 13.3) Carey - 30 ave, 130 S/R, 6 50s in 37 inns, (1 in 6.2). To me overall T20 records are probably as good or better than T20 internationals alone, which are a bit more sporadic and hit or miss. Looking at this, Marsh is in the same league as Finch, Short and Maxwell and ahead of Stoinis and the others. He’s also got by far the best IPL record (40 ave compared to Finch 26) over 70 matches, if we’re talking about India. I know some of this might seem contestable, but I find it just as daft to rule S Marsh out of ODIs and T20s because of an indifferent Test record as it is to propose Stoinis for Tests on the back of white ball form. Also, looking at this, you’d have to question the case for putting Handscomb in ahead of Carey with such a mediocre strike rate and average over an extended period.
AREH
Roar Guru
Agree - definitely the most likely to succeed Paine, and I don't have an issue with that. However his domestic OD and T20 form continues to be modest at best, coupled with a 70s strike rate. There is so much more flexibility if Handscomb takes the gloves, which he is capable of doing for just 50 overs. An extra bat could be included. Just don't see it happening though, in the upcoming series or the WC. They have cornered themselves by making Carey VC somewhat, and seem determined to make it work. If he's going to stay in these sides, I think it has to be in the middle order, with time to build into an innings, and not requiring pure firepower.
tom
Guest
Uh Warner?
JamesH
Roar Guru
Who is the keeper?
JamesH
Roar Guru
To be clear, I still think they'll take Carey to England as the backup keeper even if Handscomb takes the gloves. But playing Handscomb allows us to just pick our best 7 bats.
Brian
Guest
don't mind Handscomb but as the next T20 WC in Australia they may as well plan with the team they think will play that World Cup. If we lose these T20 in India will anyone be upset or surprised Lynn Short Smith Maxwell Stoinis Turner Agar NCN Starc Richardson Zampa
Paul
Roar Guru
James. why wouldn't they take both but play Carey ONLY in games where they want to give Handscomb a rest from keeping? Runs will be the key over in England and I know who I'd rather have at 7 to try and make them
JamesH
Roar Guru
If Handscomb is seen as being in Australia's best XI for T20s and/or ODIs then it doesn't make sense to pick Carey. Handscomb is a good enough keeper to do the job and Carey is simply not in the best 7 limited overs batsmen in the country. The only logical reason I can think of for not giving Handscomb the gloves is that they don't want to over-burden him. But even that's a stretch. With Paine perhaps only 12 months away from the end of his career, the selectors should be giving Carey the opportunity to play more FC cricket and push his credentials as the next test keeper.
Paul
Roar Guru
I think Carey's a liability in this team Ronan, especially if he's going to bat 7 because he doesn't have the hitting power needed in this position. I'd have Handscomb keep, Khawaja/S Marsh batting 6 ( from this current squad) and Turner batting 7. I'm also wondering where Warner would bat if/when he comes back into this team? I'd have him at 3, with everyone dropping down a spot and Khawaja/Marsh dropping out of my XI
bowledover
Roar Rookie
That team looks good, but not sure about Carey. Im not sure he has the lower order hitting power required and wonder if Handscomb would be better as the keeper and bring in an additional batsman - Lynn or someone?
Simon
Guest
Weird that's the T20 squad as well, it's clearly and ODI squad and they can't be bothered taking a specialist T20 one. Chris Lynn and atm SOK are probably in Australias best XI right?