This is an incredible headline to write only months after an Ashes series that could well have fallen in a heap if not for a once-in-a-generation batting freak in the form of his life.
And it’s equally funny to think that one dominant display at home could completely change the feelings toward a batting line-up, but Australia’s performance in Brisbane last weekend again proved that the concept of form is as fluid as ever.
Regardless, the top six did pretty much all you could ask of them in the first Test of a domestic summer, and it’s hard to dispute Ronan O’Connell’s thoughts earlier in the week. The team has already done more than enough to hold their spots and play out the remaining four Tests of the season, starting with the day-night Test starting in Adelaide tomorrow.
The bowling unit has been Australia’s strength for some time now, and despite the (mostly parochial) discussion around James Pattinson’s chances of playing in Brisbane, I’m not sure they were realistic.
And now Mitchell Starc has reminded everyone of his qualities while Pattinson served a suspension for a moment of hot-headed madness, I can’t see how the Victorian quick’s chances have improved in any way.
Injuries look to be the only avenue for change, and I don’t really see that as a bad thing. It should be tough to get into the Australian cricket team.
The batting has a sudden air of set-ness about it, and it’s long overdue.
Australia have used 15 different batsmen plus keeper Tim Paine in the top order across the 23 Tests since the start of the Ashes summer of 2017/18, the summer before the lengthy bans handed down to David Warner, Steve Smith and Cameron Bancroft.
Of those 23 Tests, only Paine played every one of them. Warner, Smith, and Bancroft obviously didn’t. But of the remaining 12 players, only Usman Khawaja and Shaun Marsh played more than half of those 23 Tests.
Those 16 players walked out to bat 278 times collectively, but only 21 of those 278 innings produced a century. Smith has six of them, Warner has three.
(Mike Egerton/PA Images via Getty Images)
This also explains why seven of them didn’t play more than nine Tests, as players were picked and discarded at will.
In that time, Australian used nine different opening partnerships. Warner had three different opening partners. Marcus Harris had four. Aaron Finch had three. Burns has had three different partners in four Tests.
It’s no wonder the top order has battled when combinations have been so erratic. Warner and Bancroft batted together 18 times, and no other pair played more than three Tests together. None have ever been given anything remotely close to time to bed down a combination.
Warner and Joe Burns’ 222-run opening stand in Brisbane – their first time batting together in three years – was the highest since Warner and Bancroft put on an unbeaten 173 to win the first Test within this sample period, the first Ashes Test in Brisbane in November 2017. It’s just the fifth opening stand of 100 or more in 43 innings.
This is why it was so great to hear Warner and Burns speak after their stand last week. Warner is the player Burns has opened most with in his 17-Test career, and the pair have five century stands together in 20 innings.
Comparisons were made straight away to the relationship between Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden, and I genuinely can’t recall an opening pair speak in such unity and with such obvious affinity or even affection since that duo. And despite ten single-figure partnerships in those 20 innings together, Ricky Ponting wants them locked in as a pairing until the next Ashes series on Australian soil in the summer of 2021/22.
It’s equally cool how Marnus Labuschagne has become Australia’s new cult hero, despite his selection being widely questioned and even mocked this time last summer. But credit where’s it due. He’s worked his backside off, honing a technique that now displays few flaws.
In fact, there’s even a bit of right-handed Mike Hussey about his back swing and the way his hands come through on his offside shots in front of the wicket. That’s not a bad thing at all.
Smith is Smith. Like his namesake and similarly freakish legendary former Wallabies open-side flanker George, the best way to rationalise anything Steven Peter Devereux does on the field is to simply label it as Smith.
This just leaves Matthew Wade and Travis Head.
(Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)
I’ve long rated Head as a batsman but have been left disappointed, to the point I thought he was the luckiest batsman in Australia to get recalled for Brisbane. And I’ve never really rated Wade’s batting but I’m becoming a fan.
But they loom as the only real missing pieces of the puzzle, and could provide the final elements in a balanced side that Australian fans have been dreaming of for the last few troubling years.
Consistency is going to be their goal. Wade needs to maintain his current output if he wants to remain a genuine batting option now that he’s ditched the wicketkeeping gloves, while Head still needs to find a level of consistency that involves regular runs.
A Test average of 41 looks very good these days, especially for Australian batsmen of this era, but just the one century, six fifties and 12 dismissals between 12 and 36 in the last year alone tells a story of frustrating missed opportunity.
But if they can get there, then I completely echo Ronan’s thoughts.
There is a very good Australian side building after a couple of year of turmoil, and the kind of balance a captain and selection panel craves isn’t too far away.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
With further retrospect, Paine should no way have declared while Warner had the rare opportunity to go the world record 400. This game will be over in 3 days of play. We need these milestones/moments to keep the game in the mind of the cricket public.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Still think you're being overly analytical on every Paine decision. Pros and cons both ways on his decisions.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Taylor did declare in '98. But Hayden kept going in '03.
Pierro
Roar Rookie
The only thing I can think of is that there is a lot of potential for rain tomorrow but you think with 65 to get if you let him pass bradman its a strange decision. Taylor walked when he got to bradmans score out of respect. Of course warner would never do that but weird for paine to let him break it then declare. A series of weird decisions for me
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Personally I think he should have let Warner go for it. But it's a fair call fir match context. Tactically though I think Australia would have been better served bringing Pakistan out against the new ball just as the lights kicked in; so I could have accepted another hour of batting.
Pierro
Roar Rookie
What about Paine calling Warner in . Surely you let him go for 400. Paine what are you on. More so he lets him beat bradman then takes him off. WTF
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Will have to wait and see what Perth wicket presents. One thing NZ isn't best at is facing quality spin; so if there is that opportunity to exploit, that's a great comparative advantage for Australia. But again, will depend on the pitch that's put up.
Pierro
Roar Rookie
They are fair points and shaheen is getting it to move around a bit today again . I admit I thought four quicks for brisbane and more likely three quicks for adelaide. They have just noticed a little bit of turn in the last 30 mins so maybe lyon will get some all that said. If we had our choice now wed have four quicks out there. Its food for thought for perth but NZ are different cup of tea potentially
Jeff
Roar Rookie
Yes but you have to make the call on team selection before the game starts, and I think most would have thought there would be enough in the conditions to assist 3 quicks whilst also needing to have maximum strength batting line up. I think we need to see how Pakistan bat first, as if they get rolled for 300, probably don't need 4 quicks. Also, the pink ball and evening conditions should suit swing. The wicket itself looks dry and flat, so probably not so conducive to movement off the seam. So if we were to play 4 quicks, you'd want at least one, maybe two, swing bowlers...not sure 4 seam bowlers would add much variety. Shaheen was getting swing with the new ball yesterday, then it stopped mostly.
Pierro
Roar Rookie
All good points chris, I still think brisbane wasn't really a match to bowl lyon . Agreed the foreign spinners don't do so well in australia . I hope we get in some cricket in bangladesh. They should take swepson and pope there instead of the ODI spinners to give them some experience
Chris Kettlewell
Roar Guru
I don’t know it’s even about assistance. Yasir is simply not bowling remotely how you need to bowl on these sorts of pitches. As you say, Lyon has a good record both at Adelaide and with the pink ball, so he will likely bowl a lot better here than Yasir. You simply have to bowl differently bowling spin in Australia compared to sub continental pitches. And so many spinners get smashed when they come here. It’s why I’ve said for years that the Aussie batsmen don’t have issues playing spin as such, they struggle with sub continental conditions. They tend to play visiting spinners in Australia pretty well.
Pierro
Roar Rookie
If they make 550 plus which looks fairly certain once again, im thinking why didn't they bowl an extra seamer as the bowlers could be out in the field a while. Once again theres calls to have four seamers out there in a match where Australia has racked up runs.
Pierro
Roar Rookie
Big pressure on smith, wade and head to make runs jeff.
Pierro
Roar Rookie
Rumors are one thing my friend but we know Langer had his hands in head in surprise over paines decision to bowl first. He could not believe it. Captains certainly in recent history do not elect to bowl first at the oval especially 3 days after bowling 200 overs at the back end of the last test. The buck stopped with Paine if he was being indecisive and relying on Smith its actually even worse it means Smith should be captaining in reality. I personally think it was Paines choice and we know the buck for choosing what to do after the toss has to lie with, even more so than DRS (but still with DRS too) which cost us the match at headingly . Still here we are at home now on autopilot so far this summer , at least the batting is allowing paine to focus on keeping in this series although the DRS decision in the first test was comedy when he was indecisive until Smith told him he had to challenge. Lets stop this charade with paine captaining and get smith back captaining after the summer .
Jeff
Roar Rookie
It'll depend on the match situation. If Head comes in at 4-550, I expect he'll be under instruction to push the score along quickly in which case his dismissal risk increases significantly.
TheGeneral
Roar Rookie
Pierro, Our usual battle. We kept the ashes, the first time we have done so since 2001. I will take that. And on Paine's decision to bat first in the last test I will quote a commentator who said "rumour has it that Paine was going to bat first at in the last test but was talked out of it by Smith and Warner". That may be complete rubbish, but if even remotely true what would you say about Paine then. Was he being indisicive, or was he taking the advice of his senior players, one of who had far more captaincy experience than him.
Pierro
Roar Rookie
Hutcho you’ve picked up the real concern in your comment for the side right now. Warner burns and Wade are not getting any younger and with 11 months off test cricket unless bangladesh avoids flooding well, the younger guys are not getting much experience on their home pitches let alone the fact they are not coming through the system with any consistency. We know warner struggles or is ineffective in England and Sub continent. Head is all over the shop with his discipline and reckless shot making right now but has the talent , he also seems to have a whopping average against spin bowling I note but he really needs to find form on his home pitch against pakistan today. No excuses for him today really. He should be able to do it as goes well at adelaide oval. Also the younger spinners. Im concerned Swepson won’t get a game at the SCG and some are saying pope has talent. Could they chance selecting one of those players at SCG against NZ or even giving them experience in the rain at bangledesh. With the limited calendar this coming year (11 months off) there are some concerns as right now we are flogging Pakistan as we always do on home turf which is not really the acid test for our players but more on point the younger batting depth is a concern and the openers are still of concern when it comes to the 2021 calendar with away tour to SA in 13 months time let alone a stronger Indian team coming next summer.
Pierro
Roar Rookie
Go back to the 2015 series in England too off the top of my head australia had huge wins at the oval and lords with five bowlers. Couldn’t get a win up north in different conditions in that series. It was a shortcoming at Headingly this summer despite the blunders in the result there. I think we would have been fine with 4 seamers at brisbane and bowled Pakistan out even quicker actually as lyon wasn’t doing much there and first session we could have used Neser on his home pitch plus he can bat pretty well. Its not like our more recent drop in pitches are producing raging turners any more and our pace bowling depth is superb right now
Pierro
Roar Rookie
Brett, Go watch the Headingly match again we could have used a 5th there for sure or we could start 4 seamers in some of these 4 day matches such as Brisbane. Usually 4 bowlers is fine but sometimes guys like Starc have bowled at venues that have not suited his bowling at all and he's bowled shorter spells or been subject to injuries where Pattinson could bowl longer spells or an all rounder could come in and be effective (like marsh was predictably going to provide at the oval match in my opinion).
Pierro
Roar Rookie
We could have used the 5th bowler at headingly though . Depends on the pitch and the conditions for me. Australia is often a bit more straight forward of course. Id say pattinson, richardson and neser all all good enough to be there depending on the ground/conditions and perhaps 4 seamers is an option where lyon can be dropped in pitches producing 4 day matches (brisbane being one example I was predicting before it was played) . Neser had a hugely impressive record there as does richardson. I think Pattinson has bowled really well there too but have to check. Lyon typically goes well at Adelaide and I anticipated Brisbane was a match he would struggle in and we could have rotated him in to start at Adelaide.