It’s important that the Australian cricket team doesn’t read too much into this one-day series sweep over England but there were a few small steps taken on the road to next year’s World Cup.
England were suffering from a T20 World Cup hangover – figuratively and literally, at least for the first game – so Australia shouldn’t be doing too many cartwheels even though they comfortably accounted for the reigning champions in both white-ball formats.
Australia made the mistake of thinking their T20 campaign was on track when they beat a jet-lagged West Indies side – their opponents didn’t even end up qualifying for the Super 12 stage and the host nation’s realistic formline was shown in the warm-up clashes with England, which showed they were actually off the pace.
This three-match 50-over series was not warmly received by fans at the venue or via pay TV but the selectors at least partially solved a few problem areas less than 12 months out from the World Cup.
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Travis Head looks like he can establish himself as Australia’s ODI opener long term, taking over from Aaron Finch. He will be a bit hit and miss but as we saw with his pace-setting 69 from 57 in game one and his blistering 152 from 130 in Melbourne that he can score quickly when the ball’s coming onto the bat.
Australia have been lacking punch at the top of the order due to Finch’s struggles and Warner’s erstwhile century drought.
All he had to say earlier this week was that he was happy to be a step closer to having his leadership ban lifted when news came through that Cricket Australia was changing its code of conduct by-laws, subsection 23B, clause C, paragraph eleventeen, etc.
But “The Reverend” reverted to being “The Bull” and Warner couldn’t help himself and used the opportunity to reiterate that he is “not a criminal”, the saga was “frustrating”, “traumatic” and “a tad disappointing” while pointing CA’s drawn-out process “makes me look like I’m campaigning”.
If there is such a person who is advising him on what to say before he speaks publicly, they need to resign. And if there’s not, he needs to get one right away.
Shut, the and up were three of the four words of advice he needed to hear before he spoke to reporters on Monday about the latest development in the long-winded drama.
Let your batting do the talking – his hundred in game three shores up his spot in one of the three formats, he now needs to ensure his spot in the Test team before doing likewise in the T20 format next year.
After stepping in for the resting Pat Cummins in game two at the SCG in his usual cool and calm manner, there’s no reason why Josh Hazlewood shouldn’t get more chances to lead Australia in the white-ball formats when they pop up.
As one of the very few players assured of a start in the T20 side, he should be handed the captaincy of that team when Finch formally retires or is told to do so.
There are no T20 matches scheduled for Australia again until next August so they can focus on the 50-over format but the 31-year-old fast bowler could be the best option for the next few years before Cameron Green is experienced enough to take the helm.
Ashton Agar went wicketless in his two matches and the selectors will likely persist with him more often than not between now and when the World Cup squad is announced but he has left the door slightly ajar for another tweaker to jump the queue.
The Aussies are not due to play another ODI until the trip to India in February-March so it’s likely another spinner or two like Matt Kuhnemann or Mitchell Swepson could get a trundle on that tour to audition for the role of Adam Zampa’s understudy.
The 30-year-old from the NSW South Coast is ranked 15th in the ICC ODI bowler rankings, second among leg spinners behind Rashid Khan. He starred with 3-55 in Adelaide, 4-45 in Sydney and then bagged 4-31 at the MCG.
He’s up to 127 wickets in 76 ODIs for his career (14th overall) and has just Brad Hogg (142) and Shane Warne (291) ahead of him on the all-time list of Aussie spinners.
His first-class record is modest but it is not far fetched to suggest that with his accuracy, he could be a decent second spin option in Tests on the subcontinent. He doesn’t quite have the pace and bounce of Indian legend Anil Kumble but if he can bowl in a similar fashion, he could be an alternative to Swepson, who is slower through the air but a bigger turner of the ball.
Steve Smith is locked in at first drop and Alex Carey and Green are all but certain to play in Australia’s best line-up so that leaves two spots for Marnus Labuschagne, Marcus Stoinis, Mitchell Marsh and Glenn Maxwell, when he returns from his broken leg, to fight over.
Marsh and Labuschagne enhanced their prospects with a well-compiled half-century each but none of this quartet has proven to be consistently reliable at ODI level in recent years.
CA is hamstrung by the small windows available in the ICC’s Future Tours programme but even against a traditional drawcard like England, the Australian public is not going to turn out for a three-match bilateral series before the Tests in the summer schedule.
January was taken off the agenda for ODIs by South Africa and February was not an option this time around because of the Indian tour but the crowds of 15,420 at Adelaide Oval, 16,993 at the SCG and 10,406 in Melbourne are a sure sign that the dying version of international cricket won’t survive outside the peak interest times.
There is not an ODI scheduled in Australia now until January 2024. Sadly, would that many people really miss this format if it didn’t come back into the annual summer schedule?
fabian gulino
Roar Rookie
cricket in this country has been a yawn of the past few summers.
Ixnay on the Hombre
Guest
It's called censorship Jeff , and if you live in Victoria you better get used to a whole lot more of it.
Jeff
Roar Rookie
After years and years of posting daily on here, for some reason, every third comment I post recently - which are hardly controversial and certainly not abyousive - are being sent to the stasi, resulting in hours of delays in engagement. Not to mention the almost complete shut down of fan opinion pieces being anything but 1 in 20 of the articles put up. I'm just about done with it all. What is going on with this site?
Big Daddy
Roar Rookie
ODI s are losing their popularity not only at international level but at state level . Today's Marsh cup was cut short by 7 overs so they tack on another 30 runs to the chasing side . I'm sure someone will explain but that dumbfounded me .
Bloke7
Roar Rookie
I enjoyed that series... a nice little comfort show after the T20 failures. Not reading massively into it but I'd never say no to watching Australia play England in any format.
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
What's the answer then, Pete, just go into World Cups cold? Or stop opening stadiums and televising games where international teams are mismatched? England knew the schedule, put the best touring team, that injuries permitted, in the 3 Lions shirt, including players who didn't play in the T20WC. Surely everyone expected competitive games. Devaluing the performances of Smith, Head and Warner, also says Malan's ton was irrelevant as it was just an exhibition game where no-one really cared. I reckon he might have been proud of an international ton!
Insult_2_Injury
Roar Rookie
I'm not sure what 'critics' of this series expect! Is the ludicrous set up of T20 supposed to be the norm, now? A world cup every year to bring importance to every series? Can't opponents play each other for the satisfaction of competition? Claims of England being jaded and half hearted due to a tough T20 campaign are laughable considering their crowded domestic competition where they play multiple formats in the same WEEK all season long. Not to mention they knew the schedule coming in, with plans to win both series, as any professional should! Why that should distract from the Aussies winning is becoming an all too familiar criticism from talking heads and their social media acolytes, looking for an angle, which sadly doesn't always include the positives as outlined by Paul here. Even if the WC wasn't a year away, the hierarchy and players wearing green and gold are charged with winning games and utilising personnel to best advantage. That doesn't happen without experimentation, development of game plans for different scenarios and then playing games to enact those plans. Smith, Head and Warner's tons count for the same in their international resume for a reason. The one thing that I can't agree with in this article is 'All he (Warner) had to say earlier this week'...... He STILL has the right to handle his life his way. He'll never captain, but he has a right to respond to decisions made about him, in his own way. I much rather hear the truth from individuals, rather than prepared 'company line' drivel designed by focus group driven back rooms, to protect the brand.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
...and had 2 more catches dropped by Hunt today, plus his wicket.
Diamond Jackie
Roar Rookie
Yeah sure. But he had by far the most provocation as well, as a genuine mitigation.
DaveJ
Roar Rookie
Whoops I meant Zampa, not Agar! Agar has a much better FC record if I remember correctly.
ColinT
Roar Rookie
‘Ultra harsh’ is an understatement. Egged on by a rabid media and self righteous sporting journalists, the ACB meted out the harshest punishment for ball tampering in the history of the game. Supporters of the captaincy life bans suggest that using sandpaper was somehow so much worse than using bottle caps, gravel or sugar saliva etc., that it justified such harsh punishment. Personally, I was and still am disgusted at the self righteous hypocrisy displayed by so many Australians.
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
It's a mosaic. Agar is good no doubt but he'd be bowling in a test side with the encumbent. Possibly not the same chemistry. Mallett and Jenner only bowled in one test. It's a brave selector's panel that'll pick two spinners. I know it's been done and recently. You may say Agar as the the all rounder. There's only one and that's Green which still gives us 3 seamers and 2 spinners
Big Daddy
Roar Rookie
Definitely Rachel Riley , would make you forget about cricket .
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
Chuckles at the thought of Warner writing a book.
Big Daddy
Roar Rookie
Rowdy, I can smell a book deal in the near future with Warner doing a tell all ghosted by Mrs Warner .
Rowdy
Roar Rookie
10 tests, 26 ave, I’d say that’s a new guy, he surely would not have felt like even a little secure in his position. ——— He was looking to ingratiate himself into the team.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Haddin, not Waugh.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
He hasn't played a red ball game for 19 months. His last red ball game he scored a century. His second last, he took a 5 for.
Don Freo
Roar Rookie
Agar did not have a bad day. Murphy was terrific but it was very much enhanced by the partnership with Agar. Agar was regularly mishit just out of the reach of fieldsmen, French cut and edged...and still only went for 3 an over. If you go on stats, Paris is now ahead of Neser in the pecking order. If you watched him bowl, you'd be agreeing with SOK (who has had a bit of experience with this kind of bowling), Haddin and Huss who were all full of praise for how he bowled. This kind of stats driven comment is always without acknowledgement of the element of team bowling that Agar provides.
DTM
Roar Rookie
I agree, he just can't seem to have an impact with the red ball. However, I do think the sub continent is different and he should still be considered.