This Australian summer has left little doubt about who the best cricket team in the world in Australian conditions is. In my reasonably short lifetime, there have been just four touring nations who have won series on Australian soil: West Indies (1992-1993), South Africa (2008-2009, 2012-2013), England (2010-2011) and India (2018-19, 2020-21).
Other sides have struggled to match Australia’s intensity when playing on its shores.
The 2022-2023 summer has been incredibly one-sided, and Australia has encountered little competition, barring a couple of roads in Pakistan. Yet underneath the winning, cracks are beginning to appear in the great team.
David Warner is 36 and his opening partner in crime, Usman Khawaja, is a mere 52 days younger than him. Both have acknowledged that they have a limited amount of time left in them, and both most likely retired in the next 12-18 months.
Marnus Labuschagne is 28, Steve Smith is 33, Travis Head is 29, Cameron Green is 23, Alex Carey is 32, Pat Cummins is 29, Mitchell Starc is 33, Josh Hazlewood is 32, Nathan Lyon is 35, Scott Boland is 32.
Most of the Australian team is on the wrong side of 30, meaning that their Test careers have anywhere between 5-8 years left, some even fewer. Australia may end up in a situation similar to South Africa where they have one or two really good batters but an excellent bowling lineup within the next 3-5 years.
When India tours in 2024, most of the current squad will be on the wrong side of 30 with just Head, Labuschagne, Matt Renshaw and Green being under 30 at that time. That makes a very good core of players left over, but the lack of experience left by the retirement of three or maybe more players will tell, and the depth coming behind them is not great.
The obvious cause of the lack of depth has been the demise of the Sheffield Shield competition. For years the Shield has been put on the back-burner, shorn of its Test-quality players. Save for a few players who represent their states consistently (namely Khawaja, Head, Labuschagne, Carey and Green), the remainder of the players have barely been seen in their state’s colours since their Australian debut.
The states that have been less fortunate with selection, Queensland and Western Australia in particular, have managed to produce some excellent players and, therefore, excellent sides.
They’ve done this by retaining enough senior players (who’ve played Test cricket), despite Australian selection, who have helped the younger players to excel.
Cameron Green celebrates a wicket. (Photo by Quinn Rooney/Getty Images)
The solution is as simple as energising the Big Bash League. Allow the Test players to play at least the early or late rounds of the Sheffield Shield! Two years ago, when Queensland played New South Wales in the Shield Final, the Test line-up of Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon bowled to Joe Burns, Renshaw, Khawaja and Labuschagne, all current or former Test players.
That made the Shield Final one to watch, and it turned out to be an amazing Final especially because of the Queensland victory.
Now, imagine if Smith and Warner had played along with Kurtis Patterson. Michael Neser to Warner with the new ball? Mitch Swepson to Smith, one of the best players of spin bowling in the world? Those are the opportunities that the likes of Swepson, Wes Agar, Brendan Doggett, Joel Paris and plenty of others would love to have.
Whilst Australia won’t be in the same position as South Africa was this year, without a strong Sheffield Shield competition, underpinned by the return of its Test players, future Test sides will be much weaker. Bring back the Test players to the Shield and watch the quality and the crowds grow as they watch the best of the best battle it out for the Sheffield Shield.
PeteB
Roar Rookie
Yeah it’s all about the dollars now. More matches means more money. It’s one thing that frustrates me about this India tour. Cricket boards don’t really care whether their team win or lose, it’s solely about how much money is generated via tv rights, etc. Hence they don’t have warm up matches to give visiting teams a chance of being competitive. There’s no money in those so it’s deemed a waste of time. Perhaps that’s why Warner has also kept getting selected. It means more publicity even if it is at the cost of winning.
sheek
Roar Guru
PeteB, Yeah, somehow I managed to watch most of a day's play of most tests back in the 70s through 90s. But not anymore. Care factor has evaporated. Funny old thing, this world. There's so much more of every sport today, but most of it is just noise, smoke & mirrors. Quality replaced by quantity.
PeteB
Roar Rookie
Draws were like a win for us back then. I remember Mike Whitney celebrating a draw like we’d won after surviving an over from Richard Hadlee. Just checking the scores, in the last test against India we were 6/119 off 77 overs. Can’t believe I watched so much cricket in the 80s. So much of my life I will never get back.
sheek
Roar Guru
PeteB, The beauty of draws, eh...
PeteB
Roar Rookie
Yeah just checked the scores. We were smashed in every game. If 10 points were awarded per game we would have lost 30 nil.
PeteB
Roar Rookie
I recall India being well on top but us being saved by rain. Could be wrong though as it was a long time ago.
sheek
Roar Guru
PeteB, This is not correct. All 3 tests in 85/86 were drawn. India had a highly established team while the Aussies were a rabble, but they scrambled well. Th 80/81 series was drawn 1-1, Oz being bowled out in the 3rd test on a cabbage patch. They dominated for 2.75 tests but crashed at the final hurdle.
Micko
Roar Rookie
India won here in the 80's??!! :shocked:
PeteB
Roar Rookie
Yep get rid of the 50 over format and have specialist 20 over and shield/test players. Multi format players should be coming less common. Continue the shield through the middle Yep get rid of the 50 over format and have specialist 20 over and test/shield cricketers. Multi format players should be coming less common. It would be good to have the shield not disrupted by the BBL each year. Maybe we’ll get to the stage where the pausing of the shield season is not necessary.
Cam
Roar Rookie
I love the idea, but most of the test players are fitting 14 months worth of Test, ODI, T20 and T20 franchise cricket into a 12 month calender. They have been publicly railing against their commitments and have been vocal about burnout. It is hard to see them add half a season of Sheild to their schedule.
Gibbo
Roar Pro
Curious to know what other basic mistakes I've made?
PeteB
Roar Rookie
85-86 we were smashed at home by India and New Zealand. Only rain saved us in a few games. Followed up by that awful Ashes series of 86-87. Good reminder that we should be thankful for todays cricketers.
sheek
Roar Guru
PeteB, So true. The administration had not prepared itself for the triple retirement of G.Chappell, Lillee & Marsh in early 1984. Sadly, the remaining leading players at the time, bar only Border, failed to lift their own games, their performances ranging from uneven to often poor - Hughes, Yallop, Lawson, Hogg, Dyson, Wessels, Hookes, Wood, Rixon, Bright, Matthews, Alderman, Rackemann, Phillips, Ritchie. A top XI playing at its collective best would still have been highly competitive. The domestic period 1984-87 was highly toxic & fractious.
sheek
Roar Guru
Ben, No, Pakistan have never won a series here, but drawn a few. Maybe their 1992 World Cup win evens out the score…
sheek
Roar Guru
Game, set & match to Rusty Brooks!
PeteB
Roar Rookie
You’re lucky you didn’t get to see it. The mid 80s was a dreadful time for Australian cricket.
Rusty Brooks
Roar Rookie
Carey was born in 1991 and turns 32 in August.
redbackfan
Roar Rookie
Carey is 32 not 31. Other basic mistakes?
Clear as mud
Guest
yes that's right. got a good draw in 76-7. but couldn't beat the team during WSC (we really should have won 2-0)
Ben Pobjie
Expert
Oh no, I got it, was just giving an assist for the above commenter’s benefit! I thought you were quite clear. Certainly SL, BAN and ZIM haven’t won a series here. I suspect Pakistan might not have either but I can’t swear to it.