World Cup Defense Slipping Through Australia's Fingers

The three match ODI series just completed against South Africa only confirmed what everyone had suspected before it started. That being, that South Africa have a handy squad once again with a bowling attack full of speed and a batting line up that will only improve with the return of the injured Hashim Amla and JP Duminy, and Australia has a mixed bits and pieces batting order that would be terrific if it fired at the same time but has rarely done so along with a bowling attack relying on the ‘big three’ pacemen to destroy opposition batting if it is to progress. Given Australia’s inability to put a good score on the board, a 1-2 series loss is almost a win given that 0-3 felt much more likely to most in the lead-up.

Since the 2015 World Cup, England has become the benchmark with their aggressive batting from the first ball being seen to be the new way to take on the one day game. Pakistan has tried to utilise a similar strategy, while India has dominated mainly through a fast start and then Virat Kohli controlling the remainder of the innings. Australia is caught in its inability to keep wickets intact for long enough to decide what method they wish to use. Early wickets in Perth meant Chris Lynn and Alex Carey had to hold back their natural instincts to try and mount a rescue, something that England has eschewed and continued to attack in such situations. As a result Australia’s batting, which appears as though it has been selected for all-out assaults such as shown by England, looks confused as to whether they should continue in that way as wickets keep falling. Such is the problem when teams aren’t winning, and the leadership has changed. The game plan doesn’t look set, so that everyone knows what page they are on. Poor shot selection has been the major cause of Australia’s batting downfall, certainly in these three games and also last summer. 

Australia’s pace attack has been well and truly out-bowled by the South African pace attack. In home conditions none of Mitch Starc, Josh Hazlewood or Pat Cummins looked as venomous or dangerous as Steyn, Rabada and Ngini. 

Australia has toyed with Andrew Tye, Kane and Jhye Richardson, Nathan Coulter-Nile and Billy Stanlake in the last twelve months, but are more comfortable in picking the ’big three’ and hoping they will dispatch the opposition with fire and pace and brutality. They worked perfectly in 2015, but if they are not on song and taking wickets it leaves a lot of work for the rest of the bowling attack. On England pitches it would have to be considered unlikely that Australia can continue to place so much trust in all three of these bowlers in the same team. 

What is Australia’s best spin option? Adam Zampa’s two matches were lukewarm, as was the back up from Glenn Maxwell. Australia have to decide if a defensive spin option in Ashton Agar is what will work best in England, given his explosive batting prowess that would be ideal at number eight, or an attacking spin option such that a leg spinner provides will work in English conditions, and if so is Zampa the best option in that way? (cue my renewed push for Fawad Ahmed to get his chance again). 

Alex Carey showed great promise with the bat in all three games, but his pivotal moment was when he dropped Faf du Plessis when he was only 20-odd in Sunday’s third game. It was a costly miss, and though his glove work has been solid standing back, he doesn’t look as assured up to the stumps as Tim Paine. Missed chances like that do change the outcome of matches, and even tournaments. 

There are a plethora of other questions raised going forward. Has the D’Arcy Short experiment run its course? Is Chris Lynn’s exposure at international level a possible turning point in his career? Where should Travis Head bat to utilise him best? Is Glenn Maxwell at seven a finisher worth pursuing in the ODI team? Is Usman Khawaja the batsman required at the top of the order to provide a stable opening partnership? How do Smith and Warner possibly fit back into this mix if they are considered worthy of selection once their suspensions have been served? What bowling attack is going to work in English conditions if they are to succeed at the World Cup? Is Mitch Marsh a better chance of making the team as a bowler and lower order batter? If wrist spin is so important in every other country’s ODI team, why is our best exponent in Fawad Ahmed still not sighted in green and gold? 

Stuart Clark was pretty right on Fox News two weeks ago when he said quite simply “These players are who we have. There is no one else up to playing at this level”. Which means the selectors have to squeeze the best out of the players they have if they are to mount a challenge to retain the World Cup trophy. There is little time for experimentation. Australia’s domestic one day tournament has come and gone. Australia has so few ODI matches before the start of the World Cup that it Is imperative that anyone they consider an essential ingredient in their squad must play every game to assess their form and judge if they are the right fit. It means that the selectors, coach and captain have to have a game plan for how they are going to approach the tournament, and that each member of the squad knows exactly what their role in that is. 

In essence… it will take a miracle…