Cardiff: Australia came here as the two-time winners of the Champions Trophy, aiming for a hat-trick which would have served as a perfect appetiser for the Ashes series. Their lacklustre performance in the tournament, however, revealed the tragic state of this team which once ruled world cricket.
There was a time when Australia dictated terms to other teams. Today, they look vulnerable and the famous cocky gait with which they used to enter the field has also vanished. Add to that the allegations of indiscipline that have surfaced against senior players like Shane Watson and David Warner, which are harming the team interests.
It has reached a stage where only a good performance at the upcoming Ashes can redeem their lost prestige. If England record an emphatic victory, then the impact will be so severe that Australia might take a long time to recover from the blow.
Gulf News takes a look at the five factors that has resulted in Australia’s fall from glory:
1. Crumbling batting line up
Australia’s batting line-up was once considered the strongest in the world. To wreck the top or even middle order was impossible. If that was not enough, they had a tail which was as good as some of the other teams’ middle orders. The days of dominance through openers Adam Gilchrist and Matthew Hayden are now just a memory.
Phillip Hughes, who opens the innings, cannot be even compared with Hayden though he is also a left-hander. Matthew Wade, who is also a wicketkeeper batsman, is nowhere near the class of Gilchrist. No one is good enough to step into the shoes of Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds and Michael Hussey in the middle order. Glenn Maxwell, who promises a lot, is yet to create any consistent impact. It is often easy to dismiss their top five batsmen, like Sri Lanka did in the Champions Trophy, which was unheard off in the past.
2. Bowling lacks bite
Australians had the most fearsome pace attack, led by Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne. Except for Mitchell Johnson and Shane Watson to some extent, the current crop simply lacks class. Clint McKay is 30 years old and so far has played in just one Test match. James Faulkner is only 23 but has to improve a lot. The biggest blow for the team is the lack of good spinners. Their main spinner Xavier Doherty can spin the ball but is not in a class to wreck batting line-ups consistently. The spinner’s slot left vacant by the legendary Shane Warne is not likely to be filled for a long time. Any team today can get off to a confident start against Australia and hence, winning the toss is no longer an advantage for their team.
3. No longer masters in fielding
Australians used to be one of the finest fielders in the game. In the Champions Trophy their fielders were not at all impressive and the position of being the best fielders of the tournament was snatched by the Indians, according to a poll conducted by television broadcasters. The agility has vanished and some of the players are nursing injuries, led by skipper Michael Clarke itself. Lack of experience is also showing on some of the fielders who were often committing basic mistakes like taking the eyes off the ball while fielding and also fumbling with the ball. The days when they converted half-chances into catches had vanished and if Shane Watson could have clung on to the Mahela Jayawardene catch who was batting on 25 in their match against Sri Lanka in the Champions Trophy, they could have won the match and probably qualified for the semi-finals too.
4. Recurring acts of indiscipline
In March this year, Shane Watson, Mitchell Johnson, James Pattinson and Usman Khawaja were suspended for the third Test against India for refusing to do the “home work” handed to them by their coach Mickey Arthur. Watson also resigned from the vice-captaincy of the team in April, stating that he wants to concentrate on his batting and bowling. If that was not enough, their star opener David Warner punched England’s Joe Root in a Birmingham bar forcing Cricket Australia to drop the batsman on disciplinary grounds. Cricket Australia’s reputation for strict discipline is a thing of the past as they are unable to take stern action against players today, due to a dearth of talent and experience. No wonder, Australian skipper Michael Clarke was quite agitated while attending the press conference in which Warner confessed to his mistake.
5. Inability to recover from defeats
The biggest problem now being faced by the Australians is their inability to recover from huge defeats and stage a fightback. Due to poor display of their skills, sledging, which they used to use as a weapon to shatter the confidence of opponents, has also lost its bite. McGrath, Lee and Shane Warne who were masters in their game could use sledging effectively. Today, with their bowlers just about managing to beat the batsmen, chances to sledge have also reduced. After their innings and 135-run defeat to India at Hyderabad in March 2013 which was their 10th heaviest Test defeat, they went on to lose the series 4-0. It was their worst defeat in 43 years and fourth whitewash. During the Champions Trophy warm-up match against India, they were bowled out for 65 — making the writing clear on the wall!