Australia must stagger retirements from ageing Test side to avoid repeating drop-offs of the past

Australia struggled when it farewelled Lillee, Chappell and Marsh in the SCG Test 40 years ago, and did the same when Langer, Warne and McGrath declared time 16 years ago. Selectors must avoid a repeat with the current ageing Test side, writes ROBERT CRADDOCK

It’s 40 years this week since Dennis Lillee, Greg Chappell and Rod Marsh retired together at the SCG – in a different era to David Warner, but with the same message to Australia.

In January 1984, there was so much emotion around the Test match retirements of the three legends that Australia, for a while, floated away on the sweet memories of their grandest deeds rather than looking ahead at the grim world looming without them.

Incredibly, Australia failed to win any of its next eight series over four years after they played their last Tests, like Warner, against Pakistan.

Chairman of selectors Laurie Sawle famously said a few years later: “We learnt one big thing – when you have a great group of senior players you simply have to make sure they don’t leave together. You just have to stagger their departures”.

Australia had another triple Sydney farewell in 2006-07 against England when Glenn McGrath, Shane Warne and Justin Langer played their last Tests together.

An era of greatness was replaced by a less spectacular one.

There’s no way, given the modest state of most of its rivals, Australia will fall off a cliff like it did in the mid-1980s, no matter how quickly other senior players follow Warner, but Sawle’s message is still relevant.

Rod Marsh, Greg Chappell and Dennis Lillee relax in the locker room after their final Test for Australia against Pakistan at the SCG in 1984. Picture: Ray Titus.

Australia's Justin Langer, Glenn McGrath and Shane Warne in the dressing rooms of the SCG for the last time. Picture: Phil Hillyard

Warner will be gone next week from a side whose youngest player, Marnus Labuschagne, is 29 and the challenge for head selector George Bailey is to stagger the departure of an outstanding group that has grown from boys to men together.

Batting wise, that means getting one more year out of Warner’s boyhood buddy Usman Khawaja and two out of Steve Smith.

If that’s Smith the occasionally clunky four-wheel drive rather than Smith the purring Porsche, that’s fine.

Just so long he is there to be the link man between generations.

People talk about the lack of exceptional openers to replace Warner but the depth is actually thinner in the middle order.

Smith may not be the batsman he was but almost every outstanding one Australia has had – Allan Border, Matt Hayden, Ricky Ponting and Michael Clarke among them – faded near the end of their careers.

This is where cricket differs from the football codes. In football, it’s often said the key is dropping a player a season too early rather than a season too late.

Cricket, by contrast, likes to squeeze every drop out of its greatest players to the point where they are normally squeezed dry.

It’s because they have a habit of chipping in when needed.

Much was said about how awkward Smith looked in making 50 off 176 balls against Pakistan in the second innings of the Boxing Day Test but his unglamorous grunt won Australia the match.

Smith never looked comfortable – his greatest battle often seemed to be with himself – but he donned the blue overalls, picked up the shovel and chaperoned Australia to safe ground.

The innings may have spotlighted the fact Smith has changed as a batsman and is finding life more challenging but Australia needs that fight.

Originally published as Australia must stagger retirements from ageing Test side to avoid repeating drop-offs of the past