Robert Craddock: Confusion in the ranks as bowlers battle to hit the mark

Cracks are appearing in the Australian team where there are not supposed to be cracks, writes ROBERT CRADDOCK.

Australia's captain Tim Paine and paceman Pat Cummins. Picture: AP

Was it a split in the ranks or simply the type of abrasive discussion every losing team needs to try and right the sinking ship?

Whatever the nature of it, the bake that bowling coach David Saker gave the fast bowlers will arouse rare sensitivities in the Australian dressing room.

From Miller and Lindwall, to Thomson and Lillee then McGrath and Gillespie, the fast men are traditionally the heroes on home soil, so close they often operate as a team within a team.

Generally, they follow the captain. Other times the captain follows them. Sometimes they meet in the middle.

Skipper Tim Paine chats with Pat Cummins during the SCG Test. Picture: AP

But somehow they normally all end up on the same page and it works out in the end.

It’s most unusual to hear claims that they were on a different page to their captain, though skipper Tim Paine denied this accusation post stumps.

After two days in the field Paine did well to front up, one of the few times in years an Australian captain has appeared at a press conference mid-match.

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Nathan Lyon, normally most conservative in his mid-Test offerings, had earlier criticised the fast men for wasting what he felt was moisture in the wicket with a sustained spell of short-pitched bowling early on the first day.

Saker chimed in, claiming there was “confusion’’ with the plan.

Ideally they should be working in unison but the confusion — perhaps conflict — is a sign of a team bowling plan being prised apart and changed on the run by the rare and intense pressure applied by the man with the ultimate plan, Cheteshwar Pujara.

Short stuff, wide stuff, full stuff ... Australia has tried the lot to Pujara and bothered him as much as a sheep dog barking at an elephant.

Nothing has worked. Frustration is telling.

The fast bowlers will be chastened by this series because they are not used to being publicly criticised at home.

Mitchell Starc has struggled to find his rhythm this series. Picture: Brett Costello

Their self-esteem levels may flag in Dubai or Mumbai but, at home, they normally retain their swagger as their bowling plans traditionally stay simple and relentless and successful.

This has turned out to be a brutal series for Australia.

Cracks are appearing where there are not supposed to be cracks — and there are three days of hard yakka to come.

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