Hard questions need to be asked of Australian Test team after poor 2018, writes Shane Warne
With less than three Tests between now and the Ashes, spin king Shane Warne says banned men Steve Smith and David Warner must walk straight back into an Australian side that has serious questions to answer.
Opinion
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Australia played 10 Tests last year. They lost six, won three, and drew one.
That’s not a good record. Something’s wrong, and it’s time to ask every question possible about what they have to work on, what needs to be improved, and what needs to be changed now.
There are batting issues, and they need further forensic analysis.
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But right off the top, Australia has only made 300 twice in the first innings in Tests matches this year, against England last January and in the Perth Test against India, which they won. That’s not good enough.
The bowlers though aren’t helping the cause either.
Against top six batsmen in all matches in 2018, Mitchell Starc has taken 17 wickets at 47, Josh Hazlewood 18 wickets at 40, Nathan Lyon 29 wickets at 43 and Pat Cummins 33 wickets at 23.
Apart from Cummins, it’s not very good.
And it means Australia has either batted first and not batted well, or gone out to bowl and let the opposition make huge totals.
In every instance, from the first innings of almost every Test this year, Australia has been behind the game.
BOWL CUMMINS FIRST
Most people assume that Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon are automatic selections, that you just pencil them in.
And for Hazlewood, Cummins and Lyon, that’s probably right.
I mean, Pat Cummins is the first player picked in my team, with Nathan Lyon, and I want Josh Hazlewood in my team too. He’s absolute class.
But at the moment, this is the worst I have seen Mitchell Starc bowl.
He keeps saying he’s bowling well, that he just misses on the odd over here or there.
But 17 top order wickets at an average of 47 with the new ball, it just isn’t good enough.
I don’t think he has looked anything like the Mitchell Starc we have known over the past couple of years.
I think it’s time Pat Cummins gets the new ball. He’s got 30 wickets at 23 against top six batsmen. He’s done his time.
I think we should even give him the new ball with Josh Hazlewood in Sydney, because Mitchell Starc is not getting it done.
When Pat Cummins made his debut in South Africa in 2011 he opened the bowling, he swung the ball, took seven wickets and was man of the match. Give him the new ball again.
SWING DILEMMA
Starc is not swinging the Kookaburra, and I know there are few conspiracy theorists trying to say he hasn’t been able to get the ball to move since sandpaper-gate.
But that’s nonsense. He’s just not in good form.
When he’s in form, Starc swings the ball, the red one and the white one, and he gets wickets.
He’s just not doing that and that is why it’s time Cummins gets the new ball.
BATTING TEST
Australia’s batsmen have to learn how to bat time.
Somehow, they have to work out how to endure good bowling to survive. Because you can’t make winning scores without spending time at the crease.
There are three Tests between now and the Ashes, when David Warner and Steve Smith will come back in to the team.
In a way, those two have papered over the cracks of Australia’s batting issues because they have been so good.
They will come back in to the team, despite any lingering issues from South Africa or the interviews that aired on Boxing Day.
They should be welcomed back with open arms because they are class, and Australia is desperate for some class.
So Justin Langer and the selectors have to settle on an opener to bat with Warner in England.
That’s what these next three matches, the last one against India then two against Sri Lanka, are all about.
I’m a fan of Marcus Harris, and I think you can back in Usman Khawaja at three.
Smith will come in at four, and Shaun Marsh at five.
I know Marsh is 35 but at least he has Test hundreds, and it looked like he could have made another ton in the second innings of the Boxing Day Test in Melbourne.
That leaves one batting spot up for grabs, No.6.
Is that Travis Head? Is it an all-rounder?
They have to use the next three Tests to find out.
Should they just leave Head in, let him bat for all three matches? He probably will if he gets a score in Sydney. Or do they bat Aaron Finch there, and see if he’s better suited?
As much as the immediate focus is trying to level the series against India, to not let them win, it is also time to start looking ahead to England.
It’s not all experimenting, because guys such as Joe Burns, Glenn Maxwell, and even Marnus Labuschange who is playing in Sydney, have Test experience.
But the Sri Lankan series could be the perfect time to have a look at Marcus Stoinis.
We have to find out if the guys who are in the selection frame are actually good enough to play Test cricket.
OFF-FIELD QUESTIONS
Australia has to look at the staff in and around the team, especially the assistant coaches.
Have they been there too long?
You also have to ask the question: Has any player improved since the start of last year?
Nathan Lyon has, Pat Cummins, too.
Those two have enhanced their reputation. But no-one else has.
Is the environment the players are in affecting that improvement? Are they happy in that environment?
It’s a massive year ahead — with a World Cup followed by an Ashes series in England, and you need everything going right to have any chance of success.
Those events will be here before we know it.
So you have to take the time now to review last year, have a look at batting coach Graeme Hick and bowling coach David Saker.
It’s not just the players that have to be reviewed.
No one likes talking about this or pushing the fact these questions have to be asked — but they just have to.
We also need to talk about things such as a national under-23 competition, the Sheffield Shield, and using the Dukes ball in Australia.
Maybe Cricket Australia need to survey the players off the record, ask them what they think of the coaching staff, the team environment and selections.
The players need to perform better, but is the environment allowing them to?
You want the players to speak freely, to get to the root cause of why the results in 2018 were not good enough.
We are running out of time. We need to ask those questions now.
No-one wants another year like 2018.
PS: I’ve said it before but the Boxing Day Test should be day night next summer.
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