Something is seriously wrong with ‘un-Australian’ cricket team

The Australian team has been torn to pieces by cricket greats in the wake of the team’s World Cup flop. But it goes much deeper.

Pat Cummins at the World Cup. Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images.

Australia’s T20 World Cup flop has opened the door for cricket fans to tell us how they really feel — and the answer is uglier than Cricket Australia could have ever imagined.

Cricket greats, including former Test captain Michael Clarke and fast-bowler Simon O’Donnell, on Monday highlighted the sentiment that the Aussie dressing team is simply not liked by the average punter.

The host country was only knocked out in the Super 12 stage on net run rate alone, having won three of their four games.

The defending champions could have saved their campaign with big wins over Afghanistan or qualifying nations Sri Lanka and Ireland, but their unconvincing victories weren’t enough.

There was a noticeable lack of desperation from the Australian camp, who seemed content securing the win rather than hunting the clinical victory they desperately needed.

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The early World Cup exit before the semi-final stage — and allrounder Glenn Maxwell’s stunning declaration “it doesn’t mean anything” — were the final straw for a disconnect between the dressing room and cricket fans. It appears to have been a long time coming.

O’Donnell said on SEN Breakfast on Monday he can trace it back to the storm that surrounded Justin Langer’s resignation as coach of the Australian team.

At the time, Aussie great Mitchell Johnson labelled Test captain Pat Cummins “gutless” and accused him of undermining Langer behind the scenes. Langer resigned after being pushed out the door by an “insulting” short-term contract extension offer that followed rumours the players wanted Langer gone because of his intense and over-demanding leadership style.

It is just one of several threads woven into the general theme that the entire team is on the nose for whatever reason.

“The Langer thing is big in this,” O’Donnell said.

“People didn’t like how that happened. Justin Langer was much loved. And that unceremonious dumping of the coach and the players’ activity behind the scenes, that has left a sour taste in a lot of people’s mouth.”

Australia's Glenn Maxwell. Photo by Patrick Hamilton / AFP.

Fans stayed away from some of the Aussie games. Photo by Albert Perez/Getty Images.

He said it “gets up my goat” that T20 captain Aaron Finch had said the team was “fatigued” before the tournament even started.

“I couldn’t understand how emotionless we were, particularly in that format,” he said.

He went on to say: “I think that’s a problem that needs to be further discussed and addressed, particularly when a captain of the national team is saying it before a tournament starts. That’s white flag stuff before it even starts.

“You’re playing for your country. Before you play a tournament for your country, you’re saying ‘we’re very tired’. It’s just not right. I’m not saying they weren’t fatigued, but if they were, something has to be addressed. You can’t now go to the 50 over World Cup and say ‘we’re tired’.”

As the Aussies’ campaign began, Mark Waugh called for Cummins to be dropped, and said: “It just doesn’t feel right. They’re not a happy camp and they look like they’re lacking confidence. They’re so nervous. I don’t know what the answer is.

“There’s lots of individual players who seem to have lost the plot.”

Those nerves are among the most troubling things Clarke can see in the Aussie team right now.

Pat Cummins of Australia. Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images.

Clarke said the team simply looks “un-Australian”.

“I think Australians in general on the biggest stage, when you’re under the most amount of pressure, always put it on the line,” he said on Sky Sports Radio.

“They have a crack. We’re not scared to lose. We picked an aggressive XI in this World Cup squad, yet played so defensively. Very un-Australian.”

He said it seems fans are happy the Australian team failed.

“I said it on here a few weeks back — at the moment it feels like there is a real dislike for the Aussie team,” he said.

“I want to see that change. We’ve already got messages this morning. So many people are happy that Australia lost. There’s still angst around Justin Langer being sacked, or resigning, whatever happened there. There’s still angst around our style of play and how we’re playing.

“I think the fans feel like they’ve been left out.”

Glenn Maxwell, David Warner and Aaron Finch of Australia embrace before the match against Ireland. Photo by Bradley Kanaris/Getty Images.

“Australian cricket has alway tried to be the No. 1 team in the country, yet we’re nowhere near that now.

“Normally this is prime time. This is normally where you look at every TV and there’s cricket advertised and the players are on billboards and the players are in the ads for companies doing TV commercials. I don’t know. Whatever Cricket Australia is doing at the moment, it doesn’t seem to be working with the fans.”

It feels inevitable that this will be the last T20 World Cup campaign for several Australian players.

Matthew Wade has already signalled his intention to retire after this tournament, while captain Aaron Finch is also expected to hang up the boots. Mitchell Starc and Cummins, albeit extraordinary talents, should make way for short-format specialists ahead of the 2024 tournament in North America.

Australia boasted the oldest team in the tournament – Cummins was the second-youngest player in its first-choice starting XI at 29. They were hampered by injury concerns before and during the T20 World Cup, with sluggish fielding too often assisting their opponents.

This Australian team earned the right to defend its title on home soil, but the honeymoon period is over. A rebuild awaits.

Up next are three ODIs against England, two Tests against the West Indies, three Tests against South Africa, a four-Test tour of India, six ODIs against India and Afghanistan, the World Test Championship final, a five-Test Ashes series, an eight-match white-ball tour of South Africa and a 50-over World Cup in India – then the 2023/24 home summer kicks off.