Self-sabotage left Australian cricket underprepared in Bangladesh

AUSTRALIAN cricket has blood on its hands — paying a humbling price for letting an indifferent attitude towards touring Bangladesh fester for so long.

Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland and the rest of the administration have a lot to answer for.

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FOR the best part of a year, insiders were predicting that the Bangladesh Test tour would be used by the warring parties as a pawn in cricket’s ugly pay dispute.

Now Australian cricket as a collective has blood on its hands — paying the most humbling price for letting an indifferent attitude towards touring Bangladesh fester for so long.

It’s Cricket Australia’s responsibility to give its Test side optimum preparation time and, equally, there’s an onus on players to get themselves in the right mental space to succeed.

The shock first Test result in Dhaka would indicate that months of self-sabotaging left Australia underprepared for a tour that, until it really came down to the crunch, was being treated as expendable.

Cricket Australia CEO James Sutherland and the rest of the administration have a lot to answer for.

Yes, contracts were signed just before the team boarded the plane. There was a training camp held in Darwin and Australia could do nothing to prevent monsoonal rain washing out their two-day tour match before the first Test.

But that unyielding focus and attention to detail that Australia took into their lion-hearted Test tour of India earlier in the year has not been replicated.

It’s hard to pin it on one tangible reason because strictly speaking there has been preparation, but as The Castle once said, it’s been the vibe of the thing.

Cricket in general was in a state of disarray and an Australia A tour – featuring Test stars Usman Khawaja and Glenn Maxwell — was abandoned.

Bangladeshi players celebrate their victory against Australia during the fourth day of their first match in Dhaka. Picture: AP Photo

Spare a thought for coach Darren Lehmann, who had to sit on his hands as his bosses went to war with his players.

As a result, Australian cricket has hit a deadend.

What are all the advancements made in India worth if on Australia’s very next trip to the sub-continent, against the ninth-ranked team in Test cricket, performances regress again?

Another opportunity to win a series in Asia has been squandered in the Bangladesh dust.

Australia must now accept the chastening reality that the No.6 ranking they may slip down to after this series is an accurate reflection of where a once-mighty team now sits in world cricket.

Steve Smith has a hard task pulling his team together.

They still deserve to be Ashes favourites, and a win against England will help rebuild confidence.

But Australia is a million miles away from being a consistent, competitive force in all conditions and from achieving their desired target of being cricket’s No.1 team.

Question marks will be asked about whether some players are cut out for Test cricket.

But overall, Trevor Hohns’ selection panel has recently uncovered players who have shown the grit and determination that is required to restore faith in the baggy green.

Pat Cummins has the potential to become a once-in-a-generation player. Picture: Getty Images

The likes of Matt Renshaw, Peter Handscomb and Ashton Agar all appear to have the DNA to make a name for themselves at Test level.

And Pat Cummins shapes as a once-in-a-generation superstar.

Steve Smith and David Warner are two greats of the game who are still at their prime.

This is a team that needs time to gel, but time is a difficult luxury to provide when the expectations on Australian cricket are justifiably so great.

Millions of dollars are poured into high performance, and Australia deserve to have serious questions asked about why the results aren’t following and why every time the ball spins it feels like Groundhog Day.

Originally published as Self-sabotage left Australian cricket underprepared in Bangladesh