Last Updated on 12 seconds ago by Charbel Coorey
Greg Chappell believes this is “probably the hardest era in the game’s history for a young batter to develop Test-level skill.” In his piece for Cricinfo soon after the two-day Test in Mackay, Chappell highlighted the challenges Australia face in developing successful Test cricketers.
Australia’s batsmen have generally found the going tough in recent years. Seam-friendly pitches both at Sheffield Shield and Test level have made run-scoring and survival difficult – something the likes of Steve Smith and Usman Khawaja have spoken to in recent years. In addition, the Kookaburra ball behaves quite differently since the introduction of a second layer of lacquer and more pronounced seam in 2019.
Smith himself is the only Australian top seven batter to average above 40 in Tests since June 2023 (minimum 12 innings). The great number four averages 42.89 in this period, followed by Travis Head (39.09) and Alex Carey (37.46).
Why are Australia struggling with the bat? Greg Chappell puts his views forward
Chappell is one of Australia’s greatest-ever batters. The former captain struck 7,110 Test runs at an average of 53.86, with 24 centuries. He also ammassed 24,535 First Class runs at 52.20 with 74 centuries.
When someone with such stature speaks of the threat that long-format cricket faces, it’s time for administrators to listen.
Australia’s calendar problem
In India, the BCCI places importance on their top batters playing red-ball cricket throughout the year. As reported by Cricinfo in 2025, domestic cricket is “mandatory” for national selection, or they risk even losing their IPL contract.
However, the IPL does not run during India’s First Class season, whereas the Big Bash League (BBL) does. The BBL is played during the December and January period where interest in cricket is at its highest in the country. The Sheffield Shield season is therefore split into two.
“This generation, and the one before it, have had to contend with three formats at once, and the disruption it has caused to batting development has been profound,” Chappell wrote.
“The BBL sits inside the Australian first-class season and splits it in two, so a batter’s red-ball cricket stops and gives way to six weeks of an entirely different game.
“I have seen young Australian players get a good start to the first-class season, only to lose their rhythm entirely over the BBL. When they return to red-ball cricket late in the season, it often takes them time to rediscover the touch they had shown only months earlier – hardly surprising, given how little red-ball repetition they have had in between.”
Adjusting between formats: Technique vs. Power
Chappell also pointed to the significant changes players face in adapting across formats. Throughout cricket history, technique was the key attribute for a batter to have a successful career. Now, it’s power.
This presents a contrasting dynamic. Traditional batting, as described by Chappell, requires nimble footwork and pinpoint positional play. Power-hitting on the other hand, requires a strong base and hard swing.
“Test matches are now squeezed between T20 and one-day cricket, and the currency of the modern game is power. Hitting the ball to and over the boundary is demanded in the white-ball formats,” Chappell said.
“But learning to be a hitter is fundamentally different from learning to be a batter. Batting is a lower-body-driven skill: footwork is what puts a player in position to hit the ball in the middle of the bat, delivery after delivery. Power-hitting is primarily an upper-body exercise – a strong, stationary base and minimal footwork are what let you swing the arms hard and launch the ball high.”
Seam-friendly pitches in the Sheffield Shield have had a detrimental effect on bowling as well
None of the top ten run-scorers in the 2025/26 Sheffield Shield season averaged above 37. Also, the nature of the pitches don’t favour raw speed and spinners are almost rendered useless.
It is an issue that Cricket Australia (CA) is now addressing amid the national team’s batting worries and move towards a potentially painful transition period. Curators are now encouraged to err on the side of the batsmen when preparing pitches.
“Genuine pace is essential for enduring Test success, and so is quality spin, but under current domestic conditions,ย spinners aren’t bowling the overs needed to develop those skills either,” Chappell wrote.
“In low-scoring, seam-dominated games, one or two expensive overs can be costly, so economical, defensive spin is preferred over the attacking variety, and containment wins out over craft. The availability of batting bonus points adds a further distortion, pressuring batters to take risks that work against the patience and survival instincts a Test innings actually demands.”
Australia’s task does not get any easier. Their next task is a three-match series away in South Africa, before four Tests at home against a very potent New Zealand pace attack.
Then, there will be a sharp shift from pace to spin with five Tests against India beginning in late January.
