What the hell is going on with Australia in T20 cricket? | Looking at reasons why Australia is struggling badly in T20 cricket
The horror show is now over, but the fallout must begin. Australia, across tours of West Indies and Bangladesh, lost a combined eight of 10 T20Is, producing some of the poorest white-ball cricket seen of an Australian team in quite some time.
Yes, Australia were missing a number of first team players. It was a reason put forward by many in attempting to explain Australia’s dismal showing. However, where is the batting depth? Who is putting their hand up apart from Mitchell Marsh? If this isn’t Australia’s ‘B’ team, what is?
Yes, conditions were quite alien. Particularly in Bangladesh, where most of the Australian public was spared the horror thanks to Foxtel. The pitches were another reason put forward by many in attempting to explain Australia’s dismal showing. However, how do you explain Australia’s series defeats against England, India and New Zealand on perfectly good batting pitches, where the propensity for an almighty collapse was still present?
Australia have now lost five straight T20I series, with the most worrying aspect being the lack of batsmen coming through and making a mark in international cricket. In New Zealand, you have the likes of Devon Conway and Will Young making an impact. Suryakumar Yadav, Ishan Kishan and co. ooze class in India. England can lose an entire squad to COVID-19 isolation, but those who come in are still able to perform brilliantly against a capable Pakistan in both ODIs and T20Is.
Sure, Australia doesn’t have the population of the likes of India and England. However, this wasn’t a factor two decades ago when truly fantastic cricketers couldn’t find a way into Australia’s national side, such was the strength in depth and class. Think of Brad Hodge, Stuart MacGill, Stuart Law and countless others who had to churn out huge season after huge season just to stay on the selectors’ radar. Even Michael Hussey couldn’t get into the fray until his late 20s.
Now, an average of 35 in First Class cricket is good enough to make the Test side. Like Tests, Australia’s T20 worries stem from the domestic system, which we’ll touch on in this article.
Australia lacks batting depth across formats (think of Smith and Labuschagne’s importance in Tests), with a particular focus now on T20 cricket given the dismal run of form. In this article, I will provide key reasons as to why Australia is struggling in T20 cricket, and what can be done to improve it.
Gap in quality between BBL and international cricket is too big
While Cricket Australia’s (CA) $1.2 billion television rights coup in 2018 was a big boost to the pocket, it has undoubtedly had an adverse effect on the country’s T20 cricket. A key part of the deal was extending the Big Bash League (BBL) to a full home and away season, milking the cash cow that the BBL certainly was in its early years.
As a result, the BBL takes up a major part of the Australian domestic season, in conjunction with home Test matches. This not only impacts red-ball cricket negatively, but also sees a reduction in the BBL’s quality due to a couple of key reasons.
Firstly, Australia’s international cricketers are rarely available. Also, overseas stars are often on international duty. So, CA have tried to implement the IPL home and away model in a much smaller market and an environment where key international stars are not available. When you couple this with the fact that the season spans the best part of six weeks, one must question the quality of the tournament when a number of club and state cricketers make up key parts of their respective BBL franchises.
Now, there is nothing wrong with state and club cricketers getting an opportunity. Quite the opposite. However, secondly, players in the BBL get limited opportunities to test themselves against the best. As a result, strong performance in the BBL does not mean success in international cricket.
In fact, a number of the BBL’s leading players have found the going mighty difficult in international cricket. The below numbers, which were compiled before the demoralising Bangladesh series, tell the story.
Josh Philippe has been one of the shining lights of the BBL, with 995 runs in the last two seasons at an average of 34.31 and strike rate touching 140. Alex Carey averages over 35 in 48 BBL matches, but averages just 11 across 35 T20 Internationals. Ben McDermott smashed over 400 runs last season at a strike rate touching 140. You can also add Matthew Wade to that list; a player who has struck 456 runs in his last 12 BBL matches at an average of 45.60 and strike rate 174.71. Moises Henriques is one of the Sydney Sixers’ finest players.
You get the point.
The BBL works best as a shorter, sharper season with international talent available. Combine this with a focus on building strong techniques across a range of different conditions in Shield cricket to better condition players who still look clueless on slower surfaces.
CA certainly didn’t have improvement of Australia’s T20 cricket in mind when extending the BBL season, but rather the big dollar signs that came with it. And they are paying the price with poor performances from the national side on a regular basis.
Australia’s lack of finishing options
Whether it’s a full strength side or not, Australia have had an issue filling positions 5-7 in T20I cricket. There is an obsession with placing top order players in the middle order, including the likes of Mitchell Marsh and Marcus Stoinis who are more comfortable higher up the order in T20 cricket.
Going forward, Australia must solve the riddle of finishing the innings. It’s a tough role, so the team desperately needs specialists who can make those positions their own to overcome Australia’s problem of turning momentum back in their favour. Despite the 4-1 series defeat in West Indies, Australia found themselves in strong positions at times courtesy of the likes of Mitchell Marsh and Aaron Finch. However, awful middle order batting – particularly in the almighty collapse in the first game – continues to hamper Australia.
And, before the unavailable players get a mention, Australia also suffered batting fadeouts in England and against India last year with full strength teams. It is too regular an occurrence, and until Australia sorts out the key middle order positions, too much will again depend on Aaron Finch, David Warner, Steve Smith and Glenn Maxwell.
To be a consistent T20 force, you can’t be wondering whether your batting will canter or collapse.
Unrest between Justin Langer and those around him?
After the Test series loss to India earlier this year, whispers grew louder of unrest between coach Justin Langer and the players. Reports suggested that Langer’s intense style became too much to handle at times, which affected the mood in the camp.
There is something similar that has emerged out of Bangladesh as Langer reportedly had a heated argument with a staff member about the official cricket.com.au website posting a video of the Bangladesh team song after the Tigers’ series win. Whatever your view may be on the issue, it seems clear that coaching across all three formats is a burden on Langer and his players, and maybe it is time Australia look at a specialist T20 coach to take over.
Whether this is possible before a fast-approaching T20 World Cup is unlikely, but is something that must be considered afterwards.
Time to focus on the next generation of players
David Warner turns 35 later this year. Aaron Finch won’t be around forever. Same with Glenn Maxwell. Steve Smith is one to prioritise red-ball cricket if given the choice later in his career.
So, who will replace these players in the coming years? The evidence presented in New Zealand, West Indies and Bangladesh this year is a major wake up call to CA. Relating closely to the quality of the BBL, CA needs to ensure that players in BBL franchises get the chance to test themselves against international players. The more that the international players are available, the better it will be for the up-and-coming talent in Australia.
While Australia might surprise many and perform well at the T20 World Cup with a full strength team, it is vital that CA looks at its depth in quality across formats for the long-term welfare of the Australian cricket team.
Because, right now, there is a serious problem.
I also looked at Australia’s issues in T20 cricket on the CricBlog TV YouTube channel. Give it a watch today!
