2020/21 BGT Series: What went wrong for Australia? | An analysis of Australia’s performance, and where they go from here, after loss to India
A week after the most remarkable Test series, I sit here still stunned. If someone had said, before the series, that India would win 2-1, there would have been an element of surprise among the Australian cricket fraternity. After all, Steve Smith and David Warner, the two men who were absent last time, were back, in conjunction with the rise of Marnus Labuschagne. The Australian bowling attack, with over 1,000 Test wickets and considered by many to be the best in the world, were keen to right-the-wrongs of 2018/19. So, an Indian win would have taken some effort.
However, for India to win 2-1 after the Adelaide disaster, countless injuries, time away from home and absence of their best batsman was nothing short of a miracle. The Gabba Fortress, which stood strong since 1988, was quashed, with youngsters stepping up and being counted; a testament to India’s incredible depth. Many on Twitter pointed out the work the great Rahul Dravid has done in developing young talent in India, but surely no one could have expected this talent to fire right away in one of Test cricket’s most difficult tasks – an away Test series in Australia.
For Australia, well, they now face the music. They not only sit on the brink of missing out on the World Test Championship Final, but they have more serious questions to answer. What will the opening combination look like in the coming years? Who will bat five, and more importantly – perhaps scarily – do Cricket Australia know who is putting their hand up? How are the spin stocks looking, and is Cricket Australia giving their players enough time to make a proper claim? What about the third seamer? And, the captain?
All these questions and more arise from an underwhelming batting display, particularly in the first two Tests. And then, when more runs were on the board in Sydney and Brisbane, Tim Paine’s side, through a combination of questionable tactics/execution and India’s incredible grit, were unable to get the job done.
This analysis will stay away from being one driven by emotion. After all, Australia remain a good side and were enjoying a fine run since the defeat in 2018/19. However, when push comes to shove, this side needs to produce more, which is what this series showed.
Australia’s lack of game-changing partnerships
Australia’s series was riddled with partnerships that were promising but hardly game-changing. In the first Test, Australia’s batting, which yielded just 191 in response to India’s 244, could hide behind their incredible bowling display. So, when the Boxing Day Test came around and Australia had the luxury of batting first, it was time for the batsmen to stand up and be counted.
Instead, Australia’s reliance on Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne became more clear. Smith finished the first two Tests with a scarcely-believable total of 10 runs, as Australia scored two consecutive sub-200 totals in the first innings at home since the 1980s.
The biggest issue from the opening two Tests, as well as the remainder of the series, was Australia’s lack of “daddy” partnerships. From an Indian perspective, we saw multiple partnerships that were game-changing in terms of runs, as well as the time they kept the Australians out in the field. In fact, according to CricViz, India batted 13 overs more on average than the Australians in each innings, which proved crucial in the final analysis as the Australians ran out of steam.
Across the first two Tests, Australia produced 24 double-figure partnerships. Only three crossed 50, and there were no 100+ run partnerships. After bowling India out for 36, the Australians had the chance, through their batting, to sink India further into the mire. Instead, they let them back in the series.
Across the next two Tests in Sydney and Brisbane, the numbers were better, which is no surprise given the return to form of Steve Smith and continued excellence of Marnus Labuschagne. However, the problem of getting starts then getting out remained. In the first innings in Sydney, there were two partnerships worth 100 runs. In the rest of the innings, there were five 20+ partnerships cut short (26, 27, 23, 32 and 23), which is hardly game-changing. And, it was a similar story in Brisbane, where Australia were involved in 13 double-figure partnerships, but with just the one century stand (113).
What this suggests is that India’s patience was outstanding. However, what is also suggests is a deeper issue within Australia’s batting. Outside of Smith and Labuschagne (and occasionally Green), there was little aptitude to bat long, which often comes down to mental lapses. Australia had 14 instances of a batsman crossing 100 balls in an innings, of which Smith and Labuschagne contributed half of them. India had 15 such instances, with various players, including Vihari, Pujara, Rahane and Ashwin, producing at key moments. In the end, Pujara batted 928 balls in the series, with Australia’s best Labuschagne, 78 balls behind.
Australia’s bowling attack: Half good, half not so good
With the slight improvement in Australia’s batting in the final two Tests came the deterioration in their bowling. Heading into the fourth Test, which looked a mismatch on paper, the Australian attack boasted 1,033 Test wickets. India, who were missing Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Shami, Ishant Sharma, Umesh Yadav, Ravi Ashwin and Ravindra Jadeja, had just 13.
Experience counts for everything, right? No.
Much was made of Nathan Lyon’s inability to properly influence the Sydney and Brisbane Tests on day five. While that is true, some key points should be made of Australia’s pace attack. The same two who destroyed India in Adelaide – Cummins and Hazlewood – were made to work even harder due to the struggles of Mitchell Starc and record-breaking wicketless run by Cameron Green.
In fact, at the Gabba, Cummins bowled the most deliveries by any Australian seamer on day five of a Test since 2006, such was Australia’s reliance on him. Even more worrying was the lack of movement the Australian seamers found. While Shardul Thakur swung the ball nicely and Mohammad Siraj found sharp movement with his off-cutters, the Australian seamers averaged 0.469 degrees of swing at the Gabba, which was the lowest since the 2015 Hobart Test against the West Indies.
Which brings us to Mitchell Starc. One can understand the ball not swinging too much in Hobart, given the cooler conditions down south. However, with the humidity and cloud cover around in Brisbane, Starc and Australia’s lack of swing was particularly concerning. Starc finished the series with 11 wickets at 40.72, including just three in the final two Tests. This will certainly raise eyebrows among his harshest critics, who continue to look at his record vs batsmen 8-11 (avg. 13) in stark contrast to his record vs top seven batsmen (avg. 34) with disdain.
Now to Lyon. Australia’s most prolific off-spinner in history has never had a big bag of tricks. But, what has been key on his journey to 399 Test wickets has been his ability to mix his lines and lengths beautifully, whilst maintaining consistency. In this series, however, there was too much of a ‘sameness’ about Lyon’s bowling, which coincided with his lack of threat. According to CricViz, just 8.9% of Lyon’s deliveries in the first three Tests were edges and misses, which could subconsciously cause fielders, including Tim Paine, to relax a little more as chances aren’t being created. Lyon was unfortunate at times, with just over half the chances taken off his bowling, but India loved the way he bowled. Ultimately, Lyon looked most dangerous when batsmen were going after him, and Australia needed more than that from him.
For example, in the fourth innings in Sydney, 60% of Lyon’s deliveries to right-handers pitched in line with the stumps. It was a tactic that had Shane Warne riled up in the commentary box as Lyon continued with that line in Brisbane, and the Indian batsmen were lapping it up. Given Lyon’s inability to get the ball going the other way (as Ashwin can), it makes that straight line quite easy to play. When you couple this with the fact that 38% of Lyon’s deliveries were pitched shorter than the optimal length on day five at the SCG, it is no wonder why he took nine wickets at 55.11 for the series, with a strike rate of 124.
Lyon’s delivery that dismissed Gill on day five in Brisbane is one that he needed to persist with longer. It is a line that targets both inside and outside edge. Given the South Africa tour isn’t too far away, Australia fans will be hoping that Lyon makes the necessary adjustment to get his 400th wicket and more.
The case of Tim Paine and Australia’s tactics
It was deja vu for Tim Paine, as he was taken back to 2018/19, where he saw Pujara’s backside for weeks. This time, though, it seems so much worse, as Australia had a full-strength side, the luxury of three coin tosses out of four, home ground advantage and an opponent decimated by injury.
Indian legend Sunil Gavaskar was particularly scathing of the Australian captain after India held on for a draw at Sydney.
“Firstly, as captain, he’s got no tactical nous at all,” Gavaskar said on India Today.
“When you’re having someone like Mitchell Starc or Pat Cummins – with the kind of pace and bounce that they generate – not to have a fielder at leg gully to two Indian batsmen who aren’t very tall, it just tells you you have no idea about captaincy.
“When you fend the ball off around your shoulder, the odd ball is going to go up in the air. It happened in the first Test and in this Test, there was a couple of opportunities, but they didn’t have anybody there.”
In addition to this, Australia bowled the ‘classical’ Australian length in Sydney; on a good length, just wide of the off-stump. On such a low, slow pitch, the Australians needed to be more at the stumps, taking advantage of any variable bounce that was beginning to appear on the third and fourth days. The absence of a short midwicket and cover, as well as change of pace from the seamers, hampered Australia significantly.
Move to the Gabba. Australia, to Ajinkya Rahane, employed a tactic to bowl wide outside the off-stump. Starc was angling the ball across, and two edges went through a vacant fourth slip region, with a square leg in place who was not in play given that Starc didn’t utilise the short ball. These, along with other tactical shortfalls, saw Paine’s mind become somewhat muddled, whereby he missed crucial chances with the gloves that he would normally snap up with ease.
Now, don’t get me wrong. I still think Paine has done a fine job as captain for Australia. However, holding his nerve in pressure situations has been an issue, and the evidence is there in the form of Headingley, Sydney and Brisbane. It may be premature to suggest that he should be sacked, but a significant improvement is needed for South Africa.
Where to for Australia from here?
Cricket Australia may very well turn up the heat on Tim Paine and Justin Langer. However, CA are the ones who have prioritised the BBL over red ball cricket (during a Test series mind you). Not having the Sheffield Shield on at this time gives the selectors no clue as to who is in form, and how our batsmen are progressing. As a result, we are going off white-ball form when discussing the Test team, which is never ideal.
Who are the obvious middle order batting replacements? Matt Wade had a very underwhelming series, even when he moved back the middle order. His poor shot selection added fuel to the fire, where his inability to go on with starts is symptomatic of the team’s issues (scores of 33, 30, 40 and 45 throughout the series). The likes of Ben McDermott and Kurtis Patterson are talented, while the discarded Peter Handscomb and Nic Maddinson remain in the fray. However, they need to be playing red ball cricket.
The same applies for the opening position, as David Warner will be 35 at the end of 2021. The likes of Sam Whiteman and Bryce Street, who have both showed good form in Shield, are prospects. Again, however, they must be playing Shield cricket at this time of year, which the CA isn’t enabling.
If Paine is sacked as skipper, who captains? If he’s dropped altogether, who keeps? If Steve Smith is reinstated as skipper, this will certainly cause some backlash. Marnus Labuschagne has never had a leadership role, Travis Head’s place in the side is not secure and you want to be careful of burdening Pat Cummins with too much. Sometimes, change is not the answer, and this may be an example.
In terms of possibly replacing Mitchell Starc, Australia are more blessed with choices, which again highlights the batting frailties. James Pattinson is a top bowler, and Michael Neser has been banging the door down for a while. Also, Jhye Richardson, who made a dream debut against Sri Lanka in 2019, is bowling well after a serious shoulder injury.
An area where they aren’t blessed, however, is in the spin department. Nathan Lyon comfortably remains the best spinner in the country, as Mitch Swepson was the man who put his hand up in Sheffield Shield cricket in late 2020. As Lyon is nearing the end of his career, Australia desperately needs a reliable spinner going forward. The question is – how will CA ensure these spinners develop well at a grassroots level?
Right now, there are more questions than answers for Australia after a shock series loss. For now, they need to dust themselves off and prepare well for South Africa – a series that will determine whether the Aussies will be featuring in the World Test Championship Final later this year.
