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Steve Smith makes his way off after being dismissed against South Africa.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n In the past 12 months, Australia have played 15 Tests \u2013 including premium series in India and England \u2013 16 one-day internationals and eight T20 internationals, as well as stints in the IPL for some. It\u2019s been full-on.<\/p>\n A core group has been there for nearly all of it. Cameron Green looks tired and Alex Carey has not had time to process what evidently was a more traumatic aftermath from the Jonny Bairstow day at Lord\u2019s than he could have imagined.<\/p>\n Suddenly, projected long-term players Green and Carey are both out of Test and one-day teams, and coming up right after this break, there\u2019s an Australian summer. It\u2019s not just the present that is being compromised.<\/p>\n This can be broken down in several ways. One is philosophical. Former coach Bob Simpson used to say that Australia\u2019s best players are the best in any format, but that was a long time ago. The Australian squad looks more like a modified Test outfit than a customised one-day unit. This is in contrast to England\u2019s tailor-made team, for instance.<\/p>\n Partly, this is because 50-over cricket is so little played now that there is virtually no exposed long-term form to act as a guide. Australia have played 16 one-dayers this year, but 10 of them have been in an unholy and as it happens destabilising rush in the past five weeks.<\/p>\n The domestic one-day series is under way in Australia, but if the selectors thought that was useful to their deliberations, Jake Fraser-McGurk would be rushed to India today. He won\u2019t be.<\/p>\n Then there\u2019s injured players. Leg-spinner Adam Zampa, with recent neck and shoulder stiffness, looks sore, though coach Andrew McDonald denied it. Marcus Stoinis spent his first two weeks in India rehabbing a hamstring and looked rusty upon his return on Thursday night. That dropped catch \u2026<\/p>\n Above all, Australia are holding a place for Travis Head and his broken but healing hand. This is understandable, as his uninhibited lead-off stroke play and capable off-spin were central to Australia\u2019s blueprint. The latest bulletin is that he is meeting targets and will be on a plane soon. Even then, Australia are relying on him to recapture his best form immediately. Carrying an injured player is fraught enough. Depending on him is a gamble.<\/p>\n McDonald played a Test-quality dead bat. \u201cI\u2019ve got great trust in the people that we\u2019ve got in the squad,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re focused on what we\u2019ve got there. We\u2019re not performing the way that we would like and we\u2019re going to be critiqued around that and we should be critiqued. We\u2019ve got to turn it around.\u201d<\/p>\n Or is it capabilities? Australia\u2019s inability to accelerate with the bat is a well-documented sore point. It is why they were originally reluctant to play both Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, good as they are.<\/p>\n It is also why Carey was dropped as well as Green, stunning former skippers Michael Clarke and Tim Paine. McDonald said Green was not so much dropped as Stoinis restored. But Carey\u2019s axing unwittingly casts him as a scapegoat.<\/p>\n Alex Carey lost his place in the side after Australia\u2019s defeat to India.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n \u201cWe haven\u2019t been able to navigate through the middle as well as what we\u2019d like,\u201d McDonald said. \u201cWe\u2019ve relied on top order starts to get the big totals that are required.\u201d<\/p>\n Against South Africa, acceleration wasn\u2019t the issue. Starting was. They were unlucky in that the pitch died as the day wore on, making strokeplay more difficult in the evening. But there are only so many alibis.<\/p>\n Having picked Josh Inglis, Australia cannot discard him after one game. McDonald acknowledged this.<\/p>\n \u201cLike any of those moves, I think you look over a period of time to critique, not just one game in isolation,\u201d he said. \u201cSo it\u2019s probably a trend [with the] middle order and unfortunately Alex missed out.\u201d<\/p>\n And is now in limbo.<\/p>\n Australia\u2019s other headache is spin bowling, delivering it and playing it. Australia think this was overblown after they were hypnotised by three Indian tweakers in Chennai. They suspect the match was played there rather than in Ahmedabad explicitly because it turns so much. They don\u2019t expect spin to play as central a part at other venues.<\/p>\n Adam Zampa is in mediocre form, but Glenn Maxwell\u2019s cultured spell on Thursday night was Australia\u2019s best performance.<\/p>\n In any case, their options are limited. Little seen Tanveer Sangha is in the squad, but Australia will not play two wrist-spinners in the same team and are unlikely to play three spinners anywhere.<\/p>\n Otherwise, the attack is OK. South Africa\u2019s 7-311 was an achievable target on Thursday until suddenly it wasn\u2019t.<\/p>\n Australia skipper Pat Cummins and Mitchell Starc.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>AP<\/cite><\/p>\n Pat Cummins is in possibly an unprecedented position in Australian cricket history. As a seamer, he is the most expendable of Australia\u2019s acclaimed trio in this format. Sean Abbott stands by, and would stiffen the batting. But as captain, Cummins intends to play every game.<\/p>\n It\u2019s a dilemma batting captains rarely face. But there is a recent precedent: Cummins did sit out one of three matches against India in the prelude.<\/p>\n If Australia wants to change things up, that is one way they could go, without prejudice to any future selection. It\u2019s not as if Smith doesn\u2019t know how to do the job.<\/p>\n There is another aspect. In one-day cricket especially, a bowling captain has much to juggle. Clarke, for one, thinks Cummins is too defensive in the field, more intent on saving runs than taking wickets. \u201cThe easiest way to slow scoring is to take wickets, yet we continue in T20 and one-day cricket to try to prevent runs. How is Pat Cummins not bowling in the first 10 overs?\u201d<\/p>\n Starc drops a chance against South Africa.<\/span>Credit: <\/span>Getty Images<\/cite><\/p>\n What fielding?<\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019re pretty stunned,\u201d McDonald said about his charges after the South Africa defeat. \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of silence in the room. They\u2019re quality players and it\u2019s hard to keep a quality group down for long. We have been down for longer than we would like as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n Winning form is good form. Losing, not so much. Australia have lost seven of their past eight one-dayers, all in the past month, all by thumping margins. McDonald acknowledged that Australia were in a trough rather than a dip.<\/p>\n Said Cummins after the South Africa match: \u201cIf we want to be challenging for this tournament, we\u2019ve got to try and find a way in all conditions, and that\u2019s for the bowlers to try and take wickets and the batters to try and make runs.\u201d<\/p>\n Well, yes.<\/p>\n In a bilateral series, 0-2 is all but dead. In a league, it\u2019s not. Teams have risen Lazarus-like before, most famously Pakistan in 1992, who won only one of their first five matches before gathering themselves up to march to eventual triumph over England in the final at the MCG. But Australia oughtn\u2019t try that away from home without supervision.<\/p>\n Simply, if Australia slip up again, their fate will be out of their hands. They\u2019re good enough, but one-day cricket is a fickle game. The motto for this tournament is: \u201cIt Takes One Day\u201d. It\u2019s meant to be hopeful, but for Australia now rings ominously.<\/p>\n Sri Lanka. They\u2019ve also lost both their matches. But they\u2019ve made 300 in both. Australia haven\u2019t made 200 yet. Now would be a good time.<\/p>\n News, results and expert analysis from the weekend of sport sent every Monday. <\/i><\/b>Sign up for our Sport newsletter<\/i><\/b>.<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Weariness<\/h3>\n
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