SYDNEY, (Reuters) – Stand-in skipper Michael Clarke insisted Australian cricket was not in crisis today but after the humiliation of a crushing home Ashes defeat, the once dominant side is pretty close to completing its fall from grace.
In cricket, statistics rarely lie and after Australia slipped to fifth in the world test rankings after losing 3-1 to a rampant England side, there can be no denying that the current crop of players are a pale shadow of their predecessors.
Not since the days of the late 1970s when Kerry Packer’s rebel world series ripped the heart out of the team have Australia been so thoroughly beaten by their oldest test enemy with England winning three matches by an innings.
The nature of Australian cricketing discourse means scant credit will be given to an excellent touring side and forensic focus will instead be turned on the squad, selectors, coaches and management.
“This has been a bad series and it’s a reason for us to have a very good look at where we’re up to, what we do, how we can get better, how we can get back on top,” Cricket Australia boss James Sutherland told reporters on Friday.
The signs that all was not right in the Australia camp were all too evident before the Ashes when they put together a run of seven defeats in all forms of the game, including a first home series loss to Sri Lanka in a one-day series.
For marketing reasons, the Ashes squad was announced 10 days before the first test at a public ceremony on Sydney’s Circular Quay, when rather symbolically it rained heavily.
The selectors had avoided having their choices limited by naming a 17-man squad — bigger than England’s touring party — and included two spinners, Nathan Hauritz and the uncapped Xavier Doherty.
DEVASTATING UNIT
By the end of the series, a third spinner Michael Beer was bowling at the Sydney Cricket Ground as Australia, with hopes of regaining the Ashes gone, tried forlornly to square the series.
The confusion over the spinners was replicated with the use, discard, then recall of strike bowlers but in truth, poor though they were compared to England’s devastating unit, bowling was not the only problem.
“Putting 100, 200, 250 on the board and expecting the bowlers to get them out for that sort of target, I think we’re asking a hell of a lot,” Clarke said.
The Sydney Morning Herald today dubbed the 2010-11 Ashes team “Our Worst XI” ever and, while that might be hyperbole, it would be hard to recall a poorer batting performance from an Australian team.
Shane Watson aside, the top order batsmen performed miserably with captains Ponting, who averaged 16.14 before injury ruled him out of the final test, and Clarke (21.44) leading the way.
Watson found his own way of keeping the batting totals down by being involved in three run outs involving the Australian openers over the series.
Such sloppiness would have been anathema to Australian teams of the recent past but lack of discipline was also reflected in the fielding, as Clarke conceded.
“Our fielding has certainly let us down in the series,” he said. “Australian cricket has always been one of the best, if not the best, fielding team in the world. I think that’s really hurting us at the moment.”