On the eve of the first Test, ahead of a blockbuster Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Australia captain Pat Cummins wore a toothy grin for almost the entirety of his media engagements which lasted more than 30 minutes.
He’s always calm, but Cummins looked almost eerily relaxed. One might call it feeling extremely confident. It was a vibe evident for Australia during their preparation ahead of the series-opener.
By the end of the first Test, as he fronted the press for the post mortem, Cummins was still smiling. But through gritted teeth. Australia endured one of their worst home performances in years after a shellacking against an underdog India.
For various reasons, cricket in Australia feels diminished compared to decades past. The heft of the national team is less than it once was. But when they cop a pounding, especially at home, the backlash still packs a punch. There is more attention when things go badly.
Australia are under the microscope like they probably haven’t been since an infamous debacle in Hobart in 2016 that resulted in then chief executive James Sutherland giving a rebuke to the team in the changerooms, while then captain Steve Smith was almost in tears when addressing the media.
Things aren’t quite that bad, yet, but an aging Australia are in a precarious position where things could go downhill fast. There has been already swift commentary on Australia’s preparation – or lack of – after a a hiatus from Test cricket. There has even been a suggestion that Australia, once a macho team who sneered at the opposition, has been “too nice”.
Marnus Labuschagne, amid a horrible form slump, has copped most of the heat after an awful performance where he looked completely bereft of confidence.
Not long after he had been dismissed lbw in a horrible misjudgement to Jasprit Bumrah, Labuschagne was in a vehicle leaving the innards of Optus Stadium but the exit was crammed with Indian fans waiting for their heroes.
They quickly noticed Labuschagne among a couple of other Australian players and, true to being cricket lovers first, the fans cheered loudly. It would have been a humbling experience for Labuschagne given his rotten state of affairs, but he affectionately waved his hand out of the window to demonstrate that his renowned effervescent spirit had not been totally broken just yet.
With Usman Khawaja and Steve Smith in the twilight of their careers, while Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh’s flamboyant batting can’t always be relied upon, Labuschagne should really be propping the batting order.
At 30, Labuschagne should be in his absolute prime as a batter but he’s hanging on by a thread because Australia’s cupboard is bare. Such Australia’s dearth of options, they are set to have an unchanged line-up for the second Test in Adelaide.
While Cummins and coach Andrew McDonald have backed the team’s preparation, with this series meticulously planned for months, the hierarchy might be ruing not moving on from opener David Warner a lot earlier.
Last summer Warner had a long-winded farewell, that no one seemed to really want, but Australia should have backed in Cameron Bancroft at the time given his then domination of Sheffield Shield cricket.
But Australia persisted with Warner’s farewell tour, which was rammed down a disinterested public’s throat, and they’ve paid the price with new opener Nathan McSweeney, who bats at No.3 or 4 in Shield cricket, given the impossible task of fronting up to Bumrah in his initiation to Test cricket.
Having been shunned last season, Bancroft endured a horrific form slump for Western Australia to start this domestic season that negated his hopes of a Test return.
He finally broke his drought with a century against South Australia on the day after the first Test finished. Bancroft still might figure later in the series but Australia will for now back in the same XI in what shapes as a possibly era-defining second Test.
If Australia loses, the end might have arrived for this team that has achieved a lot but never quite been able to cement true greatness.
While Warner finished his career in fairy-tale fashion, despite lengthy struggles in the backend, Australia’s fading stars may not be afforded similar send-offs.
This news appeared first on @FORBES
