Image Credit- CA
The off-stump of Josh Hazlewood flies out of the
ground. After carrying his bat for ninety-one runs, he and Steven Smith stood
practically still at the non-striker’s end. At deep midwicket, Shamar Joseph
and his hallucinating teammates are someplace. Australia’s men’s Test team’s
home season had ended in the most unusual way – they had lost at home for the
first time under Pat Cummins and to the West Indies for the first time since
1997.
This season, Australia has played some wonderful
cricket at times, overcoming adversity to score hard-fought victories, but
there was also a fallibility rarely seen on home ground (that is, until India
has been the visiting team recently). For the next three weeks, until the Test
squad reconvenes in New Zealand, the white ball will rule. Here are some
important talking points following a season that delivered significantly more
drama than anticipated.
Australia’s batting worries
Before their match-defining collapse of 8 for 94 at
the Gabba, Australia had collapsed at different points during the five home
Test matches: 6 for 68, 4 for 16, and 5 for 10. Previously, the elite group had
been placed in precarious situations against foreign assaults that disregarded
their menial pre-tour schedule. Though Mitchell Marsh fell twice in the
nineties and Smith came within a hair’s breadth of a stunning century in
Brisbane, there were only two individual hundreds: David Warner in Perth and
Travis Head in Adelaide.
It’s still a meagre return on domestic soil. In Test
cricket, Head became just the third Australian to bag a king pair. It seems
like batting in Australia is becoming a far more difficult undertaking.
Cameron Green’s new transition
Smith’s ascent up the order received a lot of
attention, but Australia’s top order’s long-term prospects was also taken into
consideration. Green’s comeback at number four was as noteworthy. Though most
believed it would come with Smith’s retirement, it has always been seen as his
natural home. The argument for Warner’s replacement revolved around the desire
to have Green return to the team.
At the Gabba, there were encouraging signs in the
second innings before he proceeded to bat against Shamar Joseph’s extra bounce,
which started Australia’s downfall. It came after the third day of intense heat
in which he worked with the ball, being singled out by Cummins and McDonald as
the target of their attack. “Felt like it could have been anything,”
Big Four’s touch to greatness
This season, all four of Australia’s front-line
bowlers achieved a significant milestone: Mitchell Starc passed 350 wickets to
catch Dennis Lillee, Lyon claimed his 500th, and Cummins and Hazlewood reached
250 Test wickets. They occasionally have to cover up some batting weaknesses
because they have a fantastic bowling arsenal. However, the question of when
those in reserve will receive their chance still stands.
Despite having greater difficulty during the Ashes in
England, Scott Boland averages 12.21 in home Tests. If and when they need to
give him a call back, the selectors know exactly what they can expect from him.
Regarding the future, a lot of people are eager to watch Lance Morris become
loose in Test cricket.
The next step
Wellington will host the start of the Test series
against New Zealand on February 29. Test matches between the two always have an
advantage (even if Australia leads the head-to-head series lopsidedly), but
this will be Australia’s first Test journey over the Tasman since 2016. As
previous events have taught us not to assume anything, a 2-0 victory over an
undermatched South Africa by New Zealand might be crucial to the World Test
Championship rankings. This summer, Australia would not have considered giving
up points at home.
“We’ve dropped one [match] at home which means we
probably need to make one up overseas,” McDonald said. “That’s the
wonderful part about the World Test Championship.”