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Australia have been eliminated before their final game, and that is a massive upset. They have the best record in ICC tournaments, and to think that Australia will not be there at the Super 8 stage is unthinkable. While one can attribute this to the absence of Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins, it is also about the lack of talent coming through the ranks.
Against Sri Lanka, for example, the Australian bowling looked extremely ordinary. Neither Xavier Bartlett nor Nathan Ellis were able to create any chances, and both Cooper Connolly and Adam Zampa looked pedestrian. In my three decades of watching cricket, I have rarely seen an Australian attack that is this ordinary.
What could be a possible reason for this? Is it because the Australians prioritise Test cricket over other formats? Why else would there be a dearth of quality T20 players despite a fairly strong Big Bash League? With Mitchell Starc retired from T20Is and Cummins and Hazlewood in the last few years of their careers, the lack of talent is alarming.
Take the Sri Lanka game. It was a blistering start from Travis Head and Mitchell Marsh, and Australia raced to 96 for no loss in eight overs. The game was all but set up. A score of 220 was likely, and it could have been enough to shut Sri Lanka out. The spinners were not able to do much, and Head and Marsh were both looking ominous.
Things did not take long to change once the openers got out. Not one other batter fired for Australia, and they ended up with a modest 181. While it was not a bad score, it was certainly 30–40 runs short of what they should have got after a start like that. The reactions of Sanath Jayasuriya and Lasith Malinga summed things up nicely. They were delighted at the halfway stage and were seen cheering every ball of Dushmantha Chameera’s 20th over.
If the batting was ordinary, the bowling was below par. On multiple occasions, the Australian bowlers bowled at the legs of Pathum Nissanka, and each time the ball landed in the stands. These were elementary mistakes, and the Australians paid a heavy price.
When I look around the teams, I see a Nissanka in Sri Lanka whom youngsters can look up to and emulate. I see a Dewald Brevis in South Africa and a Shimron Hetmyer in the West Indies. Jacob Bethell and Harry Brook stand out for England and are stars in their own right. India is full of such players. For Australia, I do not see anyone beyond Travis Head who qualifies as a star in this team. Beyond Cummins and Hazlewood, the bowling cupboard looks bare. Rarely has something like this happened to Australia.
When we speak of ICC tournaments, it is almost inevitable that Australia will be one of the teams to beat — that they will light up the tournament and push India. To think that an India–Australia Super 8 game will now be an India–Zimbabwe contest is a strange anti-climax. While Zimbabwe have done everything to make it there, and I mean no disrespect, the thought of the Aussies going home does take a bit of sheen off the tournament.
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