The Australian way of cricket dominated world cricket for well over two decades and even though there is no defining what that way was, as current skipper Pat Cummins admitted in the pre-match press conference ahead of the team’s crucial 3rd World Cup game against Sri Lanka at the Bharat Ratna Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ekana Cricket Stadium, there is a strong sense in the air that the current Aussie setup are far removed from the brand of cricket their predecessors played.
“No [I]still haven’t quite put my finger on what playing in the Australian way means And I’ve been playing for a long time – no doubt we haven’t been up to the standard that we like to hold,” Cummins said during the presser.
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And no doubt, with two defeats in the first two matches, this has been Australia’s worst ever start at the 50-World Cup since 1999 – incidentally after losses to New Zealand and Pakistan, Australia turned around their fortunes for a memorable title win, but does this team have the same pedigree as the 1999 one to flip their campaign around?
“It wasn’t that long ago. We’re number one in the world. So, we don’t have to look back too far to work out when we’re playing our best,” Cummins proclaimed adding, “We’ve been off the mark and been outplayed both games. When we’re at our best, we’re putting big runs on the board. We’re putting the pressure back on the opposition. Our bowlers are taking wickets through the middle. So, we haven’t been able to pull any of that together so far. So yeah, we know what makes us a really good team.”
But, in both their outings, Australia have failed to manage a score of 200 plus with their batting average being the lowest in the tournament thus far. That 1999 team had a plethora of game-changers and legends to pick from. Even though in David Warner and Steve Smith, this setup boasts of two bonafide future Hall of Famers, they seem not to be as big of a threat as they were probably even a couple of years back.
Of course, injury concerns have marred Australia, as Cummins himself admitted, but you play the cards you deal with and Cummins showed full faith in the personnel available.
“No, I’m really happy with who we’ve got here. There’s a couple injuries that have forced our hands a little bit, but no, we wouldn’t change any of our personnel,” said the skipper. But would he be really happy with what he has?
With Adam Zampa’s dip in form, Australia are left with the part-time Glenn Maxwell to fill in and heading into the World Cup subcontinent that a risky proposition. And on a dark that slowed down a bit and offered some amount of turn, Australia’s first game here at the Ekana Stadium vs South Africa was a stark reminder of not having the right personnel to exploit that. Ashton Agar was part of the preliminary squad, but he failed to recover from a calf injury, as Australia decided to shore up their batting in the form of Marnus Labuschagne, as a cover for Travis Head. The head is still in line to make a return as he batted for the first time since suffering a fracture to his left-hand last month.
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However, Sri Lanka is in the same boat as Australia with two losses, and with Australia having played a match at the Ekana before Cummins knows they are better prepared to tackle this track.
“Cutters seemed to work quite well last game, even just being a slightly bigger field here, that normally helps out the cutters into the wicket a little bit,” Cummins said, adding. “So that’s one thing. I think the way they bowled under lights, there was a fair bit in the wicket. So, we get it on our terms like that. Just got to make the most of it.”
Sri Lanka does have problems of their own but Cummins would be wary of not falling behind so early in the tournament and said that the mood in the camp is still upbeat despite the two losses.
“I think looking back at 2019, India and South Africa were the two teams that we lost to in the round games there. I think in the last year, they’re kind of the two teams that we’ve had the most trouble against. So, you know, the opportunity now is we’ve got some teams we haven’t played for a while that we’ve had a lot of success against and be confident when we go out there,” he added.
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