The prospect of a series whitewash has turned into a reality check for Australia, after Zimbabwe shocked the world by defeating the cricket powerhouse for the first time in their own backyard.
The three-wicket defeat will undoubtedly heap more pressure on Aaron Finch, whose form ahead of next month’s T20 World Cup is the elephant in the room.
Nor did the three One-Day Internationals against Zimbabwe help Finch’s cause, with the veteran opening batter managing just 21 runs across the series.
Yet there were some positives coming out of the series in Townsville, with Cameron Green’s rise continuing while quicks Mitchell Starc and Josh Hazlewood showed some form with the ball.
Here are our player ratings from the 2-1 series win over Zimbabwe.
AARON FINCH — 2
21 runs at 7
Three innings, three fails. Finch’s form continues to be the main talking point regarding the make-up of the Australian team.
Against Zimbabwe he fell three times to left-arm quick Richard Ngarava, whose angling delivery kept Finch caught on the crease.
Fox Cricket expert Kerry O’Keeffe urged Finch to release the shackles and get back to playing with an attacking mind-set.
“He’s an attacker who’s been out three times defending, so against (Trent) Bolt and (Tim) Southee just around the corner, he’s got to attack them,” O’Keeffe said.
“They bowl balls you have to defend and his defence is flawed at the moment. I think he’s got to throw caution to the wind; don’t fear failure and go out there and play his trademark shots down the ground.”
DAVID WARNER — 8.5
164 runs at 54.66
Fresh from inking a new BBL deal, the Australian opener scored a half-century and finished the series with a dashing 94 as his teammates crumbled around him.
The feature to Warner’s batting was his crisp timing, where he waited for the ball on tricky wickets.
Warner’s form heading into the T20 World Cup is particularly important given Finch’s struggles.
STEVE SMITH — 8
96 run at 96
He missed out on Saturday in the third ODI, but Smith was outstanding during the opening two ODIs where he made unbeaten contributions of 48 and 47.
Has the prolific run-scorer tweaked his batting style? It appears that he’s fidgeting less at the crease.
ALEX CAREY — 5.5
40 runs at 30
Once again Carey didn’t quite nail his opportunities with the bat, where he failed twice including in the third ODI. His unbeaten 26 after the loss of two early wickets did help.
Carey was clean behind the wickets with the gloves.
GLENN MAXWELL — 7
51 runs at 51
With limited opportunities, Maxwell showed glimpses of his best.
He smashed Australia home in the opening ODI with a rapid-fire 32*, was not required in the second match before falling for 19 during the home side’s shocking batting collapse in the third match.
MARCUS STOINIS — 5
Two runs at 11; one wicket at 15
Another with limited opportunities throughout the series, but Stoinis departure for three in the third ODI meant the batting all-rounder lost a point or two.
He did, however, chime in with a wicket in the third match.
MITCH MARSH — 4
One wicket at 22; two runs at 2
Withdrew from the series after playing in the opening match. The all-rounder took one wicket but missed out the bat.
CAMERON GREEN — 8
Eight wickets at 7.12; three runs at 3
The rising all-rounder’s 5-33 during the second ODI was one of the highlights of the series.
He backed it up with wickets in both the first and third ODI, but missed out with the bat with a very soft dismissal on Saturday.
ASHTON AGAR — 5.5
Two wickets at 15.50; zero runs at 0
The bowling all-rounder won’t want to see replays of his lazy shot on Saturday but the left-arm spinner continues to do the job with the ball. He took a wicket in both the games he played.
MITCHELL STARC — 7.5
Five wickets at 16.80; two runs at 2
Fast and accurate, Starc set the tone for the series by taking wickets at the top of the order. He took one in the opening match and grabbed three in the second match.
The left-arm quick also took his 200th ODI wicket on Saturday.
ADAM ZAMPA — 7
Six wickets at 18.33; one run
Took wickets regularly and once again proved hard to get away.
JOSH HAZLEWOOD — 7
Four wickets 20.50; zero runs at 0
Almost brought Australia back from the dead on Saturday. Hazlewood got bounce out of the Townsville wicket and took 3-30 in the final ODI.
