The Australian men’s cricket team are talking themselves up after dominating South Africa and the West Indies (I’m not expecting South Africa to have a form reversal at the SCG this week).
They can see a new golden age on the horizon based on the results and even the style of play since Pat Cummins ascended the captaincy throne in December 2021.
The third Test of the South Africa series at the SCG will be a test of the dead-rubber syndrome but, given the new personnel in the home team and with points to prove and selectors to impress, I see captain Cummins commanding willing and motivated troops.
Australia celebrate a crushing series victory over South Africa.Credit:Getty
The Proteas have slipped rapidly from Test championship contenders to heel-nippers inside a year. They are now fourth, with a bullet – downwards – in the World Test Championship standings and in the ICC rankings. The Windies are ranked sixth and eighth respectively on those tables, but that may be a touch flattering. So how does one assess the home team’s absolute strength during a dominant summer?
The perspective can be a simple: you can only beat the opponent that turns up on the day(s) – that is the immediate task.
Australia did just that and won easily. Well done them.
Australia have a powerful bowling line-up, and Test victories are constructed on taking 20 wickets. They have excellent batting made up mostly of the tried and tested, and now all of the top six are in decent touch.
Injuries will test the reserve strength, but even that looks useful and/or promising. Six or seven fast bowlers are always needed to cover long-season erosion. The Josh Hazelwood-Scott Boland nexus is delightful, Michael Neser covers a number of bases (he’s not Cameron Green, but he’s a super-competitive all-round cricketer), Lance Morris looks like a genuine fast bowling prospect, and then there is Jhye Richardson, Sean Abbott, Mark Steketee, Riley Meredith, Jackson Bird, Chris Tremain and Joel Paris for left-handed variety. The stocks look well-stocked.
Scott Boland has added depth to Australia’s fast-bowling ranks.Credit:Getty
West Australian all-rounder Aaron Hardie is being mentioned in dispatches, and rightly so. He is a player of the future – the not-too-distant future.
Interestingly, Ashton Agar has succeeded Mitchell Swepson and Adam Zampa as the back-up, or bowling companion, for Nathan Lyon. The adage that Australian attacks are based on genuine fast bowling and leg-spin seems to have bypassed selectors and coach Andrew McDonald.
Agar has a far better white-ball CV than a red ball one, having made his first-class debut as a specialist batsmen then famously being picked from net bowling to make the highest score by a No.11 on debut in Test history at Trent Bridge almost a decade ago. His last Test was five years ago. Let’s hope the selectors haven’t compromised too heavily by picking a bowler for his batting rather than specialist bowlers such as Swepson or Zampa just because Green is sidelined.
At least Agar turns it the other direction to Lyon, and the SCG decks have been back to their spinning ways this year for Sheffield Shield games.
Alex Carey’s maiden Test century at the MCG was the icing on the cake for Australia.Credit:Getty
Wicketkeeper Alex Carey is gloving and willowing well enough to be considered to bat at No.6. If Australia want to test themselves further they might want to play two spinners and give Carey the No.6 spot in the final Test.
A key indicator of superior teams is the ability to compete and win in foreign conditions. The holy grail for Steve Waugh’s great teams was not the Ashes – they were locked away in the CA vault – rather it was winning in India. Australia have regularly struggled on the subcontinent, just as India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have struggled with the steeper bounce out here.
Australia’s win in Lahore in March after a stoic draws in Rawalpindi and Karachi was a breakthrough result. The Sri Lanka series was tied 1-1; an away Test win helping the Test championship points was an indication that Australia had become a more adaptable outfit. There was an evolution of belief and capability.
Under Cummins and McDonald, Australia have risen to the Test championship top ranking after missing the grand final in 2021, but the two-year championship cycle will present significant challenges in 2023. There is an away Ashes series against a resurgent and effervescent (no, this is not hyperbole) England.
As much as this summer has been characterised by the mediocrity of the visitors’ cricket, the coming winter is the most expected for an age: “Bazball” versus “Patball”, preceded by four Tests in India. The contrast in conditions will be stark.
Australia last won a Test in India in 2017, on the back of Steve O’Keefe weaving a “12 for” (12-70) at Pune and Matthew Renshaw making runs at the top of the order. Perhaps the Agar-Renshaw resurrections in the Test squad this week are a hint to the India tour and perhaps beyond. Australia haven’t won a Test series in India since 2004.
The results against the Windies and South Africa have inured a winning culture. The downside of those comfortable victories is that there has been precious few periods of pressure to hone the psyche. Those times are about to come, and we will find out the true steel of Cummins’ Australians.
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