Australia’s whitewash against Sri Lanka in the recently-concluded Warne-Muralitharan Trophy 2016 was fifth such occasion in Test cricket, comprising of three or more matches. A good student of the game knows how much Australia must have been devastated by this horrendous showing which is unexpected of them. They have, over the years, reached new heights of consistency in international cricket. Apart from all this, they still remain a mysterious unit who are hard to examine and understand with their decision makings. They mean business on the field, resort to all sorts of methods (like sledging and playing mind games) to win, whereas they take defeats seriously and work hard to climb up the ladder. They also do not shy away from taking tough calls. Australia bring a new player out of nowhere, hand captaincy duty to someone not a regular in the side and rest their skipper in the middle of an intense series reaching its climax. FULL CRICKET SCORECARD: Sri Lanka vs Australia 2016, 2nd ODI at Colombo
Steven Smith has been given rest and is returning home from Sri Lanka to prepare for a busy home season ahead. Will this decision cost them another series defeat? Is this a bizarre move by the selectors? Let’s analyse.
Australia won the first One-Day International (ODI) against Sri Lanka by 3 wickets but were hammered in the second game. The series is currently tied at 1-1 with three games left. The architects of their win in first ODI were James Faulkner, Aaron Finch and skipper Smith. While Faulkner and Finch were new to the tour as they did not feature in Tests, Smith went about his job in the usual manner. He was their best batsman in longer format and looked at ease in the 50-overs format where he is a busy player, always looking to keep the scoreboard ticking.
Like his predecessor and former captain, Michael Clarke, said that a player needs to shuffle and be smart with his footwork playing in Sri Lanka, Smith looked like his team’s best bet as he is known for his unorthodox batting style. David Warner has so far struggled on the tour while the rest of the batting line-up is either inexperienced or look unsure. He has thus adapted himself to the best way possible but is now suddenly leaving. ALSO READ: Steven Smith rested for remainder of Sri Lanka tour; David Warner to lead Australia
After Sri Lanka’s emphatic showing in Tests, they are beaming in confidence and mean business in shorter formats. They were not bad in the ODI series against England even though the scoreline read 0-3. They must be rejoicing as the opposition’s best batsman has withdrawn from the tour. The hosts are eager to regroup as a unit and look unbridled at the moment. They do not give an impression in the ODI series that they are satisfied just with humiliating Australia in Tests; Sri Lanka want to carry on with the process of resurgence.
With this, the exit of Smith does not seem smart. He is Australia’s mainstay and would have ensured the regular flow of runs. If the visitors lose the series, this will become a totally forgettable tour in the sub-continent where they do not possess a good record.
His departure also gives Warner the chance to lead. Warner led Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) to their first Indian Premier League (IPL) trophy win earlier this year. He has a typical Australian brain as he is vocal in his changes, is aggressive and likes to lead form the front. All said and done, Warner has not had much exposure leading his national side. All his success, as a leader, remains confined in franchise cricket. This is, indeed, a different ball game. When the team is trying to stand up after some hiccups, their regular captain would have been an ideal choice to sail them through this phase. This would have tested the future Australian team, which is in building process and also challenged Smith.
India toured South Africa, New Zealand, England, played a few home series and again embarked on their tour to Australia in 2014. The core of the team remained the same and no one saw Virat Kohli resting from these tours. Why does Smith, being in the same age group and at the helm of leadership need rest? Australia’s national selectors believe they need him fit before a grueling home series versus South Africa and Pakistan before heading to India. What if their player loses rhythm due to this break and runs out of form? This seems unlikely but it is not that a player like Smith may never face a rough patch with the willow. Another reason by the selectors to send Smith back was they wanted to try Warner as a captain just for backup. This could have been done in the Twenty20 (T20I) series, along with Smith in the team. ALSO READ: Why Australia’s decision to rest Steven Smith is justified
Australia are not new with their experimental decisions. In Australia’s tour of India in 2013, they were playing an evenly-contested series against MS Dhoni and co. with the series tied at 2-2. Everything was at stake for the teams. Just then, Australian selectors rested Mitchell Johnson, their most successful bowler of the series, for the series finale. The reason for his ouster was that he required adequate rest before the Ashes. No doubt an Ashes series is much bigger and closer to the hearts of Australians, but in this way they lost the ODI series.
Johnson had an economy rate of 5.63 in a series where bowlers had gone to the cleaners. He was given the ball in crunch times and the opposition always respected him by playing him carefully. Planning for future is a wise decision but one cannot dent the present. Australia paid the price as they lost the series due to Rohit Sharma’s heroics who played much freely due to Johnson’s absence.
In a three-T20I series against India in early 2016, Australia were supposed to play their best team in a bid to rehearse for the ICC World Twenty20 (T20I) in March-April. They not only looked clueless in a format which they have not been able to dominate but also followed it up with questionable decisions.
Smith and Warner were rested after the conclusion of the first T20I and as a result, India went onto become the first team since 140 years to whitewash the hosts in their backyard. Resting players is fine but their selectors need to choose the correct time and series. What they do not realise is that in their eagerness to attain everything, their players lose track completely by such decisions. Before Smith, even Mitchell Marsh headed back home after the Test series with the same reason that he needs to be fresh for future endeavours. How much rest does a youngster like him need? He needs to play maximum cricket at the moment is a fact that every cricketer of the past will say. Marsh is being preened as the next all-rounder but for that to happen, he needs to deliver on a tough tour like Sri Lanka. READ: Lehmann backs decision to ‘rest’ Steven Smith
Australia’s decisions to rest key players look unpalatable and they need to work it out quickly before they start losing more on Asian shores, which totally decimates their confidence. Smith is expected to be a bricklayer for his side and this would have been a perfect time to lay the foundation for his troops instead of flying back home.
(Aditya Sahay is a journalist with CricketCountry who is completely into sports and loves writing about cricket in general. He can be followed on Twitter at adisahay7)
This website uses cookies so that we can provide you with the best user experience possible. Cookie information is stored in your browser and performs functions such as recognising you when you return to our website and helping our team to understand which sections of the website you find most interesting and useful.
Strictly Necessary Cookies
Strictly Necessary Cookie should be enabled at all times so that we can save your preferences for cookie settings.
If you disable this cookie, we will not be able to save your preferences. This means that every time you visit this website you will need to enable or disable cookies again.