2014 yearender: Australia peak new heights, but challenges ahead are tough

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With their wins in the Ashes 2013-14 and in South Africa, Australia began their year as one of the toughest sides, but the defeat to Pakistan in UAE dented their reputation. In the shorter formats, the Australians were just about okay. Devarchit Varma reviews Australia’s performances in the last 12 months.

Australia came into 2014 with their eyes on the Ashes urn, and their emphatic 5-0 win certainly raised hopes of a revival at last. The Australians, recently deemed as ones who could not bowl, bat or field, had turned a corner by hammering England so hard that the memories of the treatment dished out to the tourists would not go away easily. Michael Clarke’s Australia had risen finally; producing performances which he and the public expected would restore the damage to some extent.

The victory in South Africa consolidated the idea that Australia had put behind the disappointing run, but in just two Test matches in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) — against a lowly Pakistan — the ghosts of the past returned to haunt them. David Warner was the only batsman who notched up a century as the novice Pakistani spin duo of Zulfiqar Babar and Yasir Shah ran riot.

Australia weren’t expected to perform as badly as they did, and they certainly weren’t expected to be whitewashed in the two-Test series. Australia had no answer to Younis Khan’s impeccable run, and they slumped to a new low after winning the One-Day International (ODI) and Twenty20 International (T20I) series. Towards the end of the year, Australia trumped India 2-0 in the first two Tests at home. But the margins of wins on both the occasions weren’t big enough to raise too many hopes.

Australia played four Test series in the year 2014, and won three out of them. While the numbers show that the team had a good run, the frailties in subcontinent conditions still continue to haunt them.

Australia had a good run in limited-overs formats as they rammed England and South Africa 4-1 each in their five-match ODI affairs at home. While England were coming off the battering in The Ashes, the South Africans surprisingly slumped against an inspired Australia. Aaron Finch, David Warner, George Bailey, and James Faulkner continue to be their hopes in 50-over cricket as the ICC World Cup 2015 is just round the corner. Their ODI form suggests that they can go all the way to win it. Even the 3-0 blanking of Pakistan in the UAE raises hopes that the Australians are quite well-settled in the ODI formats, and they are surely among the favourites for the ICC World Cup 2015.

In T20s, Australia played four series and won on all occasions. Australia played 10 T20Is in 2014, wherein one was washed out and they lost only one. To win eight T20Is certainly indicates that Australia have the right amount of preparation going into the World Cup in the shorter formats as well. However, their performance was disappointing in the ICC World T20 2014 as they managed a solitary win — against Bangladesh.

Unfortunately, the year was meant to end on a sad note. They lost two very qualified men on the field of play — Phillip Hughes, who could never recover from a bouncer that hit the back of his head in a Sheffield shield match, and his mate Michael Clarke, who pulled out from the Test series against India after just the first of the four Tests. While the tragic death of Hughes left every cricket fan shattered to the core, Australian cricketers were the ones who suffered the most. But they gathered quickly, and since then they have done well to honour the memory of their fallen mate.

Clarke has acknowledged that he may never return to the cricket field again, and the world can only wait and watch if the talented cricketer may actually get a second chance that gives him a longer run in the middle. Unless Clarke returns, the young and exciting Steven Smith will lead Australia in Tests. He has begun his tenure with some splendid performances with the bat, but the challenge will be to sustain his performances in the future.

The ICC World Cup 2015 will be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, and like the Kiwis, Australia too are expected to make it big this time around. They have had a settled unit that has excelled in recent times, and the absence of Clarke should not hamper them a great deal. The year 2015 will be even more challenging for them, as the Ashes in England and the World Cup remain the two most important series for them.

(Devarchit Varma is a reporter with CricketCountry. He can be followed on Twitter @Devarchit)