The Ashes 2013: Australia is in for a meek surrender in England

Australian players and official look ok during day four of the 2nd Investec Ashes Test match between England and Australia at Lord’s Cricket Ground on July 21, 2013 in London, England. (Photo by Ryan Pierse/Getty Images)

So much was the talent of the side that it now looks like the Australian administrators had failed to notice the danger lurking, in the form of the growing age of the players, who were well over their 30s. It is quite evident that they did not seem to have figured out their bench strength – something which was helping the team’s cause for quite some time then.

Probably because winning had become a habit for them, they did not foresee what was ahead of them, when all the “big guns” of the side would retire at some point of time. Perhaps that is the reason why the team has gotten into a very bad shape, as we are seeing it now. There seems to be no fight or resistance in the players right now. Just a few days ago, they lost their sixth Test match in a row and it won’t be a surprise if that losing streak goes up to nine at the end of the Ashes.

Truly speaking, England has not become a great side overnight for the Australians to experience such a pounding at the hands of the hosts. Waugh’s men or Ponting’s men – should they be playing now against England – would have had the hosts rattled. Michael Clarke and his team, though, are in such a pitiable state that they are desperately looking for every opportunity to avoid the possible humiliation of a whitewash at the hands of the Englishmen.

Though the Australians can always argue that if not for the incident involving Stuart Broad in the first Test match, the series would have been tied 1-1 by now, the fact of the matter is – they hardly looked like a winning side. Apart from Clarke, who is a class apart, no one in the side looks to be blessed with the abilities of batting against quality bowlers, especially when it comes to facing the spinners.

Burdened by the pressure of captaining a weak side, even “Mr.Pup” is now struggling to preserve his wicket for very long. The string of low scores off his bat is really a cause of concern for his team. Just like the West Indies, which was once an indomitable side during 70s and 80s, before surrendering its supremacy once and for all, the current Australian team seems to have given up its invincibility.

It is no secret that the people from Caribbean Islands have resorted to playing other sports more than cricket, and so, the two time world champions are not able to produce great players any more. But has something of that sort happened “Down Under” too? Surely it can’t be so, as cricket is the ‘numero uno’ sport over there, which is even recognized as the country’s national game.

The highly acclaimed Sheffield Shield tournament, which used to produce so much back up for the national side, also seems to have gone down in quality.

It was a tournament which was once rated as better in quality in comparison to the County championships held in England. Now, what back-up has it given for the team? For the past five years or so, their domestic set-up has been unable to nurture the same sort of talent which had made the national side the best team ever once. If the current team is what the best they could offer, then Australia is going to witness more calamities in the future.

Is there any logic in having Shane Watson as one of the openers? Forget about openers, is there anyone, barring Clarke, with a respectable Test match average in the middle order?

Do they have any top class spinners or quality fast bowlers in line with the former greats like Warne, Mcgrath and Gillespie? The openers in Test matches, you would expect, should be having an average of at least 45 or more. That’s what people like Slater, Langer and Hayden had throughout their career, giving a very good foundation for their side.

Former middle order players like Ponting, Steve Waugh, Gilchrist, Hussey used to add on to their opponents’ woes by piling up runs aggressively. Each one of them enjoyed a mind-blowing batting average. You cannot just compare the current players in the middle order with those stalwarts of the past. Not only do they lack aggression, they are also found wanting in playing a defensive game.

Cricket Australia should identify new talents from the domestic tournament and give them opportunities to play for the national team. May be they should bring in overseas players to Sheffield Shield competition, so that the younger players have a chance of learning a thing or two to compete at the international level.

Greg Chappell has stated that Australia may improve after two years. But the way it is going, it looks like this team would face more disasters in future. The whole team needs to be realigned and restructured to get back to its winning ways. For now, it is for sure that Australia is in for a meek surrender in England. A complete whitewash is certainly on the cards in the ongoing Ashes series.