Australia has usually been a consistent cricket powerhouse. While they may go through occasional periods of less-than-stellar performance, they are always strong enough to pose a threat to other teams. Hence their current mercurial performance is puzzling.
In the English summer of 2013, they were unceremoniously trounced by England, losing 3-0 with two drawn in the five Test matches, and lucky not to lose a fourth. Then just six months later in Australia, they made a remarkable turnaround, humiliating England 5-0 in an incredibly dominating performance.
But currently they are playing Pakistan, a team that has been going though difficult times and has dropped low in the rankings. But Pakistan is simply clobbering them in all aspects of the game. Australia’s fast bowler Mitchell Johnson, who terrorized the English batsmen so recently, is proving to be much easier to handle by the Pakistanis. They are not thrashing him the way they are the other Australian bowlers but he is not getting many wickets either and Australia is being humiliated.
There must be Australian cricket fans who can shed some light on why Australia is having such an unpredictable time. The World Cup is due to start in February in Australia and New Zealand and although that one-day format there is different from the five-day Test match format, Australian cricket fans must still be quite concerned about their chances if they continue this slump.
I’m not very up-to-date in my cricketing knowhow, but I happen to think the current captain is absolutely useless. He has no clear plan in selection and game strategy, he changes his mind and second guesses himself in almost everything, and generally provides no clear direction throughout a game, taking much more of a ‘let’s try this and see what happens’ approach. He has even been known to reposition the fielders and then change his mind and move them back on each ball of an entire over.
So beyond any deeper analysis, it seems to me that he-whose-name-I-can’t-even-be-bothered-to-look-up is something of a random element. How I miss the days of Allan Border and his able contemporaries Merv Hughes and David “keg on legs” Boon!
It’s probably gay marriage.
“it seems to me that he-whose-name-I-can’t-even-be-bothered-to-look-up is something”
Aka Michael Clarke.
Though as an Australian fan, we actually did perform fairly well against Pakistan in the one day format of the game. Its just during the Test series that we completely fell in a hole.
Out of pure dumb luck, I’ll be visiting friends in Melbourne in February, and we will be at the Australia vs. England opening match. I know nothing about cricket but know that there are some informative introductory posts in your blog archives. I’m very much looking forward to it.
Home form vs. away form? It seems that nowadays most teams are dominant in home conditions in testmatches.
AMartin,
Home field advantage is always a factor but in this case foreign teams have refused to play in Pakistan ever since gunmen opened fire on the Sri Lankan team a few years ago. Now their ‘home’ games are played in neutral venues like the UAE, thus greatly reducing that advantage.
Sorry, but I have to admit that the use of the words “puzzling” and “cricket” in the same headline pretty much sums up my knowledge of the game.
if the ball doesn’t swing or bounce Australia doesn’t have any advantage over the sub continental teams .
if in addition the ball turns , then they only have had a couple of players who can play consistently .
Pakistan , even with all their internal squabbles has always been made up of talented (though temperamental) individuals.