The Ashes 2013: Five things Australia should do to win the Ashes
Shane Watson has been given the responsibility to open the Australian innings in the Ashes
Australia have started their Ashes tour in a positive manner with a victory over Somerset. New coach Darren Lehmann and skipper Michael Clarke will be satisfied that the batsmen came good and that they did so with the help of the bowlers who set it all up. They will also, however, be aware that a practice match is far from a good yardstick to judge their relatively inexperienced Test side.
They will still enter the Ashes as underdogs, thanks to the pressure of undoing what England did to them on home soil two years ago. It’s a gigantic task but one that we have seen being accomplished; no one had expected England to clinch the 2009 series after being whitewashed in the previous edition. It’s not a matter of doing things right but of doing them well.
Here’s a shot at some of the things that Australia should be doing right to regain a reputation that is in danger of disappearing for a really long time:
1) The combination
An Australian team will always look to win a match, no matter what amount of sacrifices it takes. Although it is a commendable virtue, it has led to some very ordinary showings because their combinations have been in the vicinity of ridiculous.
Of course, the faults in the past usually happened when they were playing in the sub-continent; the inclusion of Cameron White as a mainstream leg spinner in India in 2008 and the dropping of Nathan Lyon halfway into the more recently concluded series are some that will never escape the memory. The inclusion of Andrew McDonald as a frontline batsman against South Africa in 2009 is also an infamous one.
They cannot afford to pull any more blunders in this category. The conditions will cater to their style and shouldn’t allow a combination outside of the regular six batsmen-four bowlers, with Brad Haddin tucked in the middle. The inclusion of James Faulkner, however, suggests they might play him as a bowling all-rounder at some point. They would do well to avoid this against an England attack playing at home.
Another temptation would be to include Ashton Agar in the side because of England’s perceived weakness against left-arm spin. For their own good, and Agar’s, this shouldn’t even be considered as an option.
2) The batting order
Australia’s batting has been the biggest concern in recent times and that is owed largely to their irregular batting order. Darren Lehmann has announced that Shane Watson will open the batting and that is already a step in the right direction. It means that Michael Clarke will not be pushed a spot lower in the order and that David Warner won’t be granted any room to take his place for granted. Usman Khawaja batted at number three in the warm-up game and looks the part; more so than Phil Hughes, at least.
The top order negates the new ball and if Shane Watson is facing it up front with the security of Michael Clarke at number four, things only get easier for the middle order and down.