Time for the Aussies to pull their socks up

A shameful 3-1 defeat at the hands of the Englishmen in the last Ashes outing, the current form of the English team, the loss of stalwarts like Ricky Ponting and Mike Hussey, the consistently diminishing form in international cricket over the last two years, the promising-yet-inconsistent new crop of batsmen, the inability to adapt to foreign conditions, the recent controversies off the field and within the team – all these things are playing on the minds of cricket lovers around the world. The Australian players and the team management, too, no matter how focused they are, must be having the aforementioned issues in the back of their mind. But staying positive is the only way forward for the Aussies, isn’t it?

Stand-in skipper (for the Champions Trophy 2013) George Bailey says that the Ashes tend to bring out something special from both sides, no matter what form or state of mind they are in. And surely, the Aussie fans will be hoping for some of their boys to stand up, take responsibility and put up a real fight against their arch rivals.

Of late, the Australian top order hasn’t been able to provide a solid start; in fact, the top three have been performing rather poorly. Clarke has stood up to the challenge and made some runs whenever the top order has faltered, but it is their job to lay down a good platform for the batsmen to follow.

• Shane Watson, the man we all know to be one of the cleanest hitters and the most flamboyant batsman in the side, has struggled to make big scores in the longer format. The confidence in his batting seems to have gone for a walk. He has got to get it back. Now that he has refused to be the deputy to Clarke, he has absolutely zero additional pressure. He just needs to get back into the groove and play his aggressive game. It was good to see him bowling again (in the Indian Premier League); and he will surely oblige and roll his arm over whenever his skipper is looking to break a partnership.
• David Warner hasn’t been able to cope with swing too well. Reckless batting and the ‘Sehwag-like attitude’ make Warner seem irresponsible and casual. Moreover, his recent controversy off the field hasn’t gone down too well with the management. This is the perfect occasion, the perfect time for the ‘pocket dynamo’ to explode. There has been some talk about the possibility of him not getting a place in the first couple of games. But if Australia is aiming to set the tone right from the first test, they will need to play their best XI.
• Phil Hughes, in spite of showing great promise, has let the team down on several occasions in the recent past. He takes his time, gets off to a rather slow start and just when you think he’ll start scoring freely, he gets out. He has a technique of his own, and he must use it to his benefit. Poor shot selection brought about his downfall against India. Hughes gets into a shell, but then doesn’t seem to find a way to get out of it.

Once the top three start getting runs, it will automatically bring about an air of confidence in the team. And that is exactly what the Aussies need right now. Confidence. Belief.