Australian cricket legends and analysts are rushing up to critique the country’s unsuccessful T20 World Cup effort. If you read Michael Clarke’s comments or watch an interview with Shane Watson, you will see that they all have the same question in mind. The spark wasn’t there. Where was the vigour? There are several explanations for why Australia appears to be a squad that lost its steam, most notably the demanding preparation for the competition.
However, when the dust has settled, it is important to point out that this team lacked energy months after shunning a coach for being overly fierce. Oh are many elements of this Australian performance Justin Langer would have detested. Australia struggled against Sri Lanka in a tight chase, was bowled out for 111 runs against New Zealand, and scored only 25 runs against Afghanistan in the final four overs. With the ball, New Zealand scored 3-200 while allowing Ireland to improve from 5-25 to 137. Given that Australia won three of its four completed matches, the T20 World Cup may be one of the most competitive competitions in team sports overall.
However, each of these mistakes might have been prevented, and they had an impact on how Australia defended its championship. Compared to what was on exhibit at the World Cup, which Langer won last year, Clarke said the lack of edge on display was “quite un-Australian.” On Sky SportsRadio, he remarked, “I believe Australians in general, on the greatest stage under the most amount of pressure, always throw it in on the line and have a shot.” “We don’t mind losing. Despite playing so cautiously, we chose an aggressive starting lineup for this World Cup team. Extremely un-Australian
“It was very, very frustrating to witness the style of cricket that the Aussies played during this tournament,” Watson said of Australia’s “lack of energy.” Glenn Maxwell was at ease enough in defeat to acknowledge that he had already gone past Langer, which is maybe the best indication of how Australia has done so.
Players are content with the new culture they helped establish under coach Andrew McDonald since he works together with them rather than imposing his will on them. The players desire a laid-back atmosphere, but after failing in the T20 World Cup, they have to wonder if that’s really what they need. The Australian cricket squad couldn’t have seemed happier in March of this year. With McDonald in command and Langer, the strict taskmaster, gone, Australia was beginning the new era with a 1-0 Test series victory over Pakistan.