With Australia’s batting woes having resurfaced in its 21-run defeat in a one-off Twenty20 International at the Gold Coast on Saturday, former leg-spinner Shane Warne has questioned the role of batting coach Graeme Hick.
Australia’s batting struggled in its 2-1 One-Day International (ODI) series win; the latest defeat , which featured a batting collapse, was the team’s fourth straight defeat in the shortest format.
In light of the struggles, Warne was particularly critical of the English coach. “There has to be a reason why they continue to play the wrong shot,” Warne was quoted as saying by The Sydney Morning Herald .
‘Struggling all the time’
“Why suddenly in Australian cricket are the batsmen making these wrong decisions consistently in all the games in tough situations? The batting is struggling all the time. Is it something we have to look at Graeme Hick and say ‘what are you telling these guys?’” the spin great added.
Australia’s batting failures are accentuated further by the absence of star batsmen Steve Smith and David Warner, who are serving year-long bans each for their involvement in the ball-tampering scandal. The lean run of Marsh brothers, who are currently playing for Western Australia in a Sheffield Shield encounter against South Australia, and Usman Khawaja, who is racing against time to get fit for the first Test against India, has only added to the problems faced by head coach Justin Langer.
Warne feels a change of guard could help Australia alleviate the trouble to a certain extent.
‘Time for a change’
“Maybe it’s time for a change there and we get a new batting coach because the batters aren’t performing,” he said before adding, “At Cricket Australia we’re seeing directors and board members go, coaches and everyone else go, maybe it’s time for the batting coach.”
Australia plays four Tests and three ODIs from early December, with three Twenty20s before that, starting in Brisbane on Wednesday.
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