Josh Hazelwood

Where sport is concerned, Australia is one of the most successful nations in the world. With a population of about 28 million, it regularly bags plenty of medals in the Olympics, produces Grand Slam champions in tennis, champion swimmers, the world's best rugby players and its cricket team is also among the world's best. So, when Australia crashed out of the ongoing ICC T20 World Cup, their cricket fans were shocked. Aussie fans and players are not used to ignominious exits in the early stages of any cricket tournament. In the One-Day International (ODI) World Cup, Australia is the most successful team in history with a total of six victories. But for various reasons, in the T20 format, the players from down under have not performed well throughout history. Australia has won the T20 World Cup only once, and that was in 2021 when it defeated New Zealand in the final. The other eight times, it failed to win the trophy. This time, however, it gave one of its worst displays. It was tottering on the brink of the cliff and eventually fell when the Zimbabwe-Ireland match was washed out, leaving Australia no chance to catch up on points. From Group B, the qualifiers were Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe, while those eliminated were Ireland, Oman and Australia. One of the tournament's heavyweights exited because of a string of injuries to its key players, questionable selections and a horrendous run of form among those who finally did play for the Aussie flag. The Aussie media called it shambolic and former captain Ricky Ponting spared no words when he lashed out at the poor show. Zimbabwe's players celebrate the wicket of Australia's Ben Dwarshuis during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Australia and Zimbabwe in Colombo, Sri Lanka, on February 13. Ponting expresses shock Ponting, who led Australia to two World Cup triumphs and two Champions Trophy victories when he was the captain, told an International Cricket Council (ICC) publication: "We had some injury concerns at the start with Josh Hazelwood and Pat Cummins being unfit and then Tim David unavailable. But losing to Zimbabwe was shocking. The players will regret that one for a very long time." "Before the start of the tournament, when I looked at the group, I felt that Sri Lanka would be difficult to beat on their home ground. And that's how it turned out. They played brilliantly. But to think that Zimbabwe would outplay us was unimaginable." However, it was obvious to all cricket followers that this Australian team seemed to lack the strength of the past teams emerging from the country. After an expectedly easy win over Ireland, Australia tasted defeat against Zimbabwe. Despite a good knock by Matt Renshaw (65 from 44), the team fell 23 runs short of the target. The main wrecker was the tall, young fast bowler named Blessing Muzarabani, who scalped four Aussie victims for 17 runs. It was a fine performance by Muzarabani. Against Sri Lanka, it was a repeat show. Travis Head (56) and Mitchell Marsh (54) batted well against the Lankans but Pathum Nissanka crushed the Aussies with a brilliant knock of 100 from 52 balls. Also ReadZimbabwe pull off T20 World Cup shock, beat Australia by 23 runs Reasons for Australia's difficulties Australia’s struggles, this time, can be broadly attributed to a mix of tactical and transitional factors. Several senior players, who were central to Australia’s triumph in the 2021 edition, are either past their peak or nearing the end of their T20 careers. The Australian selectors seemed to have been caught in a dilemma – whether to retain the experienced campaigners or to introduce more of the younger and dynamic T20 specialists. This transitional imbalance seemed to have affected its consistency. It seems to be connected to haphazard selections. The team seemed underprepared for this World Cup event. But finally, there can be no excuses. Each and every player is a professional who earns big bucks from the game. Every player should have been ready for the big tournament. Australia's captain Mitchell Marsh and Travis Head run between the wickets during the T20 World Cup cricket match between Sri Lanka and Australia in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, on February 16. Legends blast team selection Matt Renshaw proved to be Australia's highest run-scorer. But after he top-scored against Zimbabwe, he was dropped for the Sri Lanka fixture. "It was a mind-blowing decision. One that made absolutely no sense," former fast bowler Jason Gillespie fumed. Truly, what lay behind that decision was bewildering. Also, quite strangely, at times Australia appeared over-cautious, particularly in the powerplay segment of the matches. Bowling legend Glenn McGrath questioned the presence of Cameron Green in the team lineup. Green had a poor time with the bat and scored only 24 runs in three matches. McGrath expressed his frustration to the Sunday Morning Herald and said, "If he is not bowling, then I can't see any reason to justify his spot in the team." The T20 format often demands flexible and almost instinctive decision-making. But the Australian team selections and on-field bowling changes sometimes appeared unfathomable. Australia's traditional strength has been pace bowling, but in T20s, leaking runs in the final overs is suicidal for any team. However, all said and done, Australia’s failure was less about decline and more about evolution in their T20 cricket. A refreshed squad with specialist T20 players could quickly restore their world dominance. This time, their experience may sting them into action and they may soon rise to the occasion. The Aussies are capable of doing it and will probably do so quite soon.

Josh Hazelwood

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