It is hard to remember an Australian summer of cricket that has started so badly – and the demolition in the first Test is just the tip of the iceberg.
Coming into the match against India there was a massive level of complacency, from the top down.
It was almost like the Australians just expected to turn up and win at home against a ‘struggling’ side who was recently towelled up by New Zealand.
The problem was that the Aussies hadn’t played a Test since March. That’s nearly nine months ago – an entire footy season has taken place since Pat Cummins and his men picked up a red ball at international level as a team.
In the meantime, there has been no shortage of white-ball cricket for Australia’s top players, from the T20 World Cup and the IPL to a series in England/Scotland and then back home to take on Pakistan.
They have been bouncing around the world in different teams and environments and seem to have lost focus, not to mention the mandatory ‘rests’ they are forced to take keeping them out of the domestic game.
Hosting India, the runners-up in the World Test Championship, who have won the past two series Down Under should have been Cricket Australia’s main priority at least for the past 12 months.
There was no more important occasion (Ashes excluded) than trying to win back the Border-Gavaskar Trophy against the second-best Test team in the world. That’s what the majority of fans have been eagerly anticipating for some time now and no stone should have been left unturned to get the team ready and in form.
For decades the Australian cricket season has been a highlight of summer, watching good competitive cricket from their national side – one everyone could be proud of. But players and fans are being let down by the game’s governing body, who seem all higgledy-piggledy about where their priorities and attention lie.
ANALYSIS: Arrogant Aussies get what they deserve in first-test annihilation after soft selection calls and complacent preparations
It didn’t require Sherlock Holmes to see how under-prepared Steve Smith, for example, was heading into the summer. Since returning from England in September he played in one red-ball game in the Sheffield Shield – scoring 4 and 0 – the rest have been meaningless white-ball knocks.
Apart from a 77 and 35 not out for Queensland in the first Sheffield Shield game of the season, Marnus Labuschagne has not passed 22 in any form of the game since.
It’s hard to find innings at the crease, let alone runs, from most of the Aussie lineup.
Instead of trying to use as much preparation time to ensure the players were prepared; even a practice match or two would have been handy, but there was more attention in pushing a pointless ODI series against Pakistan. Even that was poorly promoted and squeezed into the calendar, which is ironic as it was only staged as a commercial benefit to CA.
One of Australia’s top rising stars Cameron Green was ruled out of the summer through injury, which was suffered in, you guessed it, an out-of-season One Day International on a cool UK autumn day.
At this time, it’s still hard to fathom how no one in the organisation could see how underprepared the national team actually was following a disorganised year.
India celebrate Travis Head’s wicket during the first Test. (Photo by Paul Kane – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
One quick look at Cricket Australia’s Annual Report, the first Test horror show is anything but surprising.
It shows that in that financial year, just $18,922,000 was spent on “National Teams” (excluding player salaries), which was down from $21,468,000 the year before. Furthermore, around $19,513,000 was spent on “Pathways & Community”.
Both of those areas of spending have a direct bearing on on-field results but are significantly dwarfed by operating activities such as “Marketing” ($40,992,000), “Administrative Expenses” ($39,091,000) and “Commercial Expenses” ($38,005,000).
While the Annual Report mirrors most major sports around the world, overall it highlights more about the achievements in social engagement and community achievements, rather than what is happening on the field.
You learn more in the official document about how many viewers the Big Bash attracted, player pay gaps and sustainability than what CA staff is doing to ensure Australia has quality Test openers for the future.
So, let’s not worry too much about what’s happening on the field, as long as people are watching it – the modern-day ‘attention economy’. It’s a ridiculous concept as you would hardly keep buying a punnet of strawberries at the store because the packet looked good and got your awareness – only for the fruit to taste awful.
The game of cricket is the ‘product’ CA is meant to be selling, not the added-on digital bells and whistles aimed simply at getting attention. They’re meant to be the dessert at the dinner, not the main course.
Steve Smith. (Photo by Albert Perez – CA/Cricket Australia via Getty Images)
Yes, the game needs engagement for income and player participation for long-term growth – but it should not come at the expense of the sport itself. It’s naive to think that people are going to regularly enjoy consuming a below-par product – even if it’s easily available.
It would be a different story if the Aussies were competitive only to be defeated by a better team – that is the reality of sport. High-class cricket is what is going to bring fans back to venues at all levels.
Promoting fast-paced competitions like the Big Bash with the same significance as national matches is like Cricket Australia telling fans what to be interested in. There’s an assumption that big sixes every ball, loud music and fireworks are all that fans want from the game.
One of the most exciting games over the past few years was not a game dominated by lots of runs, wickets or stunning catches, but the first Ashes Test in England where Pat Cummins and Nathan Lyon dug in and fought to get an unlikely win against the ‘unbeatable’ phenomenon known as Bazball.
Not many runs were scored but to many cricket purists, in fact, the Aussies were labelled dull and boring – but it defined what Test cricket should be all about – that fighting spirit.
In the past week, England has actually put a ban on their national players from playing in T20 franchise competitions – with the exception of the IPL – maybe Australia should follow suit to have the team together more often.
Todd Greenberg takes the helm as CEO next year, and it’s a chance for a new direction. The national team should not be taken for granted or with any sense of complacency in the organisation’s setup.
The current team is not just out of form, but also ageing – future planning should have already started, at least, at the end of the last Ashes series.
Players need to be picked on ability, not marketability and resources need to be channelled into getting the best outcome as a team.
The fact that there is no ready replacement considered skilled and able to instantly step in for an out-of-form Smith, Labuschagne or Travis Head is a concerning blight on Cricket Australia as an organisation.
The governing body can walk and chew gum at the same time with the extra-curricular activities that they perform in their strategic plan – but it should not come at the expense of the quality of the sport they are supposed to be guardians of.