Following Australia’s 1-2 loss to England in the T20I, former hitting goalie Adam Gilchrist has pointed to certain issues the national team is grappling with, saying lack of runs and consistency are a concern and that the team should address them soon. Australia has been somewhat in a downward spiral after last year’s World Cup, winning just two of seven ODIs since losing to England in the second semi-final at Edgbaston.
With the first of three ODIs starting on Friday, Gilchrist highlighted the flaws and what Australia must do to rectify them.
“(Intermediates) has been a handbrake for Australians in the one-day format for several years, particularly against the spinning ball. Not only does the execution rate drop, but they tend to lose windows in groups; we saw it with the collapse in the first Q20. I think that’s the area where other teams have tended to be speeding up and playing that type of more aggressive cricket, ”Gilchrist was quoted as saying by Cricket Australia.
“That has been our Achilles heel for a number of years (and) it will be challenging again, with the makeup of England’s bowling lineup and how everyone in world cricket is probably aware of that handbrake for Australia there. It’s up to the Australians to figure out what the psychology will be, what the game plan will be and what the composition of the batting order will be. “
Another area that Gilchrist is concerned about is the position of the wicketkeeper in Australia’s over limited setup. Matthew Wade held ground in the T20I, but Aaron Finch confirmed the news Thursday that Alex Carey replaced him in the ODI. The 29-year-old is off to a decent start to his ODI career, scoring 884 runs in 36 games with an average of 34, including 375 runs in nine innings at the 2019 World Cup, but Gilchrist acknowledges that Carey needs to adapt a little more to cement his place in the XI of Game.
“That wicketkeeping role, Alex Carey showing great promise in a variety of facets of the game: leadership, his wicketkeeping is excellent, he opened Big Bash with great success, and he showed really solid form in that middle order completion role.” Gilchrist said.
But he still hasn’t consistently hit 80 of 40, game-changing innings, like a guy like England’s (Jos) Buttler does, or (Jonny) Bairstow if he’s got the gloves.
“That off-road wicketkeeping position hasn’t been fully fulfilled, probably since Brad Haddin. So selectors have to make some decisions about who they think can do it, or Alex Carey about how innovative, creative and aggressive he needs to be to have that impact. And is it at the top of the order, or at seven, six, or floating? “
.
