Friday, Jun 28, 2013
December 29, 2012 — Hussey retires: Australia were prepared for the fact they would enter the 2013 Ashes series in England with a relatively inexperienced batting line-up following the exit of Ricky Ponting, but while Michael Clarke and Mike Hussey remained together in the middle order, they could at least be confident of a reliable fall-back should their top order fail. But all that changed when 37-year-old Hussey, who averaged 51.52 from his 79 Tests, made the surprise announcement that he was retiring from international cricket. Now the Australian batting is largely unproven and its failure in India doesn’t bode well for the campaign in England.
March 11, 2013 — Homework horror: With Australia licking their wounds after an innings defeat by India in the second Test in Deccan, the team’s management shocked the cricketing world when they banned four players — vice-captain Shane Watson, batsman Usman Khawaja and fast bowlers James Pattinson and Mitchell Johnson — from the third Test for not doing their homework, after all members of the team were asked to put together a presentation on how they could improve. Watson immediately left for Australia, where his wife was expecting a baby, although he did return for the fourth Test as the Aussies were whitewashed. The all-rounder has since given up the vice-captaincy amid reports of a breakdown in his relationship with captain Clarke.
March 22 — Clarke crocked: Skipper Clarke left the India tour early after being ruled out of the fourth Test with a back injury, and the fact he hadn’t played again until this week doesn’t bode well for his chances of being fit throughout the Ashes, especially with two sets of back-to-back Tests to contend with this summer. The classy batsman, who was first diagnosed with a degenerative back condition when he was 17 but had managed it successfully until this year, was forced to turn down the chance to captain Pune Warriors in the IPL in order to rest and he also missed the recently-completed Champions Trophy in England. Without him, Australia’s batting line-up looks flimsy at best.
June 8-17 — Trophy troubles: Australia’s defence of their Champions Trophy title was meek, as they failed to win a game in the 50-over competition held in England and Wales. They began with a 48-run defeat by England, were a little unlucky when their second match against New Zealand was washed out when evenly poised, before being bowled out for 233 in their final group match against Sri Lanka. They finished bottom of Group A with just one point.
June 9 — Brawling Warner: Opening batsman David Warner added to Australia’s troubles when he apparently punched England’s Joe Root in a bar while drunk, just hours after the two teams met in the Champions Trophy. Warner was sent home in disgrace and banned from the team until the first Ashes Test at Trent Bridge. The selectors now face the tricky choice of either leaving him out or putting him into the firing line when he will surely be under-cooked.
June 25 — Arthur sacked: Just when it looked like the tourists were at their most unstable, Cricket Australia dropped the bombshell that it was sacking head coach Mickey Arthur just 16 days before the start of the Ashes. All of the preparations made by the nation’s first foreign coach have now gone to waste, with Australia instead pinning their hopes on the man-management skills of the popular Darren Lehmann. An Ashes series on foreign soil will be quite a test for the relatively inexperienced 43-year-old.
By Martin Downer, Deputy Sports Editor
Gulf News 2013. All rights reserved.
