Former captain Aaron Finch said Australia’s terrible World
Cup performance, which included crushing losses to South Africa and India, left
them looking “flat” on the pitch, but he could appreciate their
decision to stun everyone by benching Alex Carey after just one match.
Following a more lopsided loss to South Africa in
Lucknow that included six missed opportunities of varying difficulty and being
bowled out for 177, Australia’s losing streak started with a six-wicket loss to
India despite having reduced the hosts to 2 for 3.
“The body language on the field is quite flat at
the moment from Australia,” Finch, who was Australia’s white-ball captain
less than a year ago, told ESPNcricinfo’s Match Day show. “Even with the
ball, they are a bit standoffish, they are waiting for things to happen and that
can become contagious among the group as well.
“The last thing you want to do is start the
tournament poorly because there’s no way to get yourself back into it. It’s
been a tough start…two games where you say if we break even, win one lose one,
we are okay with that, then it’s a bit of a softer run home compared especially
with India first up.
“The tone was set early on and it hasn’t
recovered yet. They need a way to freshen up, mentally and physically, because
it’s been a gruelling lead-up with five ODIs in South Africa, three T20s, come
to India and play three ODIs then two warm-up matches when they only had 11 fit
players. One-day cricket, physically, takes quite a bit out of you.”
The team’s mentality on the field during their first
two games was also questioned by former Australia all-rounder Shane Watson.
“The thing that stands out to me the most,
really, is that it just doesn’t seem right now like the Aussie team is
desperate enough to really put it all on the line. There’s moments when they
are fully engaged with the game and desperate to have an impact, but there’s
other times when they seem to be cruising through. In a World Cup, you cannot
have periods of time where you’re cruising. Every individual needs to be fully
engaged, every single ball, to try and make their mark on the game. It was just
a bit too cruisy at times.”