Former Australia wicket-keeper Ian Healy has slammed the team’s performance in the ICC World Test Championship final defeat to South Africa at Lord’s last week, warning Pat Cummins’ side of England’s preparations for the Ashes, Down Under.
Australia’s makeshift top-order comprising Usman Khawaja, Marnus Labuschagne and Cameron Green made only 49 of the 419 team runs across both innings in the five-wicket defeat to South Africa. Healy pointed out how England are making the right moves in terms of player selection in a bid to regain the Ashes while Australia are seemingly delaying their batting transition.
“If you limp to the end of your career and the last one you’re hanging out for, it’s going to be a nightmare. England are coming and they’re coming for us big time. They’re picking the right style of bowler, they are looking at batsmen who can prosper in Australian conditions.
“They are going so specific that they are going to be all over us. If you’re not all over your energy levels and your techniques, which we’re not, we’re going to get hurt, and you get hurt in your last series,” Healy stated on SEN Radio.
Former Australia Test captain Tim Paine, however, believes Labuschagne and Khawaja can turn it around in the West Indies Tests, starting June 25. “They’re good players, they’re world-class. ’s (finger) injury means he won’t play in the Windies first Test so Konstas comes in and Marnus drops back,” Paine said.
“We have heard them say when they have the spin pitches Travis Head would slide up and Marnus down. I see them going to the Windies and playing well and getting ready for a huge Ashes series. Usman and Marnus will play really, really important roles in the Ashes. We’re very quick in this country to move on players, we always want to see if the grass is greener.
Citing the retired ’s example, Paine stated that it will be hard for Australia to readily replace quality top-order bats in Khawaja and Labuschagne.
“If we have learnt nothing in the last 18 months, players of that quality are extremely hard to replace. Look at Dave Warner – one of our best cricketers – six months before he retired people said he’s got to go and now, two years down the track, we still haven’t replaced him.
“You don’t just have a bad Test in England and dump people like Uz and Marnus. They are a huge part of the team for the next year at least. With England coming out here, these high-quality players don’t grow on trees. Great players are hard to replace,” he elaborated.
