A St. Lucia Tragedy: Australia and the art of how not to structure a batting line-up

At Wimbledon, you had Roger Federer not just lose, but get bageled on Centre Court, an arena that not too long ago was his fortress. Wednesday was the first instance of Federer getting bageled at Wimbledon, and the second-ever of him not taking a single game in a set in a Grand Slam this entire century. At Wembley, meanwhile, you had England progress to their first major final since 1966. And they booked their place in the finale not normally, but through a favorable refereeing decision. For a country that has historically been at the wrong end of refereeing decisions in knockout matches, the script couldn’t have been more different for England against the Danes.

Cast your mind back to the decider in Auckland against New Zealand in March where they went from 103/3 in 14.1 overs to 142/8 in 20. Or the first T20I against India in Canberra last year where they went from 72-1 in 9.4 overss to 127/7 in 18.1. Or, the best of the lot, the first T20I against England in Southampton last year where they failed to chase down 163 after having been 124/1 in the 15th over, at that stage requiring 39 runs at run-a-ball. Australia have made a habit of making a meal out of their innings during the latter part, and the horror show on Friday was just another exhibit of the clownery. 

On Friday, opening with Aaron Finch and Matthew Wade (in the absence of Warner), Australia opted for a batsman-heavy middle-order that consisted of Josh Philippe, Ben McDermott, Moises Henriques, Mitchell Marsh and Dan Christian. In terms of potential, at least, it was right-up there as the best 7 Australia could have put out. The aforementioned list had accumulators, risk-takers, power-hitters and finishers, and they were also, subsequently, the top performers in the tenth edition of the Big Bash League. In short, there was no paucity of talent, experience or quality. Not to the extent of failing to chase down 146 on a flat wicket, anyway.

But talent, experience and skills are attributes that will render valuable only if they’re utilized efficiently and effectively. What the Australian management did with the individuals at their disposal, on Friday, was a 101 on how not to structure a batting line-up.

What Australia did on Friday was tantamount to the hypothetical scenario mentioned above: the individuals that were picked were comically played out of position, to the extent that their strengths got completely nullified.

Let us begin the breakdown with Mitchell Marsh, who proved to be the only success story of the night. Batting at No.3, the Western Australian struck a power-packed fifty, the first of his not-so-illustrious T20I career. Even prior to the game, coach Justin Langer announced that Marsh would be taking up the No.3 spot, and the decision was vindicated given that the powerful right-hander did everything he could to put his side in a position of command. 

From an individual perspective, the gamble to promote Marsh paid off, but it is worth questioning if there is any long-term merit in promoting the Western Australian. Not only are Australia stacked with top-order batters, the middle-order, outside of Maxwell, has been an area of weakness for Aaron Finch’s men. The Aussies, down the order, simply don’t possess the same fireworks as India, England and West Indies, and the scarcity of lower-order hitters has continued to haunt them in the shortest format. Thus, in this case, is it prudent taking Marsh, a capable six-hitter, away from the middle-order and thrusting him at No.3 where there is no shortage of options? If indeed the management do see this as a long-term ploy, where will they fit in Marsh if and when Steve Smith eventually returns to the side?

The idea to promote Marsh to No.3 on Friday benefitted him on a personal level, but it affected the dynamic of the entire middle-order, which quite unsurprisingly wilted under pressure. 

Not just the younger players, the management’s questionable decisions made life difficult for veterans, too. Despite having had all his success for the Sixers at No.4, Moises Henriques was slotted in at No.5, below Philippe. Henriques, in BBL 10, played all his innings at No.4. and enjoyed considerable success, averaging 38.8 and striking at 155.0, but in the first T20I he saw himself bat at No.5, a position where he’s batted only 15% of the times in T20 cricket (26/167). The position Henriques batted in might not have had any bearing on his dismissal, but the decision to put him at No.5 typified the flawed thought-process of the management. 

The worst of the lot, and the biggest victim of the management’s goof-up, though, was Ben McDermott. A run-accumulator by nature, the Hobart Hurricanes star enjoyed an outstanding BBL 10 batting at the top of the order, scoring 402 runs at an average of 36.5 and SR of 139.6, exclusively batting in the Top 3. In a move that beggared belief, however, Australia asked the right-hander to bat at No.6, a position where he, prior to Friday, in franchise cricket, had batted only two times in. In fact, prior to the first T20I, McDermott had only ever batted three times below No.5 in franchise cricket. 

That Ashton Turner was present in the squad made the decision to bat McDermott at No.6 even more ludicrous. In BBL 10, Turner  batted 8 times at No.6 (61% of his innings) for the Scorchers, for whom he played the finisher’s role. In his career, the right-hander has batted 25 times at No.6 and boasts a healthy record, striking at 146.6 whilst averaging 25.8. But despite him lurking in the squad as a specialist finisher, the management chose to deploy an opener for the role.

In hindsight, all they needed to do was swap positions and make one change. Having Philippe, Henriques and Marsh as 3, 4, 5, and deploying Turner and Christian at 6 and 7 would not just have made life easier for the players, but would also have made the batting order more balanced and stable. But by doing what they did, the management unsettled the players and, in turn, the entire batting unit. 

It'll be weird if Australia do indeed level the series on Saturday, but it’d be weirder if the management realize, acknowledge and fix their mistakes. After all, T20 cricket is not as important as the Ashes, is it?