DEAD MEN WALKING Ashes doom tipped unless batsmen discover patience
AUSTRALIA’S batsmen have been warned they face certain doom this Ashes tour unless they magically discover the patience that was beyond them this summer.
Beating England on UK soil for the first time since 2001 shapes as mission impossible, unless the chastening trend of Indian star Cheteshwar Pujara managing in one series what Australia couldn’t in an entire year’s work isn’t dramatically turned on its head.
Selectors are expected to meet today to pick a Test squad to face Sri Lanka which will be announced on Wednesday. Shaun Marsh heads the list of Australian stars under the gun after failing to live up to expectations he would lead from the front against India, however, captain Tim Paine insists the much-maligned batsman shouldn’t be under any more heat than the rest of the top seven.
Young lights Marcus Harris and Marnus Labuschagne appear certain to be given a chance to cement places for England in two Tests against Sri Lanka, but the likes of Aaron Finch, Peter Handscomb and both Marsh brothers are in limbo.
Triumphant Indian captain Virat Kohli declared that the lessons learnt from their tour of England last year set the tone for their history-making effort in Australia and laid bare what Tim Paine’s side must do if they too want to write themselves into the record books – and avoid being “buried” alive.
Kohli said the attainment of discipline, patience and mental strength was Australia’s only hope and not blind faith in a silver bullet at the selection table.
But that would require an extraordinary turnaround after Pujara in this summer alone faced 1258 balls, only a handful fewer than the 1391 Usman Khawaja faced in an entire year. TO PAGE 36