SAGGY GREENS
ODI flops are the worst Aussie touring side ever and have tumbled to SIXTH in the world rankings
AUSTRALIA’S one-day flops are living down to the claim they are the worst touring side from Down Under after slipping to sixth in the world rankings.
Not since 1984 have they occupied such a lowly place in the short-form game – a time when only Shaun Marsh from the current side was born.
It was another two years before vice-captain Aaron Finch (above) arrived and as a World Cup winner in 2015, the 31-year-old has only known an era of unprecedented success.
But with so many senior players either banned or injured, the next best options are struggling to lay a glove on England.
There was a time in the 1990s when the two best teams in the world were Australia and Australia A, but those days are long gone and despite the success of the Big Bash, there is a talent gap on show.
“No doubt we’ve underperformed dramatically, I suppose, in the last 18 months in one-day cricket,” admitted Finch, ahead of the must-win third One-Day International at Trent Bridge. “There’s no shying away from that you can’t hide the win-loss ratio. But all we can do is move forward and continue to improve.
“Sixth in the table is a fair reflection of where we’re at. We haven’t won any series for a while.
“I think we’ve just been outplayed in the last little while as well.
“That’s been disappointing, but you can’t argue with the facts. There’s a lot of expectation from the public, but internally, we want to be winning games and series for Australia. We’re still confident we can turn it around.” Finding a win for Australia though will be easier said than done with England not only sitting on top of the rankings, but improving game-by-game in this series.
And unlike the Aussies the home team have more than enough back-up firepower to continue winning even though Ben Stokes and Chris Woakes are out of the series.
Woakes won’t be ready until next month’s India one-dayers at the earliest while Stokes will be back training with England this week.
Stokes’ place is being kept warm by Alex Hales (above) who is still playing catch-up after last summer’s suspension for a night out allowed Jason Roy to take his opening place.
“I’ve got to try and get my place back,” said Hales. “Any chance I get, it’s up to me to convert big runs and put some pressure on the other two.”