World Test Championship:<\/b> Former Australia opener Matthew Hayden has said that years of success have bred complacency in the country\u2019s Test set-up, adding that the series defeat in South Africa is a \u2018telling point\u2019 for the team and the country\u2019s cricket administration.<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Australia surrendered their world number one Test ranking after a collapse in Cape Town sealed their 2-1 series loss in South Africa. \u201cThe success, I feel, of this current group has probably made us a little complacent at all levels.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cIt doesn\u2019t matter where you look at it. Administration, the so-called architects of the team - the coaches and the significant staff. The architects, I feel at the moment, are point thereover the discussion. They\u2019re not the only discussion because the architect can never build a house - the builders do, so you\u2019ve got to look at the builders as well,\u201d Hayden said on SEN Radio.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
He then turned towards Australia's record in the World Test Championship, which they won in 2023. \u201cSince the World Test Championship began back in 2019, Australia has won one title, they\u2019ve reached three completed finals, and finished in the top three in every completed qualifying cycle.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cNow, you could say that that\u2019s because the competition isn\u2019t that strong, and you could maybe mount that argument. Of the eight full member cycle Test nations, generally speaking, there are four that are elite.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cAustralia now are 69.23 per cent in this cycle and they\u2019re currently third. They\u2019re back to the field. Before they went to South Africa, they were way out in front. They\u2019re 80 odd and more per cent. But now they\u2019re coming back into the field where they\u2019ve got some bloody good teams, including New Zealand, who won the first cycle.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Hayden further warned that the schedule ahead offered little breathing space for the Australian Test team. Australia next host New Zealand in a four-Test series starting in early December, before coming to India for a five-match Border-Gavaskar Trophy series.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThen we\u2019ve got the Border-Gavaskar Trophy that\u2019s coming up, and we all know how hard it is as cricketers to compete over in that country, and then we\u2019ve got the Ashes at the back of it. This is really a telling point for the Australian cricket team and the overall administration to understand how we\u2019re going to future proof cricket in this great country.\u201d<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Hayden also questioned the decision of skipper Pat Cummins to field first in Cape Town, and came out strongly in support of veteran off-spinner Nathan Lyon, whose place has come under scrutiny after a difficult series.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cI don\u2019t believe that that was the correct decision, especially when you\u2019ve got a world-class spinner who\u2019s been bounced around the place. Everyone should be put on notice when it comes to the Australian cricket team.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWe should be that damn good that everyone has got a notice certificate in the mail to say, \u2018perform or banish\u2019. In Lyon\u2019s case the one thing that I\u2019ve been really disappointed about from the architect\u2019s point of view is that they just keep bouncing him around.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cThe bloke\u2019s got 550 wickets for God\u2019s sake! He is the best (Aussie) off-spinner of all time, and he is sitting out in conditions which I still believe have a place for an off-spin bowler. Especially on a fifth-day wicket, which he didn\u2019t bowl on in Cape Town. So, it was a crazy decision in my opinion.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
\u201cWe should be that damn good that everyone has got a notice certificate in the mail to say, \u2018perform or banish\u2019. In Lyon\u2019s case the one thing that I\u2019ve been really disappointed about from the architect\u2019s point of view is that they just keep bouncing him around.<\/p>\r\n\r\n<\/p>\r\n\r\n
Also Read: <\/b> Special Cricket Stories<\/a><\/p>\r\n\r\n