Hobart: The Australia Test team is “lucky to be a Top 10 side” after their disastrous innings and 80 run lost to South Africa in Hobart, believes Cricket Australia chief executive, James Sutherland. It was their fifth straight Test defeat.
Australia were the No. 1 Test team a few months back, but their rankings have plummeted dramatically since then as they lost the series 3-0 in Sri Lanka and also lost two consecutive Tests against South Africa at home.
The innings defeat to Proteas has prompted calls for change among both the team and management. And Sutherland says he is feeling the pressure.
Speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, Sutherland said, "Ultimately that's a decision for the board as to whether I'm the right person to lead. But Australian cricket broadly speaking, is in good shape," he said.
"Now clearly the performance of the Australian team over the course of the past three months is not good enough and is not in keeping with our fans' expectations or expectations for the game.
"But three months ago we were the number one team in the world in Test cricket and One-day cricket. We are not today and we are not shying away from that issue. It's my responsibility to lead the people to turn this around. We're lucky to be a Top 10 side at the moment, but I also do believe that by sticking to the process the players can work through that and can turn things around," he added.
Meanwhile, Australia coach, Darren Lehmann, came down heavily on his payers for the dismal performance. The coach said only four players from the team that played in Hobart are assured of a spot for the Adelaide Test.
Lehmann stated that the entire squad except Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, David Warner and Steven Smith will be sent to play the Sheffield Shield matches.
Speaking at the post-match press conference on Tuesday, Lehmann said, "There’ll definitely be change. We’ve got to stop the rot, we’ve got to work out what’s the best XI."
"Hazlewood was great, Starc’s getting back to his best and then you’ve got Smith and Warner. Outside of that everyone’s got to make some runs and take some wickets. It’s a really important four days of Shield cricket. You’ve got to have an eye to the future as well," added Lehmann.
