New Delhi, Nov 2 (IANS) Australia head coach Andrew McDonald has backed his team’s batting unit despite consecutive collapses against South Africa, insisting the visitors have reasons to remain optimistic following their series defeat in Cape Town.
McDonald also expressed confidence that Steve Smith would return for the upcoming home Test series against New Zealand, with Australia keen to resolve the batter’s neck problem ahead of a demanding international schedule.
With Cameron Green returning from injury and Josh Inglis strengthening his case with another away Test, Australia could explore different batting combinations before the New Zealand series. McDonald believes the experience gained in difficult overseas conditions could ultimately benefit his side.
“It’s still a very good cricket team with a lot of very good players in there, and some … (who) will be acknowledged as legends of the game. We’ve got to balance that out with who comes in, what the next decisions are. If you looked at the batting unit, I think we walk away in a stronger position (than at the start of the South Africa tour).
“With Green, it was an injury that curtailed him early in the series. Inglis … he’s (now) got two away Test hundreds. We know how difficult it is to play away. The challenge is always greater when you play away in foreign conditions and you get challenged in different ways. There’s a reason why a lot of teams don’t win on the road – it is difficult. It’s not an excuse – we felt as though we’re good enough to come here and win this series,” he said.
Smith missed the series-deciding Test at Newlands after failing a final fitness assessment, despite attempting to overcome the issue with a pain-killing injection. McDonald said the decision rested with the senior batter and stressed that his recovery would take priority.
“You would have seen what we saw early in that net session the day before. It looked really positive – but you never know how you’re going to pull up from that.
“All I’ll say is the medical team and Steve gave it every chance, and that’s all you can do. The next morning … he wasn’t ready to play. He acknowledged that – and we do put a lot of trust into our players, in particular our senior players who know their bodies quite well.
“So that decision of Steve’s, I think, was the right decision. He wasn’t ready to go in that scenario,” McDonald was quoted as saying by cricket.com.au.
Despite uncertainty surrounding Smith’s long-term plans, McDonald expects him to feature in the first Test against New Zealand in Perth next month.
“I’ve got no knowledge to the counter of that,” McDonald said. “So yes, we are planning for him to play against New Zealand, Test in Perth.
“I think first and foremost, it’s understanding what’s going on with the neck issue … What do we need to do to make sure it doesn’t happen again and give him the best preparation that we possibly can?
“There will be Shield cricket, there’s opportunities for him. He’ll be well prepared for the Test match.”
Australia captain Pat Cummins also backed Smith’s efforts to prove his fitness before withdrawing.
“Steve himself was quite confident that he was going to get up … and he wanted to give it right to the last minute.
“Unfortunately, he just didn’t feel quite right. He knows his body better than anyone else. I was definitely disappointed – he’s the best player in the world, vice-captain, and all those things.”
McDonald acknowledged that Marnus Labuschagne had failed to capitalise on his opportunity in South Africa, although he remains convinced the batter has the ability to recover his form.
“We believed in ‘Marn’ for this tour,” McDonald said. “We’ll have to reassess that as we move forward.
“There’ll be a lot of speculation. There’s still a very good cricketer there. Every time he drops back to state level, he outperforms the others … But he hasn’t taken his opportunity on this tour.”
Australia will now turn their attention to the four-Test series against New Zealand, with Smith’s fitness and the team’s middle-order combination among the key issues for the selectors to address.
–IANS
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