Gilchrist rues Aussies’ lack of Test patience in Dubai

Ajit Vijaykumar 06:09 28/10/2014
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Mail
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • WhatsApp
  • Pinterest
  • LinkedIn
  • Recognition: Gilchrist presents the Adam Gilchrist Sports Award to recipient Dan D’Souza in Dubai.

    The Australians were brought down to earth by a young Pakistan team who outplayed them in the first Test in Dubai, logging a com­prehensive 221-run win.

    After the Pakistanis were out­played in the limited over series, losing the one-off T20 and all three one-dayers, a similar outcome was expected in the Tests as well, a for­mat the Aussies have dominated for a year-and-a-half.

    But despite captain Michael Clarke bolstering their batting for the first Test against a Paki­stan team missing their frontline bowlers – off-spinner Saeed Ajmal and left arm quicks Junaid Khan and Wahab Riaz – Australia were beaten handsomely.

    For former Australia wicketkeeper-batsman Adam Gilchrist, it all boiled down to one team willing to stay patient. “It was more of as mental issue than a skill issue,” Gilchrist told Sport360°.

    “They found adapting to the con­ditions a little more difficult than what they expected. Michael Clarke came into the team with not a lot of cricket under his belt. These are conditions that take a lot of time to adjust to. If you look at Pakistan, they played some good old fash­ioned patient Test cricket, which is becoming more and more rare.

    “In the end, it was about our bats­men not slowing down their natural game to suit the tempo of what was in front of them.”

    The retired gloveman, however, admitted that he himself strug­gled to alter his game when he batted. A Test strike rate of 81 and an ODI strike rate of 96 shows a reluctance to take it slowly.

    “I remember the times when it was so difficult to wrest your natu­ral instincts and adjust to the con­ditions. That was a constant chal­lenge for me,” he added.

    Though the Aussies did well in the limited overs format, Gilchrist believes those performances hardly mattered when it came to the five-day game.

    “It’s so difficult in this day and age to have long tours with two or three tour matches,” he said. “The onus is on the players to get them­selves right mentally and physi­cally. They did have success in the T20s and ODIs but they had at least four or five personnel changes so it’s difficult to take into account any success in those formats.”

    The three-time World Cup and multiple Ashes winner feels that though the defeat was heavy, this Australian side is made of strong material and won’t wither away like they did during the 4-0 series defeat in India last year.

    “This team has worked very hard for 18 months to rebuild and they will be hurt,” explained the 42-year-old. “They will want to turn that around. They are close to being back up as the No1 team and that’s what they are chas­ing.

    "I see more positive in this defeat than what the situation was in India. That group seemed to be just meandering along with un­certainty as to who was playing, where we go next. But there is a strong foundation now to get over defeats.”

    Looking ahead, the focus of all teams now is on the World Cup next year in Australia and New Zea­land. For Gilchrist, only one team has performed consistently across formats for a period of time – South Africa – while the rest have been up and down.

    He said: “I don’t see any one favourite at the World Cup. That just sums up world cricket at the moment. Australia had a really suc­cessful 18 months and they just got knocked over by an inexperienced Pakistan team. One-day cricket is to-ing and fro-ing.

    "South Africa are probably the most well-balanced all-round team taking into account the conditions. The conditions will be interesting. New Zealand could be a bit more bowling friendly. Sub­continent teams have struggled there and that will be a leveller. So I don’t see any one favourite team.”

    Dangerous precedent

    The turmoil West Indies cricket finds itself in is a serious threat to the game in the Caribbean and Gil­christ fears the team has set a dan­gerous precedent with their deci­sion to withdraw from their tour to India midway.

    “It is a dangerous precedent. You can only hope their players have been advised on the consequences of what could come out of this. It’s difficult when you are in the eye of the storm to step back and see the ramifications. It’s not good for the game globally and in the Carib­bean,” he said.

    Gilchrist feels the survival of the game in West Indies is crucial as only a handful of teams play the sport in the first place.

    “It’s a very delicate time for crick­et in that region. We don’t have a lot of full-fledged international teams as it is. We don’t want one group of nations diminished any further.” 

    Recommended