We have got to stop the rot: Darren Lehmann

Following Australia’s humiliating defeat at the Bellerive Oval in Hobart, coach Darren Lehmann has suggested that it is important to stop the rot that is going on in the Australian team at the moment. The Aussies have lost all of their last five Test matches including the ones that have come against Sri Lanka and now against South Africa.

Lehmann, who has been the coach since 2012 said that the rot the Aussies are in is something that has got to stop. Lehmann was also quick to add that some of the players from this Test would go on to play shield cricket for the next few months.”We’ve got to stop the rot, we’ve got to work out what the best XI is,” Lehmann told reporters.

“Guys playing in this Test match, some were disappointed in their performances and they get the chance to play the Shield games to put their hand up. I thought 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.”

Darren Lehmann then went on to drop the bombshell when he stated that only four to six players had their name on the team sheet for the third Test at Adelaide. Peter Nevill and Nathan Lyon, by virtue of the fact that they were the only wicketkeepers and spinners in the side, would keep their place. Apart from that, Steve Smith, David Warner, Mitchell Starc, and Josh Hazelwood were the others who kept their place on the side.

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“Like everyone else, Adam’s been a very good player for us for 20-odd Test matches. End of the day he’s got to go back and make runs like everyone else,” Lehmann said.

“Everybody is hurting in the rooms. I haven’t seen it as quiet after a loss and that’s understandable because of the performances,” he said. “We pride ourselves on playing for our country and we haven’t done that well enough over the last three and a half days.”

“Mark Taylor and Shane Warne have been chatting to the guys one on one. Ian Healy, Tom Moody, Simon Katich, Brett Lee, we’ve had a lot of the legends come in,” he said. “The young guys who are playing today looked up to them. It’s great to have them in the rooms and speaking to them.”

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