One of the worst performances I have seen from Australia: Kim Hughes

Australia had already lost the ongoing 3-match Test series against Sri Lanka 2-0 with one match to go. The former Australian captain, Kim Hughes said that this is one of the worst performances he had ever seen from the Australian team.

Hughes, who played 70 Tests for Australia, said Australia’s tour of Sri Lanka thus far had been a “calamity”. “This is absolutely one of the worst performances I’ve seen from an Australian team,” Hughes told Cricbuzz, “Cricket Australia has done everything like simulate subcontinent conditions at the centre of excellence (in Brisbane) and has hired specialist coaches like Murali (Muttiah Muralitharan) but nothing has changed on the field.”

He said that despite having Muttiah Muralitharan with the Australian team, they found it hard to cope up with the Sri Lankan spin. “You would think with all this expertise and preparation that Australia would have improved (in the subcontinent) but they have gone backwards,” Hughes pointed.

Hughes labelled Australia’s batting as “very disappointing”. “Test cricket is a test of mentality and technique and Australia’s batsmen were found wanting,” he said. “The batsmen haven’t been able to grind it out as it is a waiting game batting in the subcontinent. You have got to pick off the spinners.”

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Shaun Marsh is expected to replace Usman Khawaja for the next Test match. “Khawaja needs to lift,” Hughes said. “The jury is well and truly out. He can’t just perform in conditions that suit, he needs to contribute when the going gets tough.”

He feels that the young leg-spinner Adam Zampa, who had a good IPL and CPL season would have been a better option overs Nathan Coulter-Nile. “I don’t believe the fielding settings for (Nathan) Lyon were particularly good but he also needs to lift because going at four runs an over is just not good enough from the front-line spinner,” he said. “I thought we should have selected (leg-spinner Adam) Zampa for the tour. He should have had a spot over (Nathan) Coulter-Nile.”

“Australia is certainly not the No.1 Test team,” he said. “They are good at home but you can’t go to Sri Lanka and lose like they did against a team who has struggled recently. It is hard to see Australia being competitive in (the four-Test series against) India next year.

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“Australia has shown an inability to play good Test match cricket in England and the subcontinent, and until that changes they can’t be deemed the best in the world,” Hughes concluded.