The unfortunate Australia predicament

It’s a humid day in the Sinhalese Sports Club in Colombo. The rain clouds are on the horizon, but, the humidity remains. Australia skipper Steve Smith, is tossing a ball around in the dressing room. He is not nervous. Neither is he anxious or wearing his pads. Just a track suit and the unusual baggy green and the red cherry, oscillating from one palm to the other. The prospect of the rains does not excite Smith. It does not excite Mr. Dave Richardson as well, the South African-born CEO of the ICC. A rain-hit cricket match is the last thing Richardson wants, especially after the flak they received following the events in the West Indies and South Africa.

Steve Smith was not smiling, however. Of course, there were other things in his mind. And one of them would have definitely been about saving the match. However, there was a smile in his eyes. There was something deadly serious about that smile. Perhaps it was the optimism. The optimism of rain where the Lankan spearheads Rangana Herath and Dilruwan Perera would be forced to sit in the dressing sheds only wondering what would have been in the rains.

Steve Smith had just been dismissed. His pads were still on, and he was watching the disaster unfold before him. At this point, it is clear to assume that the Aussies have a hard on for Moises Henriques. As an all-rounder, Henriques has been one of Australia’s top performers in domestic cricket. Australia has perhaps one of the most robust and impressive domestic circuits ever. Apart from the people who have indeed played internationally, there are those who could play internationally. Luke Butterworth, Dominic Thornely, and Mark Cosgrove are some of these players.

Henriques has had his share of well-documented struggles in the subcontinent. While pace will strike a thunderbolt down the spine of a batsman, the spin bowler can make the batsman look silly. And as far as the story of Moises Henriques goes, it is not a good one. Rangana Herath ran into bowl. For the ninth time in his batting career, Henriques was dismissed when Kusal Perera whipped off the bails in a jiffy. In the dressing room, it was clear that Smith felt horrible about it. He had been dismissed in the similar fashion.

When one looks into the nitty-gritty situation, Australia’s frailties against spin bowling was well and truly showing. They were not being thrashed out of sight. Yet, they were being made to look stupid. While the likes of Shane Warne and Michael Bevan were making their feelings on social media known, serial blogger Sam Perry had a valid question. Was it the Australian culture that stood in the way of Australian batsmen playing spin bowling. He wrote: “Has any Test match batting line-up looked as inept as Australia’s in Sri Lanka?”

Why was this happening? It was the same pitch for both sides. It’s not like Sri Lanka did not have anything to play with. It was the same boundaries, same umpires, and perhaps even the same cricket ball. The difference was perhaps the fingers of Rangana Herath and Nathan Lyon. In this case, I would give Mr. Perry a lot of credit for pointing out the culture, the difference in the coaching of Herath and Lyon. Mind you, Muttiah Muralitharan and Sridharan Sriram were seated in the Sri Lankan dressing room at this time.

However, those who have been following Australians on tour have given them a considerable amount of flak for the same. Although many have been playing this ‘gutter game’ of firing back at the Australians whenever the mood struck them, it is clear that the bashing has completed with the performance in the ODI series.

With Tillakaratne Dilshan announcing his retirement, the series had already seen some drama. However, what came next was something astonishing. The Aussies have fielded almost 20 players in the series including the Test matches. Of these players, some have been sent back for injury. However, things came to a halt when Smith pulled out of the tournament. Michael Clarke and Michael Slater, former Australian batsmen had their views on the matter.

I don't understand Steve Smith returning early from ODI series. The captain should be there to the end! @Iheals @BigSportsBrekky #AUSvSL

— Michael Slater (@mj_slats) August 24, 2016

I would of liked to have seen the captain play until the series was won and then have a rest. https://t.co/i0WEWqOVe7

— Michael Clarke (@MClarke23) August 25, 2016

With David Warner appointed as the skipper of the side, it was clear that either one of two things had happened. Either Aaron Finch denied the role of the skipper or David Warner was thrust with the responsibility of doing the tough job of skippering the side. While it is certainly commendable that Smith’s Australia certainly did exceedingly well to clinch a hard-fought win.

When Steve Smith pulled out of the tournament citing fatigue, a few lines written by Walt Whitman was all that went through my head.

“My Captain does not answer, his lips are pale and still;
My father does not feel my arm, he has no pulse nor will;
The ship is anchor’d safe and sound, its voyage closed and done;
From fearful trip, the victor ship comes in with object won;”

– (O Captain, My Captain – Walt Whitman)

Although it is at times premature to pick out just a few lines of a poem, it is also somewhat acceptable that a captain must stay on the ship till the very end. Of course, I would not like to question the hunger and the character of Steve Smith, but, the fact that Smith has done something like this in perhaps the most testing of times for Australia certainly goes on to raise some eyebrows. Will Australia need to get a new skipper – maybe not? But will Steve Smith have to show more respect to his role as skipper – I certainly think so.

PS: Leave your comments in the comment section below if you agree with me (Hey, I never said I was subtle).