Australia have developed a bad habit with the bat that needs fixing

A 150-run opening stand? Check.

Scoring 450+ in the very first innings of the series? Check.

Each of the Top 4 batters scoring over 65? Check.

If you’d offered Australia all the aforementioned things prior to the series, they’d have bitten your hands off. 

There is nothing more encouraging than kicking off an away tour with a robust showing with the bat, and the Aussies have done just that in Rawalpindi. No matter how much of a road the wicket is, the runs still have to be scored. Getting close to parity after losing the toss and conceding 476 runs is never easy, hence the visitors’ response with the bat has been exceptional. 

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Ask the batters if they are fully content with their effort, though, and the answer would be a loud and plain ‘No’. Why? Simply because on a pitch where it was near-impossible for bowlers to draw mistakes, every individual left loads of runs behind. From David Warner to Cameron Green, the batters themselves were the architects of their own downfall.

In isolation, being critical of a batting unit that has scored 450, that too away from home in alien conditions, might look ludicrous. No denying that. The concern, however, is that, of late, the Australian batters have developed an unhealthy habit of throwing away starts, often leaving it to the ‘next man’ to get the job done. 

Before we delve deep into the matter, though, a recap of how each of the set batters found uniquely absurd methods to gift their wicket to the opposition.

Warner, 68 - Got his stumps rattled after going to the back-foot, trying to cut a ball that was so full enough to be driven.

Khawaja, 97 - Miscued a reverse-sweep, completely misjudging its length. 

Labuschagne, 90 - Threw his hands at a wide one that was never there to be driven in the first place.

Steve Smith, 78 - Fell to Nauman Ali’s over-the-wicket trap, losing patience, gloving leg-side filth attempting to sweep.

Green, 48 - Mirrored Smith, except he got out to a delivery that was thrice as worse.

Then there was Travis Head who perished for 8(7), attempting an audacious late-cut off the first ball he faced versus spin. Quite the highlight reel.

Why, despite Australia scoring 449, it is a point worth focusing on is that it is a trend that’s been going on for the past 15 months.

Since December 2020, in the first innings of matches, the Australian batters have passed fifty on 22 different occasions. However, only six of those scores have been converted into tons. Among the six tons, too, there has only been a solitary 150+ score.

The prime culprits have been Warner, Labuschagne, and Smith, who among them have registered a staggering 9 scores between 65 and 99 (in the first innings) since the start of the India series.

In the Ashes, the Aussies were not punished for the inability of their batters to be ruthless. But it did put them in a spot of temporary bother on multiple occasions. 

In the first Test at Gabba, for instance, the Kangaroos were coasting at 166/1, with both Warner and Labuschagne well-set and in full control. But neither batter got to the triple-figure mark and they were soon in trouble at 195/5. A Travis Head special eventually rescued the side. 

This would continue to be a noticeable pattern throughout the series - even in the final Test in Hobart, both Green and Head squandered a golden opportunity to put England to bed and get a massive score next to their name.

Australia might have gotten away with such unpolished showings against England in home conditions, but in the sub-continent, they will not have the same margin of error. Particularly on wickets in which it’ll be hard for the new batters to settle. 

So while they’ve done enough on a lifeless Rawalpindi wicket to be immune to defeat, their batters, going forward, will have to cash in on starts if the Kangaroos are to walk back home with a positive result. 

Whether it be improving shot selection, avoiding lapses in concentration, or being prepared to curb impatience, the onus is on the batters to ensure that they score big and bat long periods of time once they get in - something they’ve been guilty of not doing for quite some time. 

That being said, the view above is merely looking at things from a ‘glass-half-empty perspective. 

In truth, there have been more positives than negatives for Australia on the batting front, the biggest of all being how assured Cameron Green looked at the crease in his first-ever away innings, even if it was on a dead track. The Aussies will also be delighted with the fact that Smith and Labuschagne have begun the subcontinent stretch with a hundred-run stand. 

But a three-match series is a marathon, not a sprint. Thus, if the batters don’t fix this flaw promptly, the team will eventually run out of gas and fall flat long before the finishing line is in sight.