Australia's batting woes out in the open, MCG Test leaves a lot to be answered

There is this general notion in cricket that, “all the analysis or dissection takes a break till a team is winning the matches”. But as soon as a team loses a game miserably and unexpectedly, it attracts the eyeballs towards the flaws that are usually ignored during the winning phase. 

A similar kind of blow hit Australia after they faced a four-wicket defeat within only two days against England in the Boxing-Day Test at MCG. The Aussies endured this defeat after a winning spree in the first three Tests of the five-match series. 

But in the MCG Test, the hosts were bundled out at the scores of just 152 and 132, respectively. The batters looked struggling in a bit of ‘above the comfort’ conditions in Melbourne, with Travis Head’s 46-run knock being their highest individual score across both the innings. 

It also gives rise to a question if the Melbourne fiasco exposed Australia's batting miseries. The same that seemed to be cushioned under the bowling brilliance or a few individual batting brilliances in the first three successive wins. 

The top-order fumble: A fluctuation between two WTC cycles 

In the 2021-23 WTC cycle, Australia consistently relied on the veteran opening pair of Usman Khawaja and David Warner. Khawaja batted in the opening slot in 27 innings, alongside Warner’s 30 innings. Besides these two, the Aussie management played with Travis Head and Marcus Harris as opener in just five and seven innings. 

Openers for Australia in WTC 2021-23 cycle

Khawaja scored 1,383 runs in 27 innings, with an average of 57.62, hitting four centuries and seven half-centuries. On the other hand, Warner accumulated 891 runs in 30 innings with an average of 30.72, with a century and four half-centuries. Apart from these two, Head and Harris also scored 223 and 179 runs in five and seven innings, respectively

Openers in wins for Australia in WTC 2021-23 cycle

In their appearances as openers, Khawaja and Warner had some amazing contribution Australia's win. Khawaja scored 682 runs in 19 innings, with an average of 63.92, with a century and three half-centuries in the games Australia won. Besides that, Harris and Head had scored only 114 and 58 runs, respectively in the won games for their side.

In their appearances as openers, Khawaja and Warner had some amazing contribution Australia's win. Khawaja scored 682 runs in 19 innings, with an average of 63.92, with a century and three half-centuries in the games Australia won. Besides that, Harris and Head had scored only 114 and 58 runs, respectively in the won games for their side.

Openers for Australia from WTC 2023 Final win till now

Furthermore, their opening experiments post-WTC 2023 final have doubled from four openers to eight, which also includes Warner’s retirement in January 2024. Since, WTC 2023 victory, Khawaja has scored 1,546 runs in 45 innings with an average of 36.81, hitting two centuries and six half-centuries. From the WTC 2023 final to his retirement Warner scored 584 runs in 16 innings with an average of 60.52, with a century and three half-centuries.

Without Warner, Travis Head and Sam Konstas have batted in the opening slot for Australia in 10 games each, followed by Steve Smith’s eight and Jake Weatherald’s seven opening appearances. Warner is still the second leading run-scorer for Australia in the opening slot even after almost two years of his retirement.

Openers in Wins for Australia from WTC 2023 Final till now

Khawaja has scored 1,218 runs (78.78 percent of his total of 1,546 runs) in the games his side won. Which advocates for him to prove his worth as a major winning factor for Australia. Following him, there comes Travis Head with a huge difference of 762 runs (456 runs in eight innings) with Khawaja as an opener in the winning cause for Australia during this time span.

These numbers and inconsistent experiments in the opening slot reflects the fact that the WTC 2023 champions are still struggling to finalize their opening slot. They also don’t seem to be ready for the phase after Khawaja as he is already nearing his retirement after turning earlier this month.

A dip in middle order’s contribution in wins 

During the WTC 2021-23 cycle, Australia’s middle-order consistently revolved around four batters in Steve Smith, Travis Head, Cameron Green, and Alex Carey, minus Peter Handscomb’s nominal appearance in six innings. Steve Smith was the leading run-scorer for his side in this time span, with 1,407 runs in 32 innings, hitting four centuries and six half-centuries. 

Middle-order batters for Australia during WTC 2021-23 cycle

He was followed by Travis Head’s 1,166 runs in 23 innings, with four centuries and five fifties. Furthermore, Green and Carey contributed with 736 and 605 runs in 23 and 21 innings, respectively. 

Middle-order batters in wins for Australia during WTC 2021-23 cycle

This batting quartet also had a good contribution to the wins Australia achieved during the previous cycle. Head topped the list with 1,036 runs in 17 innings, with four centuries and as many half-centuries in the games Australia won. 

He was followed by Smith who scored 799 runs in 19 innings, with two centuries and three half-centuries in the winning cause for Australia.

Following these two, Carey scored 476 runs in the winning cause out of his total of 605 runs, alongside Green’s 440 runs out of his 736 runs.

Middle-order batters for Australia from WTC 2023 final till now

The middle order’s contributions have taken a serious dip since Australia’s WTC 2023 win. Besides that, the management’s experiments from number four to seven have also been extended from four to six or seven, if Beau Webster’s 12 innings with 347 runs are taken into account. 

In this time span, Smith has scored 1,478 runs in 38 innings, followed by Carey’s 1,375 runs in the same number of innings. Following these two, Head has accumulated 1,328 runs in 40 innings, alongside Mitchell Marsh’s 823 and Green’s 498 runs in 25 and 18 innings, respectively. 

Middle-order batters in wins for Australia from WTC 2023 final till now

In the winning cause during this period, Carey and Smith are. the only two batters to contribute with 1000+ runs, scoring 1,056 and 1,037 runs in 25 and 24 innings, respectively. 

The numbers further dip a bit more when the list goes on till Marsh, Green and Webster. The trio has runs in the winning cause for Australia but those wins are mostly based either on the performances of top-order or top middle-order. Sometimes, when batters failed, it has also been Australia's bowling attack to win the games.

Conclusion: Time for Australia to fix batting flaws amidst bowling heroics

Notably, there’s an interesting fact in Australia’s three consecutive wins in the first three Tests of the ongoing Ashes 2025-26. The fact that a bowler in Mitchell Starc won the ‘Player of the Match’ in the first two Tests seems to be enough to push Australia’s batters ‘under the bus’.

In the current Ashes edition, a batter has won a ‘Player of the Match’ in Australia’s win on only one occasion. Interestingly, that too on a batting-friendly turf in the third Test at the Adelaide Oval. It was Alex Carey who scored 106 and 72 runs in the first and second innings, respectively including his six catches behind the wickets. 

So, these facts also hit the Aussie think tank with a reality check and the ‘need of the hour’ to rethink their batting concerns amidst the wins based on bowling heroics.