Australian players walk off the pitch after their loss to Pakistan during in their One Day International cricket match in Perth. (AP Photo)
With the Mohammad Rizwan led Pakistan ODI team handing Australia their first ODI series at home defeat with the world champions losing the series 1-2 on Sunday, the world champions have drawn criticism from former World Cup winner Michael Clarke. Terming Cricket Australia’s decision to rest five players including skipper Pat Cummins, who as per Australian media attended a Cold Play concert in Perth on Sunday, as a non-caring decision, Clarke termed it as wrong.
“I’m just a bit confused, so 11 days between now and the first Test, why can’t the Aussie boys who are part of this Test series play in the one-dayer. They are going to go to training and get flogged. If Australia had won the first two games, then you can understand why they rest their big fish, but it was series on the line. You can’t expect the fans to want and come and watch one-day cricket. We are bagging one-day cricket, no one is turning up, hasn’t got the interest, I wonder why. I feel like we obviously don’t care about losing that series. If you’re not going to care, we’re not going to care,” Clarke said on Big Sports Breakfast Radio Show.
With Australia team management resting the likes of skipper Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazelwood along with batsman Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne, Australia succumbed to the series loss after winning the first ODI at Melbourne last week. With 11 days still remaining for the first Test of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, Cricket Australia had made the changes for the last ODI against Pakistan. Australia lost the match by eight wickets and the loss had come after Australia’s biggest loss in terms of wickets (nine wickets) against Pakistan in the second ODI. “I think we have it wrong. I understand resting for Test cricket, I love that, but it’s a one-day game. They are going to bowl more than that at training.” said Clarke.
Former wicket-keeper Ian Healy too had earlier criticised the Australian ODI team’s performance against Pakistan and had termed it as the team treating it like schoolyard cricket. ‘The boy’ egos weren’t able to be put away even half an hour treating it like schoolyard cricket,” Healy had said after the narrow two-wicket win of Australia in the first ODI.
Healy voiced his opinion again after the series decider. “I don’t go swinging after the fact, but I’ll just add to what has already been said with what I’ve seen and read in the disaster that was the great Pakistan win having been 1-0 down in a three-match series. My initial game one critique fell on deaf ears, and rookies were not only OK to express opinions that were wrong but encouraged to keep going with tactics that have never worked in Australia,” Healy wrote in his column for SEN Radio website.
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