Australia emerge from Test season with flying colours and new options

In Sri Lanka, Australia’s long-standing tradition of valuing incumbency over innovation was thrown into the Indian Ocean and the result was a 2-0 sweep that left locals wondering which team was the home side.Across their last four Tests in Asia, including the last two Tests in India in 2023, they have found a blueprint for success under stand-in captain Steven Smith. With Travis Head opening, picking one fast bowler and playing three spinners, or a third spinning allrounder, Australia have won three Tests and drawn one, their best four-Test stretch of results on the subcontinent since 2004.Spin twins: Matt Kuhnemann and Nathan Lyon shared 30 wickets in two Tests•Getty ImagesAustralia’s finger spin stocks have hardly ever been deeper, with Matthew Kuhnemann starring in Sri Lanka alongside Nathan Lyon while Todd Murphy continues to impress despite limited opportunities.Reports of Smith’s decline as a Test batter were greatly exaggerated, as were fears of Australia’s batting depth overall.Smith plundered four centuries in five Tests against peak Jasprit Bumrah in Brisbane and Melbourne, and against two of the most successful spinners to ever bowl in Galle, to zoom past 10000 Test runs and nudge his Test average back towards 57, while looking every inch the batting savant he was six years ago.Australia’s overall run production returned to healthy levels. Nine centuries were scored by five different players across the summer, after only two were scored last summer by players who are currently injured or retired.The performance of Inglis and Webster, although he didn’t make a century, and the looming return of Green means Australia is now flush with options ahead of the World Test Championship final which will create a selection squeeze.There will undoubtedly be pressure on Marnus Labuschagne after a summer where he averaged just 25.63 without a century. It is worth noting though that he and Head were the only Australia batters to pass 50 three times against Bumrah.Amid the optimism of a batting cupboard that is chockablock, it is also worth acknowledging that seven of Australia’s centuries were scored by the usual suspects in Smith, Head and Usman Khawaja, while the other two were made by the wicketkeeper Alex Carey and his understudy Inglis who was playing as a batter. Inglis is the only one of those five who is under the age of 31.Steve Smith was back to his prolific best with four centuries in his last five Tests•Getty ImagesThe treatment of the two youngsters in Konstas and Nathan McSweeney rankled many, with the latter felt to be set up for failure as an opener after earning his place through middle-order Shield form, while the former captured the nation’s hearts only to be cast aside based on the conditions in Sri Lanka.A quick glance, however, at the top 10 Australian Test run-scorers shows a litany of examples of players given a taste of Test cricket at a young age, losing their place and then returning to dominate at the highest level.Smith himself was dropped after making 77 in his second Test as a 21-year-old, recalled five Tests later, then dropped again for two full years before becoming Australia’s best since Bradman.The early gamble on Cooper Connolly, which was widely queried, may also bear fruit years down the line whilst costing nothing in the here and now.Australia will still experience some pain whenever Smith and Khawaja finish, but the future looks brighter than it did 10 weeks ago.One area that is of greater uncertainty is the fast-bowling depth. Once known as Australia’s endless natural resource, there are some concerns that have emerged from the summer. Hazlewood’s injuries are chief among them. Cummins’ ankle has still not recovered from five brutal Tests against India, while the iron-man Mitchell Starc has just turned 35. Scott Boland continued to prove how valuable a back-up he is and could well force his way into the WTC final even if the big three get through the IPL unscathed. But he too is 35 and has his workloads carefully managed while Michael Neser, 34, was unavailable all summer due to a hamstring injury.

The management of Jhye Richardson, 28, is proof of concerns around the quality of the next rung. Richardson was called into the Test squad for Melbourne after playing one first-class game in 12 months in which he dislocated his shoulder high-fiving a team-mate. He is now rehabbing from a third surgery on that shoulder in a bid to be fit for the Ashes.That next rung of Sean Abbott, Brendan Doggett and Nathan McAndrew are all performing well at first-class level but all are over the age of 30. Replacing two ageing generational batters out of six in the short to medium term looks far easier than replacing three generational quicks out of three.For now, Australia march to a second consecutive WTC final with enough depth and confidence that any of whatever 15 they choose in their squad could play a role in the final. Thereafter they play three Tests in the West Indies, where the performance in Sri Lanka might have more bearing on how they set up than how they play at Lord’s, before a date with England for a home Ashes. Perth feels a long time ago.