Former Australian player Michael Clarke bashed Australia captain Pat Cummins after their horrible loss in the 2nd match of the four-match Test series. He said that the Australian side failed to adapt to the Indian conditions and made some silly mistakes. He said that the batters should not go for the sweep shot in every delivery because it is hard to sweep against the spin.
“We haven’t adapted to conditions, I’m not saying don’t sweep in India, I’m saying the opposite. I’m saying you sweep at the right time, at the right stage of your innings, on the right pitch and, generally, with the spin. It’s very hard to sweep against the spin when the ball is not bouncing. So, basics of batting and facing spin bowling in those conditions we are getting so wrong.” Clarke was quoted as saying by Sky Sports.
“I’ve got to say, I’m not sure what happened with our tactics either. We had 100 runs on the board, at one stage Pat Cummins had four blokes on the boundary. You’re either bowling India out for under 100, or you’re losing. If you lose in 20 overs or you lose in two days, it’s irrelevant.” He said.
If you make an error in judgment, you are getting out: Michael Clarke
He also said that Australia didn’t play a tour game which was a major mistake as the batters were not aware of the pitch conditions. He also blamed the selections for the first Test as the visitors lost it by an inning and 132 runs.
“So, fielders get up, (put a) bat-pad offside, bat-pad leg side, slip. If the ball turns, if the ball bounces, if the ball shoots along the ground, if you make an error in judgment, you are getting out. That’s what Australia had to do. We had mid-off back, mid-on back, deep point, deep square-leg — what was I watching?”
“We didn’t have a tour game. Major, major, major mistake. At least one tour game over there to get used to the conditions. Our selections for the first Test — major, major, major mistake. One cost us a chance, I reckon, of winning the T20 World Cup, and this 100 percent cost us the first Test if not the second Test.” Clarke said.
