Journalism of Courage
A livid Australian media today labelled their side as 8220;worst8221; in 34 years and compared the shot selection of their top order batsmen to 8220;insanity8221; as India inflicted a humiliating 4-0 whitewash on the visitors.
8220;IT8217;s official. Australian cricket8217;s class of 2013 are the worst to tour India 8230; and the nation8217;s worst Test outfit in 34 years. That is the macabre reputation Michael Clarke8217;s battered troops will bring home,8221; a write-up in the Telegraph read.
8216;Herald Sun8217; was more harsh in chiding the batsmen.
8220;They say the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result. Unless Australia8217;s batsmen change something 8211; starting today 8211; they might wake up in a mental ward before the Ashes.8221;
8220;The real concern ahead of the Ashes is not so much the batting averages in India,but the wider mentality that governs the decisions,and mistakes,Australia8217;s batsmen are making,8221; the report added.
The Australian sports writers came down heavily on the top-order and stand-in captain Shane Watson was hit hardest.
8220;The struggling all-rounder can no longer be a selection untouchable after his form slump yesterday hit crisis point during Australia8217;s latest batting collapse.
8220;8230;If any player should forensically analyse their form on this shambolic tour,it is Watson,8221; wrote Telegraph.
8220;With Michael Clarke,he arrived as Australia8217;s most seasoned player. He returns home as the only specialist batsman in the series not to post a fifty. Even tail-enders Siddle 51 and 50 and Mitchell Starc 99 managed half-centuries on this tour.
8220;In the ultimate indictment,No.11 Nathan Lyon 244 balls managed to survive more deliveries on this tour than Watson 239. Lyon 18 also finished with a superior batting average to Watson 16.5,8221; the critical piece added.
Continuing in the same vein,Sydney Morning Herald pilloried Watson the most.
8220;Watson,the captain in Delhi,has been the most guilty and there was more of the same on Sunday. His shot,rocking back and trying unsuccessfully to heave the left-armer Pragyan Ojha to the boundary,was not one out of the leadership handbook.8221;
8216;Herald Sun8217; also questioned the way Australian batsmen got themselves out.
8220;Australia8217;s second highest individual score in this series is 99 8230; by paceman Mitchell Starc. Getting out in India is not a crime. Getting out the same way is.8221;
8220;Too often on this tour Australia8217;s top-order have come unstuck with either carbon-copy dismissals,reckless strokeplay or,worse,going against the initial plans they had in place to counter India8217;s bowlers.8221;
Syndey Morning Herald wrote that the only remedy for Australia8217;s redemption seem to be overhaul of the top order.
8220;When the dust settles from Australia8217;s tour de farce,one subject should stand out above all else. Not 8221;Homeworkgate8221;,not the dynamic between Michael Clarke and Shane Watson,and not Mickey Arthur8217;s Twitter account.
8220;8230;As treacherous as conditions were against the trickery of Ravindra Jadeja on Sunday,Australia8217;s top order was culpable for yet another collapse.8221;
The media was worried as the Ashes series is looming large against a very formidable England.
8220;Watching the final-day massacre from his Sydney lounge-room,the injured Clarke must wonder how on earth Australia rebuilds for the Ashes,8221; wrote 8216;Telegraph8217;.
8220;..Australia8217;s batsmen still haven8217;t collectively clicked,largely making unforced errors that will be fatal during the Ashes,8221; feared Herald Sun.
