Australian cricket has enjoyed a golden era. But never allow a great team to 'grow old together'.
The Australian selectors find themselves in a bind. Retain a group of brilliant but ageing players, or throw their support behind some untested newcomers.
For 26 years, Sir Alex Ferguson ruled Manchester United like it was his own personal fiefdom. The irascible Scot, one of the most venerated sports coaches of all time, had his eyes and ears around every corner, down every corridor, and under every door at Old Trafford. But in spite of his fearsome reputation, Ferguson still encountered his fair share of friction.
A drinking culture. Boardroom politics. Player power. Fan unrest. Ownership battles. Ferguson — whose abrasive personality was chiselled in the teak-tough world of post-war Govan, a rugged neighbourhood in working-class Glasgow — confronted it all unflinchingly, with an intense, dead-eyed stare and a razor-sharp tongue.
In retirement, though, the gruff Glaswegian has been typically unambiguous about his greatest challenge: managing transition. The cold-hearted ability to construct a top-class team, lead them to success, and then discard them without sentiment or hesitation.
THE CHALLENGES OF TRANSITION
“In terms of the regrets, the 1994 team I had, the back four all seemed to grow old together, and that’s a terrible thing to happen to the manager because these guys were fantastic for me,” Ferguson reflected in 2021. “They gave me nine or 10 years and the evidence is always on the football field. They don’t see it. I see it. The problem for me is, ‘What do I do about it?’”
Ferguson’s all-conquering United suffered the briefest of trophy droughts in the mid-90s, as some of his most decorated lieutenants fell victim to the inescapable sands of time. The United boss was left to rue his own uncharacteristic inertia, and vowed to not repeat his error.
THE AUSTRALIAN QUANDARY
The Australian cricket team now find itself in a similar space, facing a similar, age-old sporting dilemma.
Over the last decade, Australia have achieved Ferguson-esque success: a COVID-era T20 World Cup win in the Middle East; a 50-over heist at Narendra Modi Stadium; Ashes dominance on home soil; and belatedly, regaining the Border-Gavaskar trophy.
Throughout that era, a host of players have been virtual ever-presents in the Australian line-up. Pat Cummins, Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, and Steve Smith have formed the backbone of the trophy-winning machine. But time has no prejudice, and Andrew McDonald, George Bailey and Cummins, the Australian think-tank, are now facing the unenviable task of trying to rebuild an ageing and fraying team. Or, alternatively, watching it grow old together.
A GREAT TEAM?
This is the most successful Australian side since the days of Shane Warne, Glenn McGrath and Ricky Ponting. They have won at home and abroad, under the sun and under the moon, with a red ball, a white ball, and a pink ball, against England, India and everyone else who has crossed their path.
The T20 World Cup. The 50-over World Cup. The World Test Championship. Ashes triumphs. The reclamation of the Border-Gavaskar. The trophy cabinet is overflowing and the legacy is almost complete.
Through that period, Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon have formed one of the finest and most well-balanced bowling attacks of all time. The pace trio, in particular, have ensured sustained dominance at home, where their cocktail of swing, seam, pace and bounce have proven to be insuperable for almost every opponent.
Cummins, now 33, is the most accomplished fast bowler in the Test game not named Jasprit Bumrah. Hazlewood, 35, is the most McGrath-like seamer of the post-McGrath era. And Starc, 36, is the finest left-arm swinger since a peak Wasim Akram. In isolation, they are world-class performers; in tandem, they are almost invincible.
Lyon, 38, has proven to be the unlikely yin to their more-feted yang. The off-spinner served as a member of the ground staff at the Adelaide Oval in 2010 and was in and out of the Test team during his younger years. He has, however, managed to become an uber-accurate and savvy performer. Lyon is the ideal foil for the fiery fast men.
Without question, the strength of the Australian team lies in the bowling ranks. But, as irony would have it, the only undisputed all-time great resides in the batting line-up.
Smith, perhaps the most idiosyncratic player of the modern era, has challenged assumed truths about batting with his homespun technique. The 37-year-old former captain made his international debut as a leg-spinner and a bit-part batter. He is now, though, universally recognised as one of the finest players Australia has ever produced, with 10,763 Test runs, 37 centuries and an eyebrow-raising average of 56.05.
Smith is one of one. A batting unicorn. And despite a relative form slump in the post-COVID period, he remains utterly irreplaceable.
SHORT-TERM AMBITIONS
Australia’s conservative selection policy needs to be put in context, because the jam-packed schedule does offer some mitigation for the short-term thinking. Cummins’ men could face as many as 21 Test matches, including the World Test Championship final, over the next 12 months.
To underline the scale of the challenge, Cummins himself has played 72 matches across a 15-year Test career. The fast bowler — who missed four-fifths of the Ashes series due to a lingering back injury — is busily preparing to face Bangladesh, World Test Champions South Africa, and an in-form New Zealand, before legacy-defining trips to India and England in 2027.
Australia recently announced a 13-man squad for the upcoming series against Bangladesh. Only one player, Cameron Green, is under the age of 30. The likes of Lyon, Cummins and Hazlewood, all of whom have struggled with injury in recent years, have been named in the squad, and the selection sends an unequivocal message: Australia will stick with their tried and trusted players, hoping — praying, perhaps — that they can get their thoroughbreds to the finishing post.
Ferguson spotted the gradual corrosion of his ‘94 team, but was uncharacteristically hesitant to make gutsy calls. Sentiment, for once, clouded his oft-impeccable judgement. The justifiable temptation is always to retain faith in people you trust and admire. These senescent Australian players have done it before so they can do it again, right?
THE LONG-TERM CONCERNS
The problem is, some of these veteran players are slowing, creaking and cracking before our eyes. And the longer Bailey and McDonald persist with their Dad’s Army policy, the more their inertia looks like wilful ignorance. Negligence, even.
Let’s look at Lyon as an example. He is, in this moment, widely regarded as the finest off-spinner in the world, with 567 Test wickets to his name. But he turns 39 in November and has suffered two major, potentially career-threatening injuries in the last three years.
Likewise, Cummins and Hazlewood have both suffered significant injury issues in recent seasons. Hazlewood, probably the finest line bowler in the world, has sustained injuries in the first Test or first-class fixture he has played in four of the last five Australian summers. His last Test appearance was more than a year ago, against a feeble West Indies side in Jamaica.
Cummins, too, has played just one international match, against England in Adelaide, in the past 12 months. The captain wrestled with a back issue through the Ashes and then skipped the T20 World Cup because of the same ailment.
Counterintuitively, Starc, the oldest and still fastest of Australia’s cartel, has proven to be the most durable bowler of all, playing all five Ashes Test matches and winning the Compton–Miller Medal in January. The left-armer’s speeds have fallen fractionally, as wear and tear has inevitably taken its toll, but his skill level and know-how have gone up a rung in recent years.
LOGIC OVER SENTIMENT
At their best, Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood and Lyon remain the stand-out bowling line-up in world cricket. A near-perfect, jigsaw-like combination of skills and angles. But the Bangladesh series — one Australia should win at a canter — represents an ideal opportunity to expose some younger blood to the Test arena.
That does not mean calling on Scott Boland, who turns 38 in April. The Victorian is a fine bowler with a brilliant, scarcely believable Test record, of course, but the selectors ought to be looking towards the future. Or, at the very least, the medium term.
The likes of Todd Murphy, Spencer Johnson, Jhye Richardson, Callum Vidler, Mahli Beardman and Lance Morris could help to form the backbone of Australia’s next Test incarnation. And while they are unlikely to emulate the current generation, that should not dissuade the selectors from giving them opportunities. The easy mistake to make, as Ferguson discovered, is to do nothing.
AUSTRALIA’S NEXT GENERATION AND REASONS FOR CONCERN
Australia’s first-class structure remains the envy of the cricket world. The Sheffield Shield has proven to be an unrivalled talent factory for decades. The system peaked in the 90s and 2000s, when a bevy of world-class players, such as Darren Lehmann, Damien Martyn, Matthew Hayden, Michael Hussey and Adam Gilchrist, spent years in the domestic wilderness before truly establishing themselves in the Test team.
Australia dominated the international scene between the mid-90s, when they won in the Caribbean, and the late-2000s, when high-profile retirements caused the side to crumple. Throughout that trophy-laden era, Sheffield Shield sides could be favourably compared to most international teams, and Australia A fixtures served as X Factor-like auditions for budding stars.
Cummins, Starc, Hazlewood, Lyon and Smith were all products of that well-oiled machine. But, for a variety of difficult-to-define reasons, that system has slackened in recent times. High-quality, oven-ready alternatives appear to be in short supply, and the Australian selectors have found themselves in an awkward bind. Stubbornly stick with what they have? Or roll the dice, and select a younger, high-potential alternative?
Players can only prove themselves if they are afforded opportunities. But if Cummins’ boys keep winning, what incentive is there to evolve? The message from the higher-ups appears clear: enjoy today, fellas, and we will worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.
THE 2007-08 WARNING
Australian cricket has been here before, in the not-too-distant past. In the aftermath of the Warne, McGrath generation, when a host of era-defining greats quit in quick succession, Australia slid down the rankings. The current golden era was built on the back of that painful, years-long transition. But Cummins is plainly — and understandably — reluctant to dispense with his big-name teammates.
“Realistically there is going to be some rate of change over the next couple of years,” the captain said in 2024. “We probably thought it was going to happen a little bit sooner, but everyone is hanging on.”
Cummins has spoken about managing workloads and plotting a path through their daunting schedule. The captain’s focus, seemingly, is on preserving ageing personnel. And that is a commendable ambition in some senses. But managing transition requires bold, courageous leadership. And, as Ferguson has repeatedly acknowledged, misty-eyed emotion can easily warp clear-sighted logic.
TROPHIES ARE THE JUDGE
The truth is, the rights and wrongs of Australia’s dogmatism can only be judged in the fullness of time. If they win the World Test Championship, or if they conquer the final frontiers of India and England, then the selectors can feel justifiably smug. They can plonk the hardware on the table and lounge around with a self-satisfied grin.
Alternatively, if ageing stars fail to reach the final furlong and Cummins’ team fall short of their own aspirations, then fans will, quite rightly, cite the rigid approach as a blatant dereliction of duty. Indecision masked as stability. Blind faith masquerading as loyalty. Pusillanimity disguised as trust. The margins are wafer-thin and those margins will ultimately define the entire era.
For Ferguson, the mini trophy drought served as a painful but important lesson. It was one he acknowledged, internalised and vowed not to repeat. The trophies now stand as a monument to his own pitiless approach.
For Australia, the window for transition is open now. The ageing, injury-prone veterans are hanging on, hoping to reach the finishing post, while the next generation is patiently waiting for its opportunity.
Ultimately, the trophy haul will be the final judge. It always is.
Related Posts
Pat Cummins is not Kerry Packer’s rebel. He is something more unsettling.
Cameron Green and the burden of being cricket’s next big thing
Australian cricket doesn’t have a problem. But Cricket Australia is about to create one.
I would not lie in saying that when I think of current Australian cricket, it is quite evident to me that they are going to face a longer slump and transition in a couple of years' time. I think they will again see a similar phase like the early 80s and late 2000s. There are players who could be brought in when the current players go, but I don't think they are of the same quality as their current squad. The bench strength looks bleak and inexperienced. The selectors' thought process has been very short-term. I remember one Australian cricket follower once criticised my point, saying that's how Australian cricket has always functioned and has managed to win so many trophies. Now the question is: will the players they are betting on be able to create a similar impact to their predecessors? Time will only tell. But like you said in the end: Cricket Australia is creating one problem. And I absolutely agree with you here.
Completely agree with your analysis. It does feel that the Australian test team is only focusing on winning and not so much on planning for the future. They could have looked to try one of their younger fast bowlers in the series against Bangladesh. I also felt that Konstas was dropped without giving him a fair run. It’s true that he wasn’t a finished product, but he did change the course of the series vs India. Who knows he could have found his game if he was persisted with.